Where Do You Rate Tyson's Speed in the Lineage of Fast Heavies

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by acb, May 7, 2008.


  1. acb

    acb De Camaguey... Gavilan Full Member

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    [YT]VRs5budNvxg[/YT]
     
  2. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    Footspeed, first, handspeed, second to Floyd Patterson.
     
  3. sthomas

    sthomas Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Serious speed..................That Atlas must have been on to be so thin.
     
  4. Sweet Pea

    Sweet Pea Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    He wasn't as quick a mover, nor as slick as Ali, but in terms of explosiveness and fast twitch muscle fibers, he was the most impressive I've seen. Threw the fastest, more powerful short punches in combination I've ever seen.
     
  5. brooklyn1550

    brooklyn1550 Roberto Duran Full Member

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    Handspeed
    1. Floyd Patterson
    2. Mike Tyson
    3. Muhammad Ali
     
  6. Bill1234

    Bill1234 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Patterson had the fastest heavyweight hands, with Tyson at #2 for combos. But if we are talking single or straight punches, then people like Ali and Holmes are ahead.
     
  7. jimmie

    jimmie Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Roy Jones is the fastest Heavyweight ever period 1 fight or more it wouldnt matter. After that I go with with Patterson number 1 but wasnt Tyson alittle heavier ?
     
  8. josak

    josak Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Agreed.
     
  9. Bokaj

    Bokaj Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    His handspeed was phenomenal for a guy that size. His footspeed was also good but below Patterson's and even further below Ali's.

    I haven't really seen enough of Tunney to make a comparison, but I think both Ali and Patterson had better overall speed.
     
  10. guilalah

    guilalah Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Tyson could generate a lot of speed and liked throwing from medium close. He was fond of bringing in punches from the visual periphery, so I'm not sure he'd have gotten there ahead of a straighter puncher. So having slipping ability was still very important for him. Take away the defense, and put him with a straighter puncher who doesn't let Tyson get his range, and Tyson's speed becomes less problematic. Still, for many years, only a few people pulled this off.
    Aside from generating speed and combining punches, I was also impressed by how quickly Tyson could repeat a hard punch. Opponents would evade a hard punch, think they wouldn't see that hand again, and there it was again. (I get the impression Sullivan could do that, too).
     
  11. round15

    round15 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I think Ali's hands 1963 - 1967 were faster than Tysons but not as fast as Pattersons. His handspeed slowed when he returned to the ring, but he hit harder in his second title reign.

    Handspeed (jab alone)

    1. Floyd Patterson
    2. Muhammad Ali
    3. Mike Tyson

    Footspeed

    1. Muhammad Ali
    2. Floyd Patterson
    3. Mike Tyson

    Combination Punching Speed (3 or more punches together)

    1. Floyd Patterson
    2. Mike Tyson
    3. Muhammad Ali


    Tyson and Ali can arguably be swapped in terms of putting more than 3 punches together in combinations. I still think Patterson's overall combination punching is slightly faster than Ali and Tyson.

    Tyson had a deadly 3 punch double left hook-overhand right combo that was wicked fast when he had his opponent backed up. I believe Ali was faster than Patterson on the standard one-two/jab-straight right combination. Joe Louis also deserves mentioning as having one of the fastest jab-straight right, one-two combo. Patterson's double jab was the fastest.

    Larry Holmes and possibly Jack Johnson are the other heavyweight fighters that I would honestly mention with the above three in terms of speed. Larry Holmes probably had the best jab as an overall punch the heavyweight division has ever seen, but it was not as fast as Pattersons or Alis. Jack Johnson was very quick on his feet and being more of a defensive specialist, he would need to have quick feet to get in and out of breaks.

    Roy Jones has comparable speed to all the fighters mentioned and he could very well be the fastest overall. However, Roy Jones did most of his fighting at middleweight and light-heavyweight so I didn't include him in these comparisons.
     
  12. Bokaj

    Bokaj Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Which three punch combination did Patterson and Tyson ever throw that was faster than the one Ali decked Williams with in the end of the second round? This is not a rhetorical question.

    Even if it was a flurry rather than a combination that Ali KO'd London with it was still amazingly fast and obviously effective. I haven't seen anything at HW to rival this. Also the combination that Ali used to finish off Foreman with is really fast as well. It's so fast that you need to see it in slow motion to really appreciate the power of the punches.
     
  13. Mantequilla

    Mantequilla Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Patterson did not have a good jab.No way was it faster than Ali's
     
  14. round15

    round15 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I've seen both Patteson and Tyson throw the classic Kronk/Joe Louis combination, JAB-STRAIGHT RIGHT-LEFT HOOK, and the three hook combo, BODY-BODY-HEAD(lt hook, rt hook, lt hook) and they were pretty fast. I've seen Tyson throw a wicked fast, one handed tripple left hook(BODY-BODY-HEAD), especially earlier in his career.
     
  15. ironchamp

    ironchamp Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Tyson Ribalta Round 8.

    Tyson throws a 6-7 punch combination - I put that up against Ali's vs. Williams.