I guess once you enter the realm of dirty tactics it’s somewhat problematic to say what is okay and what isn’t. Almost like the setting and imposition of “rules”and “moralities” in the sub culture of prison. Evander decided on and crafted his weapon of choice, Mike made his own election. Evander came at and slashed him with a pre-rehearsed, educated knife, Mike knee jerked and pulled out a gun and shot him. Certainly, Mike’s infraction was none too subtle. The thinking man’s dirty fighter is always better received.
Tyson was not dirtier by no means. Yea he tried to break some one’s arm because of what the guy was doing to him. Tyson mostly fought clean unless you kept doing dirty things to him
same as armstrong (but a bit less) he wasn't headbutting people but his head was in the right place for contact.
Lennox Lewis said he had a tire above a bag right where his head would be when training. He said Holyfield was using it to practice headbutting
First off he wasn’t whining like a 4 year old and Holyfield wasn’t roughing him up. Research if you don’t believe even rewatch it but Tyson was leading going into the 6th. Guess what turned the fight around. The headbutt that dazed him and cut him. He said he barely remembered the rest of the fight because he was dazed the rest of the time from that and repeated headbutts. If some one cheated and won from it would you not complain?
Tyson was definitely intentional when he tried to headbutt Ruddock in the first round of their 1st fight. He wasn’t skilled at making it look incidental like Holyfield was. Tyson didn’t often use that foul though. He liked the elbows, low blows, and especially the late hits more. He seemed to like the late hits as a psychological thing.
Mike has admitted, out of his own mouth in his own words, that some of his fights were fixed — the opponent had to beat him AND the ref because he knew in advance he’d be allowed to get away with any rulebreaking. https://www.marca.com/en/boxing/2023/10/12/652846ae46163feba78b45c3.html What did Botha do to cause Tyson to try to break his arm? Hit him in the mouth, lol?
What do you say about Marvin Hagler? His bald skull became a deadly weapon in the second Antefuermo fight, no?
Yeah, Evander is among the most gifted at it aside from Andre Ward. I feel like B-Hop has a nice headbutt as well. There are many foot steppers, elbowers like Mayweather, and Tyson was dirty in his own right. But Holyfield definitely would use any advantage he could to dissuade his opponent from fighting in their comfort zone.