What were your thoughts going into Lewis-Tyson

I think everybody at the time had that underlying feeling that tyson was a step away from the loony bin & shouldnt have been anywhere near the ring.. In hindsight his persona outweighed everything else.. he was cooked/bloated/psycho & not really motivated but most old school fans were still praying for a miracle..

I myself thought Tyson would have a punchers chance but the fight was lennox's to lose..

To be honest Mike was even worse then i expected, lithargic & had no answers for anything, just punch resistance..


At least he went out on his shield after being battered & was suprisingly humble in defeat

 

I knew Tyson was past his best but so was Lewis. I gave Tyson a real chance early. I backed Tyson over the first two rounds only. Then i covered my stake by betting on Lewis for a win. I broke even.

. I thought Tyson would still be good enough to catch Lewis even though he had surprised me in winning the title back from Rahman.

After two rounds it was apparent Tyson was only a one round fighter at that level.

 

Lewis was too inexperienced at the pro level before 1992 to beat Tyson then. Lewis beats Tyson anytime from 95-on.

Tyson's probably my favorite fighter ever, but even the peak version of him would have a tall task in facing a peak Lewis. I don't know whom I'd pick.

 

My thoughts were that PT Barnum was right ... there's a sucker born every minute.

 

That certainly applies tonight.

 

I gave Tyson more than a mere puncher's chance. He seemed genuinely fired up during the pre-fight buildup, so I expected him to attack Lewis viciously in the early rounds and put the big man's chin to the test. Tyson had been a childhood favorite of mine, so I probably overrated his chances based on sentimental nostalgia. I knew that Lewis deserved to be the favorite though.

 

Here's a question to ponder: Does 2002 Tyson lose as badly to his 1988 self as he did to Lewis?
My guess is yes, probably so.

 

I fully expected Lewis to win, but I was worried by Tyson's erratic behavior leading up to the fight.

I was concerned that he might bite Lewis's ear off, or do something else stupid.

I was supersized that a lot of people picked Tyson.

 

I was as sure as I could be that Lewis would win that fight convincingly. I knew there was absolutely no chance Lewis was going to take this lightly, and when Lennox Lewis turns up, he wins... every time... no question. Too big, too powerful, I knew he'd dominate him with that devastating jab.

Weirdly, the only thing that made me very slightly doubt it was all the people who were tipping Tyson to win. That was really the one thing I learnt most from that fight... there are a lot more people than I thought who DKSAB.

 

He would do a Tyson Fury and knock himself out.

 

Mike was trying the mind games to get an edge, he probably knew he was screwed against a focused Lewis. To be fair I think it worked a bit, Lewis did seem unsettled by Tyson, so the maniac card was well played I think. Lennox probably thought he would get his nut sack bitten of of something. But instead, Mike raged like the family Labrador.

 

Yeah Mike gave it a go and props for him for trying but looked like he found out about that uppercut fairly quickly and struggled to avoid it, along with all the other punches for that matter. The thing I respected Mike for is that he did keep coming forward even though it was fruitless, he was trying to land that one big punch. It was braver than Tua's attempt, who looked like a kid trying to avoid a beat down from his older brother.

 

Tyson was just a name by that stage, and a hype machine. He was used to make money.

I was very tired of the pundits and media still hyping him up to be something he was not, and his antics and behavior was disturbing and getting worse.

I was hoping that Lennox would beat him so badly that Tyson would end the nonsense and never fight again. I was very happy and got what I had wished for.

Tyson was a surreal force of nature in his prime, but that had been gone for 10 years by that point. Lennox did not beat the best Tyson, but finally beat him into retirement. For that I am grateful, to many people were using Tyson and he needed to step out and re assess his life.

Yeah, Tyson fought a few more times to make money for his handlers and such, but they were absolute jokes and Tyson was obviously gone mentally.

It ended all as it should, minus the few fights and money grabs after Lennox.

 

I thought with Tysons power he had a real chance early but after 2-3 rounds his hopes would greatly fade. My pick was Lewis by ko mid fight.

Interesting story was that I had planned to attend this bout. Had it all planned out to fly to Atlanta, attend the fight and then fly back the next afternoon. FIGURED I would spend $1000 on a ticket. THEN the tickets went on sale and I could find them no where .....not at the box office, not via Ticketmaster....nothing....that is until I found a website with the bold headline "THIS FIGHT IS FOR HIGH ROLLERS ONLY". The cheapest nosebleed seat was just outrageously priced and then and there I said FORGET IT. Are all the very high end hwt championship fights the same way in terms of price gouging?

My dad who did not have much took me to Ali Norton 3 so at that time ticket prices were at least reasonable or I would have never have gone.

 

I remember thinking I had to take a leak and coil use another beer.