No, I’m not going to write an article questioning whether if his former trainer, Cus D’Amato, had still been alive, would Tyson have retired undefeated.
Or, if a ‘prime’ Iron Mike could have beaten a prime Muhammad Ali.
This is an article about how Mike Tyson sucked in a generation of casual and non-fans into the sport of boxing and then dropped the floor from beneath them with nothing left to hold on to.
The Heavyweight division has always been referred to as the “Golden Division,” or even the “Money Division”. It’s earned these names because anyone who follows boxing, and especially those who help grease the gears of the Sweet Science, knows that if the heavyweight division is strong, so is the sport. It’s why having a dominant or exciting champion is so important to promoters, managers and even the fighters themselves.
When 18-year old Michael Gerard Tyson first climbed through the ropes as a professional in 1985, he began a whirlwind of excitement accentuated with early round knockouts. It wasn’t just that this young, bundle of fury was knocking out stiffs in less time than it takes Larry Merchant to become disgruntled, it was the way he was putting his opponents to sleep. He had the speed of a welterweight, heavyweight power in both hands, and the aggressiveness of a pit-bull. It wasn’t uncommon to witness a five or six punch combination resulting in horrific results.
In most instances, the last four punches weren’t even necessary as the fighter receiving the brutal end of a six-punch set were unconscious after the first two found their mark.
This is how it would follow for the next three years. During that span, Tyson would face thirty-four opponents knocking-out all but four. The last of that group was the undefeated, Ring Magazine champion, Michael Spinks. Spinks earned that title after defeating the then IBF heavyweight champ, Larry Holmes, with two controversial decision wins.
However, he would relinquish that title after Spinks refused to take part in the unification tournament for all three recognized straps; the WBC, the WBA and the IBF - a tournament that Tyson won handily.
Having never lost the title in the ring, and considering that Holmes was the legitimate lineal champion when Spinks beat him, Ring Magazine, along with fans and boxing experts considered him to be the real heavyweight champion.
Some publications felt Spinks had the experience, reach and size to keep Tyson at bay and eek out a 12-round decision. Some even suggested that he had a legitimate shot at stopping Mike before the final bell rang.
They were all wrong. What unfolded was the complete and utter destruction and domination of one fighter over another. Not just physically, but mentally. Spinks was scared walking into the Lions den and Tyson knew it. Ninety-one seconds and two knockdowns later, Mike Tyson was still the undisputed and undefeated heavyweight champion of the world.
This is what people considered to be the peak of Tyson’s career. After this bout, Tyson would marry Robin Givens, dump long-time trainer Kevin Rooney (his last real link to D’Amato) and begin associating with Don King.
He was never the same. But that is story for another day.
Before all of that transpired Mike Tyson was the perfect boxing machine. To understand how dominant he was perceived to be, if he lost a round, it was considered first page material. Tyson rarely took a step back, had never been knocked down or even seriously challenged. Not only could Tyson stop you with a variety of punches, but his defense was also of legendary proportions. D’Amato instilled his famous ‘Peek-A-Boo’ style for the shorter, stockier Tyson. With both hands mounted to the side of his head, Mike would bob-and-weave through jabs and crosses, until he was on top of you, unleashing his lightning quick and thunderous hands.
Tyson provided his fans with something they rarely see today from the big men of boxing – excitement. He had no interest in building comfortable leads on the judges score cards. No wish in wasting rounds, sizing his opponent up. He came at you with both hands blazing. He was a throw-back fighter, not a businessman like so many contemporary pugilists seem to be these days. In fact, even his ring entrance and wardrobe were of the no-nonsense variety. Wearing solid black trunks and black shoes with no socks, Tyson would enter the ring wearing only a white towel, cut to fit over his head. Quite simply, he had an aura about him. An aura of raw destruction and invincibility.
To put it into perspective, he was to boxing what Tiger Woods means to golf.
He pulled in fans from all walks of life. People who had never watched a professional boxing match were paying top dollar to purchase his hefty pay-per-view bouts. Magazines and newspapers flew off of stands when a story of Tyson was printed.
And so, after Mike faded from the boxing world, he left millions of fans, whom he pulled in, holding their hands. What’s next?
The heavyweight division today is in ruins. Most of the fighters holding a belt are from the former Soviet Union, with names you can barely pronounce while many of the contenders lack characteristics or abilities that can hold fans interests.
The recognized champion today is Wladimir Klitschko; a smart, intelligent, wonderfully talented fighter albeit a hesitant one. Protecting a suspect chin, he routinely eats up rounds, battering his opponents with a strong jab, until he feels comfortable pursuing the knockout. It’s a wise strategy and one that has made him both successful and rich. Even so, while it’s allowed him to keep his opponents at bay, it’s had the same effect on fans.
The sad truth is we’ll never see another Mike Tyson. His combination of speed, power and ruthlessness might never manifest itself again in a boxer. ‘He’ might be out there right now, but chances are he’s using those abilities on a basketball court or flattening quarterbacks on the gridiron.
This is the problem that boxing faces today. Mike Tyson created a standard that is nearly impossible to duplicate; a heavyweight fighter that was actually worth the price of admission.
