So how good a boxer was Mike Tyson?

[Tomconroy]

Last edited Sat Aug 7, 2021, 08:02 PM - Edit history (1)

IMHO he was probably over rated even in his prime. He had obvious skills and a knock out punch but he was too small, he didn't have the arm reach to be a really dominant heavy weight.
I didn't see too many of his early fights but some of those he seemed to win before he ever stepped in the ring. His opponents were afraid to fight him (Hello Michael Spinks!).
As I recall the beginning of the end came when he faced the British heavy weight Frank Bruno. Tyson famously said: Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Well, Bruno's plan was to not get punched in the face. He stayed away, picked his spots, and lasted six rounds before a TKO I think (I'm doing this from memory).
Then came the fight in Japan with the guy whose name I can't remember. I never saw that one but I assume it was the same story. Avoid the ferocious rush where Tyson tries to end the fight early, let him punch himself out.
Finally there was Evander Holyfield, a skilled boxer who had no fear of Tyson, and had figured out his flaws. After a few rounds Tyson was reconsidering his choice of careers.
I think Tyson and was a good boxer who lucked out for a long time in the lack of quality opponents. Tyson wouldn't have stood a chance against the great boxers of an earlier era. Someone like George Forman would have laughed at him.
Just my opinion on a lazy Saturday night.

[walkingman]

1. I think Foreman was a harder puncher - although Tyson had a lethal

upper cut. I saw Foreman and his son in the Bush Airport once and they were huge. I followed Foreman but Tyson turned me off - a nasty person on so many levels.

[JohnSJ]

2. Ali in his prime was the greatest boxer ever. His speed was unbelievable.

[Hoyt]

3. Hey, when you bite a guy's ear off because you are losing, u b overrated.

[BlueTsunami2018]

4. His combination of speed and power was pretty devastating.

He wasn’t a great boxer as such but he was a hell of a fighter. He scared the shit out of people.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

5. He was good in his prime, not great ... but he was SCARY that was his thing

Like, it didn't seem like he could really be hurt, but he could hurt you ... bad. He was like a robot.

I will also say, the first Tyson/Holyfield fight was pretty friggin awesome.

And I don't think Tyson was re-thinking his career until after he lost the decision (if he ever did so). Holyfield didn't whup his ass or anything, it went the distance and he barely won. It was exciting as hell at the time.

The rematch, obviously ... not so much.

[brush]

6. Buster Douglas was the boxer who beat him in Japan

You're right about most of your arguments. Tyson had a great punch but as you say, he was on the small side for heavyweights in height and reach. He wouldn't have made it in the 60s-70s, the golden age of the heavyweights. What with Ali, Liston, Frazier, Lyle, Shavers, Foreman, Holmes, Norton, Young, even Quarrie... all of them would done well against Tyson. And some like Shavers, Lyle, Liston and Foreman had punches to match or best Tyson's. And Holmes, Liston and Ali had the best jabs ever seen. Holmes and Liston had the great, straight power jabs while Ali had the fastest, flicking and repeating jab ever.

IMO Tyson would've fell to them as he did with Douglas and Holyfield as none of them would been afraid of him as they all fought each other without dodging fights.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

7. Buster Douglas showed the world Tyson could be beaten.

And he fought a great fight in Tokyo giving Tyson his first loss by a KO. tyson the bully got bullied himself. It didn't help Tyson any that he had fired his longtime trainer Kevin Rooney before the fight. Hooking up with Don King was the big mistake Tyson made.

Evander Holyfield and then Lennox Lewis did well against him. Lewis in particular gave him a good boxing lesson and punished him in the process, resulting in an 8th round KO.. Tyson in the 1980s was absolutely fearsome, knocking the vast majority of his opponents out in the first 3 or 4 rounds. If a fighter could weather the storm and had the reach advantage and superior boxing skills, Tyson would be in trouble as the article talked about his lack of reach. Joe Frazier had the same problem in his time; while he could brutalize an opponent with body shots and that lethal left hook, he had to get close in to connect and that made him vulnerable to a lot of punishment from taller opponents.

I wonder how Tyson would have fared against Earnie Shavers in his prime- no way that fight would result in a decision between those two sluggers.

[brush]

8. Exactly right about Shavers' punching power. And don't forget...

about Ron Lyle's power too. And of course Liston's. Which is why I say Tyson would've been an also ran during the 60s and 70s, the golden age of heavyweights.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

10. You are spot on about there being a lot of great heavyweights in those decades.

And then the 1980s was a great decade for the welterweights and middleweights.

I had forgotten about Ron Lyle; he was serving a prison sentence and almost died after being stabbed by an inmate. Also, I read he beat some impressive opponents like Shavers.

[brush]

13. Yep, the 80s was the time of Leonard, Hagler, Duran, Benitez, Pryor...

and all those great welters and middleweights.

[Marcuse]

19. Don't forget Thomas Hearns. His fight with Hagler featured the best first round in history.

[brush]

21. Of course, of course. How could I forget Tommie Hearns.

[Drum]

9. Thanks, Tomconroy and Everyone, for the interesting discussion on this

I’ve seen these fighters and some of these fights (TV of course) but not a real follower of boxing. Gracias!

[Tomconroy]

11. Nothing cooler than old guys talking about boxing!

[Drum]

12. There is much to be learned from such guys

[Bristlecone]

14. Once Cuss D'Amato died Tyson fell apart

He was a monster before that. Truly Iron Mike

[True Dough]

16. I'll defer to Teddy Atlas on this topic, and he says Tyson was a better hammer than a nail

As some posters above touched on, Tyson wilted when he faced opponents who were known for their mettle.

[Iggo]

17. I think Tyson was the greatest knockout specialist I've ever seen and I'm ever likely to see.

I'm not really qualified to say whether or not he's a good boxer. I've barely seen him fight. Forty seconds here. A minute and a half there. Hard to get a feel...lol.

[brush]

22. The 60s and 70s had several fighters who would've beaten Tyson.

And it wasn't just Ali and Foreman. See Post number 6. You're probably too young to know that was the golden era of great heavyweights.

[Dan]

18. There were some really good fighters in all classes back in the day. But

I think Don King was the reason that I quit watching boxings.

[Marcuse]

20. It figures that King is a trumper.