He would not be a Joe Frazier, didn't have the mindset, engine or work rate. He was at his best at mid-range, slipping shots and making his opponent pay. Tyson was made for Cus' style. Maybe he could have been a harder hitting Qawi?
Boom. Cus didn’t operate Tyson’s body. Tyson did. He got up everyday. He trained. He punched. He decided he was going to take the opportunity seriously. He is the one who chose to dedicate with tenacity. Cus stoked the flames. But Tyson was the spark.
I don’t think so. It would be nice to think tyson would have made it but he was built from the ground up by cus, most importantly mentally. Mike had someone to impress, someone he would strive to be a success for. Without that influence I think he would have went off the rails as a kid, he was too easily lead, too eager to impress the wrong people. Some have some very dark views around cus, but whatever the case and what you belive, he had Tyson’s respect and even love. It was by sheer miraculous chance a kid like that with all this talent met a great trainer, it’s a shame that he was really an unfinished job. He was a boy when his lost the greatest influence in his life, how could he be the finished article? The loss of cus showed the slow decent of Tyson’s mentality, going into his self destructive ways. He needed that stability, no one outside of cus offered that to him until recently with the wife and family he has now, and look at the effect, Tyson is fairly stable and happy. Without stability he is all over the place. I guess he could have met another decent trainer once he showed his interest in boxing but I think cus’s ability to spot talent and mould a fighter mentally is underrated, he was the creator. I agree he might have made a few waves but it’s ulikely he would have become the efficient, ruthless, technical ko artist he was in his early career.
I think he would definitely have success. He could get close to the title, but I'm not sure if he'd win it. His style would definitely rely on force and exchanges, and he could recieve a lot more damage early in his career because of this. I guess this would depend on the other trainer he found, though. Also, without Cus I think he would implode / self destruct a lot earlier into his career. He did have some severe mental instabilities, after all.
Iron Mike wasn't the only troubled youth who redirected his anger into a boxing champion. George Foreman didn't take up boxing until 15 when he joined the Job Corps and four yrs later won a Gold Medal and you know the rest.
Probably not. Not that he didn't have the natural ability, but he may have not found a mentor who had the patience to put up will all his drawbacks and mold him.