How would a well motivated undistracted Tyson have fought in his 30s?

[MartialMind]

In the modern era it's almost assumed a HW will not peak or be in his prime until he hits his 30s. For Tyson it was the inverse he peaked very early and his 30s were a down-spin for his career.

What if Tyson avoided the distractions and the shady figures who set him on the wrong course. How would have been as a fighter in his 30s?

[QueensburyRules]

In the modern era it's almost assumed a HW will not peak or be in his prime until he hits his 30s. For Tyson it was the inverse he peaked very early and his 30s were a down-spin for his career.

What if Tyson avoided the distractions and the shady figures who set him on the wrong course. How would have been as a fighter in his 30s?

- -Big Duh fo U...

[Luilun]

Cus Amato stated if Mike Tyson has no distractions he will be the Best Heavyweight of all time well we know the story. Cus died DonKing to over fired Rooney which was the biggest mistake ever. Which created the self destruction of Mike Tyson with the help of Don King of course

[MartialMind]

Cus Amato stated if Mike Tyson has no distractions he will be the Best Heavyweight of all time well we know the story. Cus died DonKing to over fired Rooney which was the biggest mistake ever. Which created the self destruction of Mike Tyson with the help of Don King of course

Based on that scenario could an early 30s Tyson have actually been a better boxer than his early 20s self?

Of the big 3 current HW's (leaving aside Ruiz for the moment) I don't think anyone would argue Johsua, Fury and Wilder were better in their early 20s than now in their early 30s.

[a.rihn]

In his prime, his two biggest skills were his strength and his speed. For most boxers, those two elements don't tend to improve with Virtually no one improves for speed, and while a few fighters do develop heavier punches later in their years (I'm reminded of Micky Ward), that's not typically applicable to fighters who began with heavy hands. So strength and speed stay the same, even still diminish, from 20s to 30s.

Where Tyson got into trouble was with fighters who could take him the distance, or most of the way. Arguably, this is where I could see a strong Tyson in his 30s would perhaps have gained some edge over the Tyson in his 20s. That's experience, ring IQ, and being able to successfully implement a different strategy mid-fight.

[BKM-]

His style wasn't designed for it. He carried a lot of muscle on his 5'10 frame which he was using a very explosive and athletic peak a boo style for, it caused a ton of wear and tear on his back, knees and other joints with that kind of training and fighting. he would never be better in his 30s.

The truth is that they designed Tyson's bobbing and weaving, which was extremely taxing on the body, to be effective in the early and mid portion of the fight. By that point he should have already scored a KO or be ahead on the cards by a wide margin. You can see it in all of his fights, that great defense that his fans cream over would decrease significantly by the middle of the fight if the opponent lasted long enough. It uses way too much energy for a guy who carries that much muscle mass.

[F l i c k e r]

His style wasn't designed for it. He carried a lot of muscle on his 5'10 frame which he was using a very explosive and athletic peak a boo style for, it caused a ton of wear and tear on his back, knees and other joints with that kind of training and fighting. he would never be better in his 30s.

The truth is that they designed Tyson's bobbing and weaving, which was extremely taxing on the body, to be effective in the early and mid portion of the fight. By that point he should have already scored a KO or be ahead on the cards by a wide margin. You can see it in all of his fights, that great defense that his fans cream over would decrease significantly by the middle of the fight if the opponent lasted long enough. It uses way too much energy for a guy who carries that much muscle mass.

This man here knows his stuff. Good s.hit man. Exactly this.

[QueensburyRules]

Based on that scenario could an early 30s Tyson have actually been a better boxer than his early 20s self?

Of the big 3 current HW's (leaving aside Ruiz for the moment) I don't think anyone would argue Johsua, Fury and Wilder were better in their early 20s than now in their early 30s.

- -What grade U in?

[The Old LefHook]

His style wasn't designed for it. He carried a lot of muscle on his 5'10 frame which he was using a very explosive and athletic peak a boo style for, it caused a ton of wear and tear on his back, knees and other joints with that kind of training and fighting. he would never be better in his 30s.

The truth is that they designed Tyson's bobbing and weaving, which was extremely taxing on the body, to be effective in the early and mid portion of the fight. By that point he should have already scored a KO or be ahead on the cards by a wide margin. You can see it in all of his fights, that great defense that his fans cream over would decrease significantly by the middle of the fight if the opponent lasted long enough. It uses way too much energy for a guy who carries that much muscle mass.

Ah! I was going to say something like that but you have said it better.

[Rusty Tromboni]

Tyson would have definitely improved fighting on the inside.

I'm not pretending he was anywhere near his best against Holyfield, but Holyfield beat him on the inside because that was the underdeveloped portion of his skillset.

Tyson would have been a lot like Patterson in that the diminishing reflexes and explosiveness would have meant that his style needed to adapt to accommodate his body's odometer. He probably would have turned into a more Tua-like fighter. Still, using more head-movement, body punches, and combinations, but no the peek-abo style. Far less kinetic.

If you look at most fighters who primed young, they retired before ever reaching their prime. Jimmy McLarnin had about 70 fights and retired just before his 29th birthday.

Andthat's not considering the consequences of brain trauma. Ibeabuchi went off the rails just as a consequence of the Tua fight. Boxing is brutal, and head trauma ages a fighter no matter howfit his body remains.

Mike would have lasted longer and continured to do great things. But eventually he would have needed to retire, or he would have fallen victim to Lennox Lewis.