Answer Honestly... Should Mike Tyson Be Hall Of Fame?

The Boxing Enthusiast · Post by **The Boxing Enthusiast** » 14 Sep 2005, 20:59

I say yes. On all fronts. For the impact he had on this sport. The attention and revenue he brought to it. As well as for the indomidable force that he was in his prime. No- not even Sonny Liston or Joe Frasier were as destructive or explosive. No fighter before, and no fighter since has reached the mass appeal as Tyson- and no fighter since has locked down a division (no matter how weak or solid that division was) like Iron Mike Tyson. Since losing to Buster Douglass, he's been on a tragic decline, but Iron Mike, not Mighty Mike, should make it to the Hall Of Fame. Rape accusations, bad temper, etc. aside. He paid his debt to society, and deserves to work, and deserves the accolaides from the sport he helped build in the new era of boxing. Just my opinion though.

PS- Sonny Liston should too, if he hasn't already been posthumously been inducted.

IMO,
TBE

sockdolager · Post by **sockdolager** » 14 Sep 2005, 21:04

His combination of speed and power in his prime was uncanny. He should go in the hall based that as well as on his ferocity and KO%

vagabundo55 · Post by **vagabundo55** » 14 Sep 2005, 21:25

I think he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, although I personally don't like his ear biting antics, he was a PPV monster, and he did walk over many heavyweights when he was in his prime. He was blessed with the combination of speed and power. I wouldn't argue against him being in the Hall of Fame, but I don't really care whether he gets inducted or not. Although, I guess he does deserve to get his place in the Hall of Fame.. imagine 30 years from now, we'll say, "Yeah I saw that guy.. he was a monster, beat people left and right, he even bit somebody's ear once." Then, i'll say, "Sadly, after a few years he declined rapidly and was known almost as a sort of circus show of boxing."

walford · Post by **walford** » 14 Sep 2005, 21:44

This one should be unanimous 'YES' The youngest ever heavyweight champ, 2nd shortest ever HW champ and he was the most feared man on the planet..... the argument could be made that he dominated a division for a period of time if you can't where that he certainly petrified a division for a period of time.

On top of that he is one of the biggest drawcards the sport has seen.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 · Post by **BrocktonBlockbuster49** » 14 Sep 2005, 21:50

at tysons peak he was one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time.

no question, tyson IS DEFINTELY IN

mr cool breeze · Post by **mr cool breeze** » 14 Sep 2005, 22:18

Mike Tyson not making the hall of fame would be a tragedy. People look at Tyson and only consider his last ten years of crime and ear biting, and fail to recognise the youngest man to ever hold a heavyweight title, and one of the all around most skilled combination heavyweights of all time. Prime Tyson had the speed, power, skill, chin, agility, and stamina of all the best of all time. Tyson used to go 12 rounds easy, and had lightning quick hands with some of the most devistating and accurate punching power ever. The real prime Tyson honestly had no real weaknesses???? If there are any serious weaknesses, I can't think of a single one. The guy definately makes the hall of fame just for being the youngest, then for defending the titles 10+ times, then for being the biggest boxing attraction in the history of the sport alongside Ali. Starving Ethiopians and homeless children in third world countries dont even know how to spell their own name, and even they still know who Mike Tyson is. The man is a world known enigma.

Tyson, Ali, Holmes, and Lewis are the only men to defend the title more than 10 times in the last 40+ years.

Rory McCloskey · Post by **Rory McCloskey** » 14 Sep 2005, 22:29

i cant help feel bad for the poor guy his life was played like a game of risk... he has no money and owes it to everyone, ad he embarrasses himself only to make ends meet..its a crying shame..hes done wrong, but how can you blame him? who was there to guide him? who was there to show him right from wrong? his dad? no don king? no... the last person that meant something to him died in the late 80's. poor guy i hope he finds the will to fight again and shows these chumps today how to box.. say all you want the guy clearly deserves to be in the HOF... if tyson continued at his pace for another 7 or 8 years which i think was quite possible, i think we would be discussing wether or not he was the greatest ever, rather then should he be in the HOF.. IMO ayway this is a terrible question, as in there is no way he could not make it it would be a tragedy.

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 14 Sep 2005, 22:39

Cmon Tyson belongs in the Hall of Fame. Pure and simple. One thing that will never happen and should never happen is that boxers be held to the standard of baseball players. No matter what he has done in life, his boxing carreer places him squarely deserving of hall of fame recognition.

