What really caused Tyson's decline?

:atu: what a teenybopper

 

:bears:tell 'em joshua!!

 

I agree, he just lost it. I remember Tyson, Holyfield, Ali and I think Foreman were on Arsinal hall (sp?) and Ali was bowing to Tyson and said he would be scared of him.

 

Where do you think Oscar got the idea to dive against manny?

 

The odds were not even 2/1 for manny if memory serves me

 

yeah, but if oscar bet 52 million, then he could make 52 million more!

 

So... who did he fight? If you're going to laugh at the thought of questioning his opposition, name names.

 

Buster Douglas killed the Tyson mystique. I believe Holyfield would have beaten him easier if they had fought in 1989 before he had fought Bowe.

Mike was very impressive when he was unbeatable but once that was gone, it was over.

 

It was a combination of things.

However a fighter with Tyson's style is more prone to declining as years go by than someone like Lewis or Holmes.

 

dsimon writes:

It doesn't matter who he fought Steve. He was a kid when he entered the division and he was not beating experienced fighters in close fights...he was destroying experienced heavies, pulverizing them. Guys were so scared of Tyson they were beaten before the fight....

I will not even use what he did to Michael Spinks as an example BTW... Tyson was a phenomena. You can basically see from the tapes what he does and how fast and capable he is.

Also keep in mind that a lot of guys like Spinks, Berbick and even Holmes sticking around a few more years (Holmes took care of himself) didn't happen because Tyson destroyed them.

I also like how now in revisionist history guys like Razor Ruddock are considered garbage when at the time they were considered very promising prospects.

 

dsimon writes:

What people often don't mention though is how Douglas looked that night. I mean the guy was fabulous. He fought a perfect fight. It was uncanny to say the least.

I don't think Holy would have stood up to a prime Tyson barrage. But one cannot debate the fact that Holy did something remarkable. But Whiskey's post is quite correct in this regard:

namely that Tyson's stye and ways were short lived by design.

 

tyson had just got done with givens and needed the money a lot more than oscar

 

Tyson's decline came in exact synchronization with Kevin Rooney leaving as his chief second. tyson trusted rooney and listened to him, the last remaining disciple of Cus D'Mato. tyson never listened to anyone else who replaced rooney in his corner or as a trainer... i do think that had something to do with his decline

 

Agreed. And as a result of Rooney leaving, Mike's skills started to decline. He no longer moved his head, or jabbed as much, and started falling in love with the big bomb rather than throwing combinations. By the time he got outta prison, his reflexes and timing never really approached what he had in his prime. The closest he EVER looked to his vintage self in his post-prison days was in the Bruno rematch. The Tyson from the Bruno rematch would destroy either Klit brother.

 

dsimon writes:

Xplosive sometimes I think we share the same nutsack or somnething man:::: . Seriously my thoughts exactly.

And here is what I say about Tyson. Judged by his career length, his level of opposition and his sudden decline he is not so good. But judged from his impact on the sport, his dominance and his ability when he was on he is one if the best there ever was.

 

Vitali would've been very difficult for Tyson to handle.

 

Vitali stops Tyson anytime after prison, IMO.

 

Lennox would've smashed Tyson. There was a reason why Tyson never managed to get into Lewis' head like he did with everybody else. Lewis did something to Tyson during that week in Catskill which made Tyson wary of fighting him down the road. Paying him 4 mill and giving up the WBC title so Lewis would step aside.

 

From a size and styles perspective, it would be tough for any version of Tyson. He'd be coming up to Vitali's nipples. LOL! Not to mention he gives up 30lbs in weight and a foot in reach.

 

oh really.
How much did he need? How much did he bet on Buster? Where did he bet? Did anyone ever catch on until now?
This could be a fightbeat exclusive.

 

A prime Tyson would have broken Vitali's ribs.

 

very very disturbing

 

dsimon writes:

Yeah so did Tyrell Biggs! :dunno: Prime Tyson would have been a hard fight for lewis or Vitali... quick footwork makes Tyson get in quick... hard for either guy to handle inside.

 

yeah... the idiots sack...

 

dsimon writes:

Ok so I am an idiot. Lets go back to when Tyson was fighting and virtually every commentator analyst or talking head was also an idiot and said that Tyson was a new era and one of the best ever, and perhaps the most dominant fighter of any era... shall we go back to that time?

I think you will find that people's short memories are the real lunacy. Tyson at his best was a puncher as murderous as Joe Louis feet as fast as Ali, aggressive as Dempsey with a similar attack...always in combinations (as X said) and smart as Corbett. He destroyed anyone who got in a ring with him for the first part of his career... with some exceptions and not many.

So now that Tyson is history people can forget how convenient and anyone that remembers how good he really was is an idiot huh?

 

your statement of Tyson would be a hard fight for Lewis and Vitali i liked much better...

Tyson would be a hard fight for anyone of course - hell i don't even have a problem if you'd favor the prime version over anybody in heavyweight history but one round for Vitali and even the bruno version... that's a bit too much considering that Tyson might have his problems when the opponents are bigger and have good skills.

 

it seems the "in" thing these days here is to bash Tyson..

I think he has become Under-rated

people forget that going into the Spinks fight.. a LOT of media and boxing people picked Spinks to win!

Tyson destroyed him

Tyson at his best was a phenom... his jab was very good.. he is short for a heavy but his fast jab with his head movement was very impressive..

what happened was he made millions and got cocky and stopped really training

he was partying in japan before douglas.

it became a traveling circus.. night clubs.. girls.. drinking, drugs..

in his hey day he was a kinda nervous.. MONSTER!!

Tyson IMO at his best was probably the 2nd best hw EVER

 

Don't forget about Tyson's chin, when you hit him, you just pissed him off.

 

Good post LOK, didn't know you had it in ya. :bears:

 

Didn't help him against Douglas though.