dsimon writes: No no I am not talking about new age spiritual nonsequitors! What fighter had the best presence in the ring... the kind of energy that made opponents good as beaten before the bell wrung.
It has to be Tyson. It was crazy, back in the day. The boxers were even afraid of him. Remember Spinks in the staredown?:laughing:
Tyson and Spinks weren't even looking at each other during the staredown. Tyson rarely did the staredown during the ref's instructions except for a couple of fights post-prison.
Spinks did look scared, but Tyson wasn't staring him down. Spinks had that nervous/scared look moreso before the introductions, actually. What you described actually seemed more like how Tyson was acting in the rematch when Holyfield was staring him down. Tyson was kind of looking down and around.
dsimon writes: Tyson is obvious. I actually think Roy Jones qualifies. He had guys spooked and tentative. Tarver was so angry at him he forgot to hesitate in the second fight::.
Yeah, Tyson pre-Buster is an obvious choice. Liston before Clay. Going waaay back..........Terry McGovern before he ran into Young Corbett.
Spinks was beat before the fight even started .... Spinks should be ashamed of himself for that fight ... He acted as if Tyson was serial killer and was bringing knifes and shit into the fight .... Spinks layed down the first chance he got ...
word. I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one who realizes this. Spinks was terrified since the dressing room (I maintain to this day that Butch Lewis had to beg/convince him to walk to the ring and fight)...and he lay down the first possible moment.
dsimon writes: Ok but guys.... The man was not lazy, he just realized he was out of his element. I feel bad for Spinks and I think he was genuinely terrified. Sort of like Golata after that first Lewis straight right found its mark... Golata got this shocked look on his face like he was having a heart attack.
Spinks was intimidated but he was definitely hurt from Tyson's attack. Guys simply looking for a place to lie down generally don't tend to have the back of their heads brutally smash the canvas with their eyes that glassy.
This is true. The only fight in his prime where I can recall him staring an opponent down during the instructions was the Biggs fight. Other than that, he didnt really do the stare down thing until post-prison, when he stared down McNeely, Bruno in the rematch, and the first Holy fight. And whoever said Roy was correct. I think he definitely had an aura in his prime that had many opponents beat mentally before the bell.
Had to be Tyson for sure. I still remember when they would say during pre-fight introductions. "And the man in this corner needs no introduction"