To this day only Ali can claim equal or greater World Wide name recognition. Fame=Tyson

vagabundo55 · Post by **vagabundo55** » 14 Sep 2005, 23:28

mr cool breeze wrote:Mike Tyson not making the hall of fame would be a tragedy. People look at Tyson and only consider his last ten years of crime and ear biting, and fail to recognise the youngest man to ever hold a heavyweight title, and one of the all around most skilled combination heavyweights of all time. Prime Tyson had the speed, power, skill, chin, agility, and stamina of all the best of all time. Tyson used to go 12 round easy, and had lightning quick hands with some of the most devistating and accurate punching power ever. The real prime Tyson honestly had no real weaknesses???? If there are any serious weaknesses, I can think of a single one. The guy definately makes the hall of fame just for being the youngest, then for defending the titles 10+ times, then for being the biggest boxing attraction in the history of the sport alongside Ali. Starving Ethiopians and homeless children in third world countries dont even know how to spell their own name, and even they still know who Mike Tyson is. The man is a world known enigma.

Tyson, Ali, Holmes, and Lewis are the only men to defend the title more than 10 times in the last 40+ years.

Excellent post. I agree with all of this.

mr cool breeze · Post by **mr cool breeze** » 14 Sep 2005, 23:29

undisputedly_pat wrote:I like that everybody is in agreement about this, and I feel it is well deserved to.

Since the best reasons have already been mentioned, I'll posit one regarding comparison...

Ingemar Johansson is in the Hall of Fame, so it definitely stands to reason that if he can make it in, then Tyson should definitely be a shoe-in.

He did dominate, and was undisputed champion, and came back to capture 2/3 of the heavyweight championship after his rape sentence. People talk like Tyson did shit after Douglas...he was still quite a force for a little while, and came back to do impressive things, like the one I just mentioned, but he just wasn't as good as he was before the Douglas fight. He didn't deteriorate to crap right away. Even a late 1990's version of Tyson would have walked through the likes of Danny Williams and Kevin McBride, so don't act like immediately after the Douglas loss, that he was every bit as pathetic as he is now.

I agree. Had Tyson never fired Rooney, the Douglas loss would never have occurred, and God only knows what Tyson could have gone on to accomplish.

Rory McCloskey · Post by **Rory McCloskey** » 14 Sep 2005, 23:34

hell i wanna know who the person who voted no is? did they mean to click yes? htis is a no brainer, no opinions no IMO no nothing this is a no brainer simple as that. period.

vagabundo55 · Post by **vagabundo55** » 14 Sep 2005, 23:36

mr cool breeze wrote:
undisputedly_pat wrote:I like that everybody is in agreement about this, and I feel it is well deserved to.

Since the best reasons have already been mentioned, I'll posit one regarding comparison...

Ingemar Johansson is in the Hall of Fame, so it definitely stands to reason that if he can make it in, then Tyson should definitely be a shoe-in.

He did dominate, and was undisputed champion, and came back to capture 2/3 of the heavyweight championship after his rape sentence. People talk like Tyson did shit after Douglas...he was still quite a force for a little while, and came back to do impressive things, like the one I just mentioned, but he just wasn't as good as he was before the Douglas fight. He didn't deteriorate to crap right away. Even a late 1990's version of Tyson would have walked through the likes of Danny Williams and Kevin McBride, so don't act like immediately after the Douglas loss, that he was every bit as pathetic as he is now.

I agree. Had Tyson never fired Rooney, the Douglas loss would never have occurred, and God only knows what Tyson could have gone on to accomplish.

That's an excellent point as well, with Rooney, Tyson was a force to reckon with, after Rooney, well, he wasn't the same. Had Tyson kept Rooney, I think he would have reigned longer.

HeavyHitters · Post by **HeavyHitters** » 14 Sep 2005, 23:38

Youngest heavyweight champion ever. He then beat Spinks, Holmes, Tubbs, Tucker, BC Smith, Bruno, Ruddock, Seldon, Botha, Nielsen, etc.... Unified all 3 titles at one point. Became a 2 time champion later. And STILL was a threat to regain a title 18 years later.

How many heavyweights can you name that was a legit contender for 18 years!? Maybe Foreman, maybe Holmes..... who else!?? Heck Lewis was only a threat for about 12 years... 1993-2004.

