BoxRec

Could Mike Tyson fight on the inside!

Obviously he could fight on the inside but was he especially good a it...? Not really. Which was odd for a fighter of his build.

Tyson was exceptional, it was the drugs, drink and women that ruined him.

He wasn't as good as he should have been.

He was often easily lured into clinches & that's when he often resorted to illegal stuff like biting & following through with his elbows.

Contrast Mike Tyson with Riddick Bowe who is much taller & has much longer arms, but was one of the best inside fighters of his or any era.

Tyson was good from short range, in fact phenomenal, but what he wasn't good at, was working in the clinches. He would just hold and foul until the ref broke them up. Tyson always got very frustrated when he couldn't have his hands free to punch.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:Tyson was good from short range, in fact phenomenal, but what he wasn't good at, was working in the clinches. He would just hold and foul until the ref broke them up. Tyson always got very frustrated when he couldn't have his hands free to punch.

When he was motivated he'd whack away with his free hand, in the Biggs bout he worked inside to hurt Biggs' body.

palooka wrote:

jamesmcdonnell wrote:Tyson was good from short range, in fact phenomenal, but what he wasn't good at, was working in the clinches. He would just hold and foul until the ref broke them up. Tyson always got very frustrated when he couldn't have his hands free to punch.

When he was motivated he'd whack away with his free hand, in the Biggs bout he worked inside to hurt Biggs' body.

Yes, true, but he was never exactly comfortable in the clinches.

I know it wouldnt of suited his style but did prime tyson have the feet to be fleet footed , to get up on his toes and dance around the ring like ali ? .

ILikeBeer wrote:I know it wouldnt of suited his style but did prime tyson have the feet to be fleet footed , to get up on his toes and dance around the ring like ali ? .

no...but tyson was quick on his feet but not in a back peddling way

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

palooka wrote:

jamesmcdonnell wrote:Tyson was good from short range, in fact phenomenal, but what he wasn't good at, was working in the clinches. He would just hold and foul until the ref broke them up. Tyson always got very frustrated when he couldn't have his hands free to punch.

When he was motivated he'd whack away with his free hand, in the Biggs bout he worked inside to hurt Biggs' body.

Yes, true, but he was never exactly comfortable in the clinches.

i think that had a lot to do with that fact the other guy was normally 6 inchs taller than mike so they would lean down on him

stevedoc wrote:

ILikeBeer wrote:I know it wouldnt of suited his style but did prime tyson have the feet to be fleet footed , to get up on his toes and dance around the ring like ali ? .

no...but tyson was quick on his feet but not in a back peddling way

There are videos of the young Tyson training - hitting the bag etc etc and he is as fast as a lightweight, absolutely unbelievable speed for a heavyweight.

palooka wrote:

stevedoc wrote:

ILikeBeer wrote:I know it wouldnt of suited his style but did prime tyson have the feet to be fleet footed , to get up on his toes and dance around the ring like ali ? .

no...but tyson was quick on his feet but not in a back peddling way

There are videos of the young Tyson training - hitting the bag etc etc and he is as fast as a lightweight, absolutely unbelievable speed for a heavyweight.

i had tyson's poster on my wall when i was 18 i loved him so fast so powerful he seemed unbeatable .a mate of mine was at a ameuteur tournament in finland/norway i forget which one with tyson when tyson was about 15 and he came back and told me about this monster child that was tyson not just the boxing but he was shagging anything that moved not bad at 15..

Tyson was the man in the late 80's early 90's full stop.

ILikeBeer wrote:I know it wouldnt of suited his style but did prime tyson have the feet to be fleet footed , to get up on his toes and dance around the ring like ali ? .

wrong site

mike john wrote:

ILikeBeer wrote:I know it wouldnt of suited his style but did prime tyson have the feet to be fleet footed , to get up on his toes and dance around the ring like ali ? .

wrong site

Weird question. Why would a 5 foot 10 guy with a 68 inch reach employ a style suited to a much taller guy with a longer reach?

I believe if Tyson was took care of properly instead of the gangsters who could only see dollar signs, he would have beaten Marciano's record. Tyson would have been the best heavyweight the world had ever produced, at that time. Tyson's downfall was women, but im truly believe he didn't rape that Washington woman, she must have known what was going to happen that night. Also that gold digger wife of his ruined him physcologically.

Too many hangers on that was more interested in quick bucks. Tyson was awesome, scary, and could pack a punch. No doubt in my mind he was a effing great fighter.

mimmy123 wrote:I believe if Tyson was took care of properly instead of the gangsters who could only see dollar signs, he would have beaten Marciano's record. Tyson would have been the best heavyweight the world had ever produced, at that time. Tyson's downfall was women, but im truly believe he didn't rape that Washington woman, she must have known what was going to happen that night. Also that gold digger wife of his ruined him physcologically.

