with or without givens and king: was tyson ever going to fulfil his potential?

Had those forces not been around he would of stayed focused longer and been at his peak longer but not much longer imo. I'm Tyson's biggest fan but the amount of money, fame etc. was too much for someone like him.

Eventually he was going to split with Rooney and thus deteoriate, it probably just would of happened a couple years later. Although a focused Tyson vs. the smaller Holy of 90 would of cemented his legacy (assuming he won) so maybe his stock would of improved drastically had the wheels stayed on for just another year or two.

 

For Mike success and money came too easily, he was too good for his own good and didn't need to try to be the World Champion, he realised this and took it all for granted, didnt train properly. That and his style being the most physical demanding combined with him being a complete short ass meant when the physical attributes faded he'd always have problems against other greats past his prime. Prison and not training for 4 years didnt help either

 

In the words of a rapper by the name Akinyele from a track called "The Robbery Song"....

'Im on some Mike Tyson ex wife ****, thats how I'm living cause when I start Robin you best to start Given' :yep

 

I think his potential was already well fulfilled. It was staying where he was at that became an issue.

 

I don't think he would have gotten any better physically than the 1988 version, but I don't think he would have been able to stay at that physical level much longer anyway, guys with his type of style don't usually last very long.

 

Agreed.

He didn't have the versatility and resilience that made the very best what they are. Even if he somehow managed to get by Douglas (which is a big assumption considering how decisively he was outfought), he still was going to meet his match against Holyfield, who was to him what Ali was to Liston.

On top of that, Rooney wasn't all that special as a trainer. He only could do so much for Tyson. Eventually Tyson was going to have to replace him anyway if he was going to have a chance of going farther than he actually did.

 

Most of them usually do fairly well until around the age of 30. Considering that he was only 23 when his career started falling apart, that would have been a hell of a long time, had he managed to hold it together.

 

I think he peaked a little too early to last that long. I could see maybe if he was 26, but 7 years is a very long time to remain at your peak. He probably could have been around the 80-85% mark by the age of 30 if he kept his act together, but the fast headmovement and lightning fast combos would have slowed down a bit IMO.

 

i also think that it would have been very difficult to maintain his status during the era of superheavys. Not to mention, the 90's would have been a ***** of a time for anyone to keep a title. I mean can you imagine if Tyson's schedule looked something like this, from about 1990-1993?

-Evander Holyfield
-Razor Ruddock
- Goerge Foreman
-Ray Mercer
-Riddick Bowe
-Lennox Lewis
-Michael Moorer

I don't think any great champion would have kept a title with that kind of a line-up.

 

Whats that sang, you can take the man out of the ghetto but you cant take the ghetto out of the man?
There is no other scenario I could imagine for Tyson from where he came from. It was inevitable that he would eventually destroy himself, and it just took him growing into a young adult where he had a little more freedom for it to happen. Tyson was never capable of functioning in a normal society until recently, but look what he had to go through to get there.

 

With size comes a slower fighter and Tyson's ability was based more on his tremendous speed. Thats one thing that stands out, his tremendous speed for a big man. He moved like a middleweight, with heavyweight power.
With exception to Bowe, Lewis and Holyfield, I dont see too many of the other heavies of the 90's giving him much of a fight, especially Foreman and Mercer.