He's a 100% shoo-in!

jmanginell · Post by **jmanginell** » 14 Sep 2005, 23:59

Every now and then one of these threads pop up...and there are always a couple of douchebags that want to rock the boat and call Tyson a chump. The fact remains, the guy was not only the best HW of his era, but he was an international icon that changed boxing into a much more mainstream sport than it had become. Despite what happened after the Douglass loss, it cannot be denied that Tyson was one of the most dangerous fighters of all time and will definitely be a H of Famer.

jyuza · Post by **jyuza** » 15 Sep 2005, 02:40

The real question is "Who the hell are the ones who said 'NO' to the vote ??"

I wonder if they know who is Mike Tyson ... :)

shot · Post by **shot** » 15 Sep 2005, 04:39

yes

Youngest heavyweight champion ever plus he was able to be a dominant figure long past his prime.

harley_man · Post by **harley_man** » 15 Sep 2005, 08:22

Yes- absolutely for his reign as undisputed HW champ, youngest HW champ and fame (which came long before the infamy we now all focus on).

Truth is his losses were even good (not the late ones, of course).

He lost to Douglas in a monumental upset, sure, but that is a great fight and will be watched for decades and decades. People who came to call Tyson a quitter forget that he took a huge beat down and kept coming. Great show by Douglas that night.

And Holyfield 1 and Lewis were great perfomances by fellow future HOFers.

Miz_Kommunication · Post by **Miz_Kommunication** » 15 Sep 2005, 08:53

I am curious to see what type of argument the "no's" have. There's no doubt that he deserves his place in the hall of fame. He's earned it and he should be there.

Ezzard · Post by **Ezzard** » 15 Sep 2005, 09:22

Yes. Tyson transcended the sport and cleaned up the division. I think Tyson was mentally fragile and couldn't have lived with the cream of the division's HOF's but he still deserves his place.

wlvrne · Post by **wlvrne** » 15 Sep 2005, 11:00

The "no" votes were probably a couple of posters I've done written battle with concerning their disdain for Tyson and their undying adoration for a certain heavy wt named Holmes.
Iron Mike Tyson does belong in the hall of fame based on what our venerable Mr CoolBreeze so succinctly wrote.

walshb · Post by **walshb** » 15 Sep 2005, 11:03

At his absolute peak 86-88, he was amazing but Tyson to me doesn't deserve to be considered because of his total lack of humility, class, manners and respect. These traits should most definitely be taken into acount for a real true HOFer. I don't care how god he was, how fast and powerful, the bottom line is that Tyson was and always will be a thug, bully and cry baby.I'm sick of people making excuses for him, like King and Given being his downfall. Yes they played a part in his decline along with Rooney's departure, but nobody is to blame for his temper and his total lack of temprement and digity. Nobody made him bite Holyfield or act like an animal with Lewis at the press conference or slag off Biggs for supposedly crying like a girl when Tyson hit him. These traits are despicable, and people shouldn't foget them when looking at Mike's career.

walshb · Post by **walshb** » 15 Sep 2005, 11:05

Another thing was that when Mike was up against it really, like with Evander, he crumbled...most people lost to Tyson before the bell rang, out of fear. Bonecrusher and Tucker, had they had a little bit of confidence, they would have beat Tyson, so was he really that menacing.....

Ezzard · Post by **Ezzard** » 15 Sep 2005, 11:09

I guess so much depends upon your criteria for entering the HOF.

Tyson never beat a great HW even close to their prime. He never managed to turn a losing position into a winning one. Still, he had a huge impact on the HW division and for a while did look a dead cert to be ranked amongst the very top of the all time great top 10, so he obviously impressed a lot of fight fans. He'll always have a punch. Who knows maybe in 5-10 years he'll come back and do a George Foreman...

wlvrne · Post by **wlvrne** » 15 Sep 2005, 11:16

IF a first-class A-hole like Ty Cobb can be in baseball's hall of fame, then boxing can have Tyson in their's.

The Boxing Enthusiast · Post by **The Boxing Enthusiast** » 15 Sep 2005, 15:20

Why does it say "Moved" at the beginning of this page??? Weird.

IMO,
TBE

Answer Honestly... Should Mike Tyson Be Hall Of Fame?

Should Mike make the H.O.F. when he's eligible?

Answer Honestly... Should Mike Tyson Be Hall Of Fame?

HOF Tyson!!

HOF

HOF

Re: HOF