Too many hangers on that was more interested in quick bucks. Tyson was awesome, scary, and could pack a punch. No doubt in my mind he was a effing great fighter.

Tyson's problem, was that he was badly psychologically damaged. Even Cus D'Amato was beginning to find him impossible to deal with, as Tyson became richer and more egotistical, he started running wild.

He would always have surrounded himself with pimps, hustlers and scumbags, because those were the people he felt most comfortable around - he was a street hoodlum.

Tyson was totally under robin givens spell, because deep down he was still a scared little boy from Brownville, who hadn't the smarts to deal with a slick operator.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

mimmy123 wrote:I believe if Tyson was took care of properly instead of the gangsters who could only see dollar signs, he would have beaten Marciano's record. Tyson would have been the best heavyweight the world had ever produced, at that time. Tyson's downfall was women, but im truly believe he didn't rape that Washington woman, she must have known what was going to happen that night. Also that gold digger wife of his ruined him physcologically.

Too many hangers on that was more interested in quick bucks. Tyson was awesome, scary, and could pack a punch. No doubt in my mind he was a effing great fighter.

Tyson's problem, was that he was badly psychologically damaged. Even Cus D'Amato was beginning to find him impossible to deal with, as Tyson became richer and more egotistical, he started running wild.

He would always have surrounded himself with pimps, hustlers and scumbags, because those were the people he felt most comfortable around - he was a street hoodlum.

Tyson was totally under robin givens spell, because deep down he was still a scared little boy from Brownville, who hadn't the smarts to deal with a slick operator.

You gotta love the Tyson mad as a hatter

mimmy123 wrote:I believe if Tyson was took care of properly instead of the gangsters who could only see dollar signs, he would have beaten Marciano's record. Tyson would have been the best heavyweight the world had ever produced, at that time. Tyson's downfall was women, but im truly believe he didn't rape that Washington woman, she must have known what was going to happen that night. Also that gold digger wife of his ruined him physcologically.

Too many hangers on that was more interested in quick bucks. Tyson was awesome, scary, and could pack a punch. No doubt in my mind he was a effing great fighter.

He was great but he folded everytime it got seriously tough. Thats just something inbuilt in him and would have always prevented him from being the greatest.

Smith and Tucker handled him easily on the inside. Holyfield outfought him there.

Tyson was trained to beat Holmes. To move forward, slip and jab and counter. And he was fantastic at it. He had an underrated jab of his own too. But he was easily nullified up close to be considered a great inside fighter or even a particularly good one.

Ezzard wrote:Smith and Tucker handled him easily on the inside. Holyfield outfought him there.

Tyson was trained to beat Holmes. To move forward, slip and jab and counter. And he was fantastic at it. He had an underrated jab of his own too. But he was easily nullified up close to be considered a great inside fighter or even a particularly good one.

Er, Smith held onto him like an amorous octopus for almost the entire 12 rounds, losing every single round, I'd hardly say that was handling him easy. Tucker too lost hands down, again, not exactly a successful strategy. They were both just doing everything they could to survive. Smith should have been DQ'd it was one of the most negative displays I've ever seen in a heavyweight world title fight, right up there with Akinwande.

Ezzard wrote:Smith and Tucker handled him easily on the inside. Holyfield outfought him there.

Tyson was trained to beat Holmes. To move forward, slip and jab and counter. And he was fantastic at it. He had an underrated jab of his own too. But he was easily nullified up close to be considered a great inside fighter or even a particularly good one.

Holyfield was a terrific combination puncher, and one of the best ever at heavyweight at fighting in the Pocket. If he'd had a bigger punch, Holyfield would have been an absolute monster at heavy, as it was, he was still an ATG, just not quite as scary a propostion as he would have been with one punch ko power.

lillywhite14 wrote:

mimmy123 wrote:I believe if Tyson was took care of properly instead of the gangsters who could only see dollar signs, he would have beaten Marciano's record. Tyson would have been the best heavyweight the world had ever produced, at that time. Tyson's downfall was women, but im truly believe he didn't rape that Washington woman, she must have known what was going to happen that night. Also that gold digger wife of his ruined him physcologically.

Too many hangers on that was more interested in quick bucks. Tyson was awesome, scary, and could pack a punch. No doubt in my mind he was a effing great fighter.

He was great but he folded everytime it got seriously tough. Thats just something inbuilt in him and would have always prevented him from being the greatest.

he didn't fold vs ruddock ,he didn't fold vs douglas in fact he took some wicked shots vs both these fighters even the holyfield fight he never folded he was just beat in the first fight . i guess the same could be said of ray leonard after he folded vs norris and camacho

Does anyone think Tyson could be slightly older than he actually is? It's just I've never seen a human body so well developed at 18.