No Man Alive Would Have Beaten.....

[BrocktonBlockbuster49]

Norton was nearly 35 when he fought holmes, was norton still in his prime then john L????

[wlvrne]

u cant critizize tysons competetion in the 80s. i could make a strong case tyson fought as good competetion as holmes in the 80s. tyson fought a lot of former champs, and some guys that gave holmes trouble and tyson dismantled them easily.

how could u critize tysons competetion if 7 of the 9 title fights were against champions?

I agree with Brockton. A person could make a case of comparing the competition that Tyson and Holmes fought. Posters here contend that Tyson's career is full of mediocre competition, but what about his title fights?
I've contended that Holmes had some pretty mediocre competition too, with the exception of 6 to 10 top fighters. I have said 6 in the past, but reading other posters' arguments, it could include 4 more.

[Cojimar 1945]

Brockton, I believe Ken Norton was only 34 when he fought Holmes whereas Walcott was 38 when he fought Marciano.

[The Great John L]

Norton was nearly 35 when he fought holmes, was norton still in his prime then john L????

No, Norton was not in his prime when he fought Holmes. I think I responded to this in another thread. Within 14 months of the Holmes fight Norton had been crushed by Shavers and held to a draw by LeDoux while getting dropped in the last round. He was still very good against Holmes, but not in his "prime".

[granberry]

No way in hell Spinks beats Evander at HW. Holyfield is way too strong for him. Just watch the way he drives little Iron Mike around the ring like a blocking sled in the 1st fight. . . .

Just watch the way Evander butts Tyson in BOTH fights.

[Taylor]

A 90 year old grandma wearing a Tyson mask would have beaten Spinks that night.

[lostinhatchend]

Reluctantly, I have to agree. Reluctantly, because he later became such a pathetic human being that I hate to give him credit for anything. But you are absolutely correct. At that stage of his career he was unbeatable. If he had not gone on to get rid of all the people who rescued him out of the gutter and made him a professional fighter, and if he had stayed on a reasonable program in his training and personal life, he undoubtedly would have retired as the greatest fighter of all time.

[Rocky Balboa]

The Tyson that showed up for the Spinks fight. Just watched it again
after several years & the speed+power he displayed was something to
behold. Tyson actually put Spinks on the canvas with a body shot &
when he took a count Mike was like "I'll Hit You Again If You Get Up!"

I'm convinced Tyson was in a different league than sluggers like Liston,
Shavers, Foreman, etc.... His killer instinct was/is UNMATCHED.

No-one is unbeatable, no matter how good they may be, how long they last etc.

As Butch Lewis once said: "That Tyson that we met that night, no other boxer professional or as an amateur, has seen that Mike Tyson. He was at the best he could possibly be, that night!"

I firmly believe Spinks was Tyson's best performance. That Tyson may have beaten every other HW great in history, who knows? Tyson who fought Spinks would have definately been competetive with any HW in history, and make no mistake, whoever would have been in the other corner, they would have been in the fight of their life against a peak Tyson.

I do agree in that you say Mike was on a different level to sluggers like Liston, Foreman, Marciano, Dempsey etc.

[Ezzard]

The Tyson that showed up for the Spinks fight. Just watched it again
after several years & the speed+power he displayed was something to
behold. Tyson actually put Spinks on the canvas with a body shot &
when he took a count Mike was like "I'll Hit You Again If You Get Up!"

I'm convinced Tyson was in a different league than sluggers like Liston,
Shavers, Foreman, etc.... His killer instinct was/is UNMATCHED.

No-one is unbeatable, no matter how good they may be, how long they last etc.

As Butch Lewis once said: "That Tyson that we met that night, no other boxer professional or as an amateur, has seen that Mike Tyson. He was at the best he could possibly be, that night!"

I firmly believe Spinks was Tyson's best performance. That Tyson may have beaten every other HW great in history, who knows? Tyson who fought Spinks would have definately been competetive with any HW in history, and make no mistake, whoever would have been in the other corner, they would have been in the fight of their life against a peak Tyson.

I do agree in that you say Mike was on a different level to sluggers like Liston, Foreman, Marciano, Dempsey etc.

But how do you know he was peak when he KO'd Spinks so easily??? I mean what evidence is there to say that he wasn't properly in shape but just banged him out of there?