You are Mike Tysons trainer

Hobgoblin, I disagree that a 35 year old Tyson's chances would be futile for at least 4 reasons. This is boxing. These are Heavyweights. Tyson could still punch like hell. Lewis had a suspect chin. I also gave Tyson round 1... and furthermore there were at least three shots that could have closed the show if he was closer.

I do not believe that any of Tyson's trainers after Rooney understood and applied the emotional training that he needed. The foundation of Tyson's success was not his power or speed, it was his confidence and his "community" -however artificially prescribed. This is not to say that he would have been willing to accept such a throwback style training camp. It is to say that Tyson did have the tools to defeat Lewis. They had laid dormant and untapped for years, but enough remnants remained.

 

1988? No. The post is about perception, not reality. Tyson knew how to slip punches and knew how to get inside. He devolved into a slugger but that was a training problem with roots in a relationship problem.

His strategy would be about tapping into what was, not rewinding the clock. Efficiency, not youthful output. You admit that Tyson's recuperative ability would be enhanced had he been in shape. Add to that a strategy that relies on efficient output instead of slugging until the half empty gas tank was exhausted. He wouldn't have been hit as much either because defense would be emphasized.

 

Manny Steward wasn't shitting bricks and screaming between rounds because Tyson was no threat.

 

ABSOLUTELY! That is why I even give him a chance at all. However, we know that that relying on landing one big haymaker against a top fighter is usually unsuccessful.

I'm a big Tyson fan but it was Lewis who landed the meaningful punches andit was Tyson who left that round hurt and unable to recover as well as he would in his youth. Tyson was the aggressor but Lewis dealt with hit and dished his own. Btw, in Holy-Tyson I, I gave round 1 to Tyson whereas 90% of Tyson fans gave it to Holy (online poll during the fight - they probably didn't realize that this would be one of Tyson's best rounds so they put a high standard on him).

I strongly disagree. His physical attributes alone carried him in many fights, regardles of him not having the mentality of an Arthuro Gatti or a Rocky Marciano or even a Lennox Lewis.

What are the chances of being able to deal with Tyson's craziness? The man was on psychoactive drugs at the time. I'm sure that if you and I were to try to deal with him mentally - we'd run away frustrated. No one was able to deal with Tyson's mind after prison IMO. Wouldn't count on it but it is a noble effort.

My $0.02

 

You are right about the craziness... but this is fantasy, yes? I believe that my tesosterone-laced, therapeutic approach would have the best chance of success. It answers the child in him as well as the beast.

Also, keep in mind that Tyson was incredibly insecure and unsure of who he is. All of that physical force goes out the window if you don't have the emotional engines. If Tyson had the mentality that he had in 2003 in 1986, he would have been no greater than Cooney. Every punch you throw in the ring is not first launched by a pivot or a turning hip... it is launched by the belief in the punch.

Show me a man in the ring who doesn't believe in his punches and I'll show you a horizontal man.

 

As crazy as this might sound, in today's division, if Tyson gets himself in great shape, takes a lot of those tune-up exhibitions like that Sanders deal, and consistent fights like Foreman had to get sharp again, he could win a title. He just needs to avoid the big monsters, but if he can get a smaller type guy, he's got a puncher's chance.

 

As soon as someone quits against Kevin McBride - you know he doesn't belong inside the ropes. It was RIDICULOUS to pick McBride over Tyson - but what happened?

Can't compare to Foreman - Foreman's best assets remained with him in 1990s by nature i.e. size, power, chin, etc. Tyson doesn't have the speed or reflexes that served him welll in his youth. 10 year lay off is a big deal too.

Never EVER rely solely on a puncher's chance. That is not a good enough reason to go in the ring.

Tyson should have NEVER fought Lewis after Holy 2 - making 17 million hardly made a dent to the IRS - he should have given up trying to pay IRS rather than get beat up for nothing.

Yes, in pure fantasy, we can have Tyson listen to us. In reality, I'd be more confident in convincing Osama Bin Laden that America isn't so bad than to get Tyson to listen to me.

 

I like a thread like this, because I always believe in boxing there is never any such thing as a 100% guaranteed every time success. Tyson winning may have been a long shot, but there are certainly ways in which to increase his chances which I think have been pointed out well here.

Hobgoblin makes an excellent point which I fully agree with - Tyson's right hand needs to be busy, post-jail he seemed to left hook his way in far too much. I also gave round 1 in Tyson-Holyfield I to Tyson, and Holyfield admitted in an interview that he was surprised by Mike's right hands since Tyson usually closed distance with lunging left hooks and jabs, not the right.

I thought one of the biggest problems with Tyson as he got older is that he was still trying to fight as he'd done as a younger man. Over time, both Holyfield and Lewis modified their in-ring style to compensate for the lessening of their youthful stamina and speed.

Mike still wanted to be throwing those multiple blasts to the body and head with both hands...and to be fair, he still could throw well in hard combinations (as in the first rounds against Nielsen and Williams for example). But he didn't have the tank to keep that up for long. So he'd fall back on big haymakers, instead of jabbing his way in and setting up the knockouts better.

Stonehands also details a way to deal with the other big problem for Tyson, and that's the mental side. It's a real biggie. Tyson showed huge determination to keep going through the battering, but in terms of self-belief that he could win the fight, I think that drained from that first hard uppercut in round 1 and was completely gone after the false KD in the 4th. Getting him at a confident peak, without falling into that "all I have to do is hit him once" trap, is essential. No doubt in my mind that a lot of Tyson's retinue did him no good whatsoever.

 

My strategy would be to take him to the Catskills and let Kevin train him and id be the assistant trainer

 

If you look at Rooney today - he needs a trainer himself

You raise a good point - but I wonder why dumbass Tyson never went back with Rooney. Till the second Holyfield fight, he had a lot of his physical assets intact. I suppose your idea won't work if it hasn't happened in so many years despite it being such an obvious decison.

 

Work on keeping him active on the inside, to prevent Lewis's leaning tactics from taking as much of a toll. Tyson's low center of gravity, short arms, short range arsenal, and age would all tend to argue for him to pursue the inside game when it's offered to him, where touch and canny maneuvering are more important than blazing reflexes...and he definitely had the skills at one point early in his career.

His lack of focus on the inside was the chief reason why Lewis was able to beat and smother him. Take Lewis's advantage in this area away by drilling the inside game constantly, in addition to the strategies others had mentioned.

 

But Tyson was never a very good inside fighter. He had the potential for it but that's another story. When clinched - most of the time he was very passive. Douglas won the fight by schooling him on the inside (too many people forget this as they keep remembering long range) and so did Holyfield. Tyson showed great inside fighting ability in round 5 against ATG Holy (so I guess he DID have the training too) but never continued with it, despite its apparent success. I just don't understand him. Of all his fights I've seen, I recall saying to myself that Tyson can fight well on the inside in only maybe three of them. He chose not to fight on the inside, he chose not to resist getting clinched, he chose not to resist getting moved around. I don't get it. How am I supposed to work with this guy?

 

Stoney,

After reading your inspiring post I feel like getting in the ring with Lewis myself. That is following easy KO victories over '67 Ali, '77 Holmes and '87 Tyson...

 

Mike always frusrated his fans. Imagine how his trainer's felt? Tyson never listened to any of them, except Rooney.

 

I do remember Richie Giachetti pleading with Mike to do this and do that, and Mike just sitting there with this "Yeah, right, fat boy. I'll do this my way" look on his face, heh.