When Tyson was at his peak during the late 1980's, Ring magazine had him ranked not only the best HW, but also the best boxer, P4P in the world. Now, remember there were other fighters who you feel could possibly warrant a claim to being considered P4P the best, like Chavez & Whitaker. Personally, I feel Tyson did merit being ranked as the best fighter, P4P. Thoughts?
Absolutely YES...at his peak, Tyson was never challenged. During that time, he was the P4P best, most dominant, etc. Whitaker and Chavez were legitimately challenged, Tyson was not. They were hurt in the ring, Tyson was not. They were knocked down, Tyson was not. Tyson was so much better than the heavyweight division, I can't help but think he was P4P best...
He wasn't challenged because the fighters were just simply not very good. When he was challenged, he lost.
He only became #1 when Hagler retired. The only real opposition at that time was Chavez, not Whitaker (until 1990), so 1 or 2 was very fair.
Pinklon Thomas was in the Ring Magazine rankings as well. He was top 10 p4p all divisions included in the mid 80s. Tyson KO6. It's really a testament to his ability that he was able to garner such respect for his skill set as opposed to just certain attributes.
Tyson was among the pound for pound best fighters during the late 80's. Without question top three, which is rare for a heavyweight during any era. No heavyweight since has been considered so high by the vast majority of fans and press.
Pinklon Thomas was coked out half of the time (as it seems most of the 80's heavies were). Heavyweights generally don't impress me. They're almost never the top fighters pfp.
In hindsight, no. At the time, it made sense. Tyson was a media magnet, and he was running through the division like it was nothing. He seemed unstoppable. If we were posting on a forum then, he probably would have been LB. for LB. in most threads and posts.
Tyson deserved it, he totally overwhelmed his opposition for a period and ducked no-one. His dominance was what put him 1.
Anyone who goes about their business in such a distinctive manner and cleans out an entire division has to be number one, or thereabouts. The win which really rocketed Tyson into "pound for pound" consideration was the Spinks win.