why do people think tyson is so overrated.........

[butterfly1964]

i will admit he is a little overrated by hardcore fans but people who dont like him underrate him alot.

yeah, that's true. i have him ranked 6th on my all time list. under ali, liston, holmes, foreman, and frazier.

[Verstyle]

He lost to Douglas before prison, Ali was stripped of his title, Joe Louis had a war to deal with they were still great champions, other fighters have had bad injuries, others have had illness, people die close to them etc etc etc, why make excuses?It obviously affected his career but IF he had of been so good in the first place like Ali and Louis he would have regained all the titles and held onto them!

I'm not saying he was a bad fighter, he wasn't he was awesome and was a top ten all time great but in my opinion he was overated!

okay thats true but with all of that they could still properly train. like ali he got stripped buuuuut he was still out on the street doing interviews and such. and joe louis/ he was in the war mainly for a publicity stunt,he really didnt do ****, he would have exhibition matches when he was in the service with the ring and everything . and we got iron mike which was in jail and had to be told what to do 24hrs a day, he couldnt train properly because they didnt have the proper equipment to do so cause he wasnt in the real world like ali and louis was. uhhggggggg that felt good to get that out!!

[butterfly1964]

okay thats true but with all of that they could still properly train. like ali he got stripped buuuuut he was still out on the street doing interviews and such. and joe louis/ he was in the war mainly for a publicity stunt,he really didnt do ****, he would have exhibition matches when he was in the service with the ring and everything . and we got iron mike which was in jail and had to be told what to do 24hrs a day, he couldnt train properly because they didnt have the proper equipment to do so cause he wasnt in the real world like ali and louis was. uhhggggggg that felt good to get that out!!

well, ali was under phychological stress cause of the vietnam thing that did not permit him to train enough during the layoff, that's why he lost his speed.

[Verstyle]

well, ali was under phychological stress cause of the vietnam thing that did not permit him to train enough during the layoff, that's why he lost his speed.

but that guy is trying to say that if louis and ali can do it why no tyson. and every1 knows that it was immpossible to train cause your not in the real world like ali and louis was he was in jail(a building u cant leave until your sentence is up.)u think they were going to let a ****in mike tyson train in jail?? **** NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!thats like giving bill gates a computer with the internet in jail.

[Da Iceman]

okay thats true but with all of that they could still properly train. like ali he got stripped buuuuut he was still out on the street doing interviews and such. and joe louis/ he was in the war mainly for a publicity stunt,he really didnt do ****, he would have exhibition matches when he was in the service with the ring and everything . and we got iron mike which was in jail and had to be told what to do 24hrs a day, he couldnt train properly because they didnt have the proper equipment to do so cause he wasnt in the real world like ali and louis was. uhhggggggg that felt good to get that out!!

joe did do alot of exhibitions but he still lost skill

[Verstyle]

joe did do alot of exhibitions but he still lost skill

whast worse having the opportunity to train? or not having the opportunity to train and just watch as your talent rotten's away.

[MickyHatton]

whast worse having the opportunity to train? or not having the opportunity to train and just watch as your talent rotten's away.

I obviously see your point but its not like he was locked away in irons for 20 years!

When he came out he still talked a great fight and did win a title back, but when he met Holyfield and Lewis they were too much for him.

Fighters like Leonard and Foreman had much longer lays offs (ok not locked up but they didn't train) and returned to win titles.

The thing is Tyson probably hit his peak before the Douglas fight, he was very young and it all came together for him early, the bottom line is could he ever have beaten Holyfield or Lewis, maybe, maybe not.
The cold hard facts are that a perfectly fit and healthy Mike Tyson fought those nights, the Tyson fans were all expecting a Tyson victory but after he lost to both THEN excuses were offered.
Mike was in prison, Mike lost Cus, Mike came from the ******, NO Mike Tyson on the night was beaten by better fighers, in the Lewis case he wasn't just beaten he was outclassed.

As I mentioned I am a Tyson fan but I'm also a boxing fan and look at the facts without bias and rose tinted glasses and what amazes me is the denial of fans on here to these facts.

People convieniantly forget that Tyson was convicted of ****, when losing to Holyfield bit half his ear off, they forget that Tyson threatened to eat Lewis's children, tried to break Botha's arm and beat up an old man over a driving dispute!

They 'forget' becuase they are still in awe of Iron Mike Tyson from the eighties and will run to his defence at the drop of a hat without realising that all of Mikes problems in and out of the ring were caused by Mike and he therefore is to blame for a great champion that never quite lived up to expectations!

[Da Iceman]

he couldnt really train like he used to in the army, and most people start to get diminished skills with old age, look at holyfield

[Imira]

joe did do alot of exhibitions but he still lost skill

You're right...to an extent.

Before going into the army, Louis had already done the bulk of his work as heavyweight champion anyway. As far as the diminishing of his ability, the only thing I noticed was his footwork was a bit slower and his handspeed had gone down a notch. The bone shattering power was still there. Out of his final four defenses, only one man survived to the end of the fight and that was Walcott.

[hellfire508]

I agree with the notion that he is overrated by some, underrated by some. I think he is primarily underrated in terms of head-to-head, and overrated in terms of greatness. With the exception of the likes of Foreman, Ali and a few others - I think Tyson beats most heavyweights all time. Yet - he doesn't make my top 10. He is 11.