His days, and those days, are long gone. The only things left are the myth of Tyson and a legion of uninterested fans.
Hopefully there’s a kid in a gym right now, hammering away on a heavy-bag, or forcing sparring partners to reconsider the choices they’ve made in their lives. If he’s out there, he needs to emerge quickly. Boxing is fading from the minds of the casual fan almost as swiftly as Tyson dispatched fighters in the 80’s.
Henry Dyck
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3 months ago
awesome article...........i dont even know what else to say.
3 months ago
Excellent article, and being a huge Tyson fan I find it sad but true. Tyson couldn't fight going backwards and lacked versatility, but his combination of speed, power, excitement, aggression, chin, and elusiveness were legendary. He did have somewhat of a quiter's mentality which manifested itself towards the end of his career, but what he accomplished between 18 and 23 was truly amazing. In addition people forget that he won back 2 thirds of the heavyweight title after rotting in prison for almost 4 years, and his performance in the rematch with Bruno was vintage Tyson. That was the last great performance of his career. He made a lot of bad decisions both in and out of the ring. It was sad seeing him against Lewis and subsequently against Williams and Mc Bride. It was analogous to seeing Elvis at the end, but even Elvis as bad as he looked sounded better than ever weeks before his death. I'm glad that you gave Klitschko credit because I think that he is a tremendously talented heavyweight and one of the most gifted ever. Too bad he had those knockout losses earlier in his career because he has all time great potential. Hopefully he'll end his career in a strong manner and will have cleaned out the divison (something Tyson did in the 80's) which is all you can ask of a fighter.
3 months ago
wow what an ignorant writer. Tyson saved boxing and then when the division was so pathetic after he went to jail it suffered. Then when he came back and won back 2 titles and lost to Holyfield, Holyfield and Lewis were the main guys to beat in the division, and they were 2 of the most BORING fighters in history. That is why heavyweight boxing sucks. But still, the welterweight and middleweight divisions have been very exciting to watch lately. Just last night Arthur Abraham destroyed Edison Miranda by knocking him down 3 times in round 4, that was exciting.
from 3 months ago
Calling a writer ignorant because you disagree with his opinion is flat out classless. The whole point of this forum is for us to write and contribute our thoughts. Name calling like that contributed nothing.
3 months ago
Daniel, that's my point. Tyson sucked a lot of non-fans into the sport, with his incredibly explosive style, and then when he left, or was a shell of his former self, there wasn't anything to keep their interest.
It's why guys like Lewis or Klitschko never get the respect they deserved. Because everyone wants that seemingly invincible champ with blazing speed and crazy power to sweep the division. But that type of fighter will probably never manifest itself again. Tyson, in the 80's, was a freak of nature. Nobody should be compared to what he brought into the ring nearly every night.
And regarding the lighter divisions, you're right. As a boxing fan I love watching fighters like Pavlik, Pacquiao or Israel Vazquez. But if you're a causal fan, you've never heard of these guys or care for anyone under 200lbs.
There's a vast collection of people out there that got interested in boxing only for Tyson and the heavyweight division. And now that there's nobody out there with the same kind of excitement or fighting style that Tyson possessed, they've lost interest.
That was the whole point to my article. Tyson created a standard that will probably never be matched. And it's left a lot of casual fans in the dust ignoring the sport.
3 months ago
Are you sure your name isn't really Burt Sugar? Common people don't have this skill of writing.
3 months ago
Excellent article. Gretzky made us hockey fans. Jordan and Byrd made us basketball fans. Tiger makes us golf fans. Tyson made us boxing fans.
If only Tyson's downfall hadn't been so devastating for the sport...
2 months ago
..mike tyson is a great american tragedy..incidently he is not ranked anywhere as the top ten(heavyweight) in history..he failed to beat the two men he needed to beat(holyfield and lewis)...lennox lewis has avenged or beaten every fighter he ever faced ..i consider lennox lewis to be in the top 5(heavyweight) boxers in history of the sport...my opinon.(great article /thank you).
about 1 month ago
Stoker you are right,, Tyson is possibly the greatest American tragedy and maybe one of the saddest cases of wasted talent ever. He never beat the two guys he needed to beat Lewis and Holyfield, this is true, However neither guy(Lewis or Holyfield) and I'm a fan of both,, were good enough to beat Mike in his prime. Maybe see it this way,, If it took Lewis 8 and a bit rounds to knock out a completely shot Tyson and he was completely shot by the time they met, and Lewis landing over a dozen seriously heavy blows throughout that fight as he did,, the kind that leveled Hasim Rahman and others with one,,,, Could you imagine what a fully skilled , hungry and conditioned Mike Tyson would do to Lewis ?
A)Lewis would not have landed anywhere near as often because he wouldn't have been good enough or quick enough and B) He would not have been able to stand up to the same kind of blows as what Tyson was able to take of his, His jab would've been effective but not damaging like it was in this fight because Mike would've come in side to side and really quickly.
Lewis was a lumbering slow footed giant with awesome reach and power and a great ability to use it against this generation of mediocre talent and I include a shot Tyson in this group too but Lewis couldn't take the big shot and thus means that had he and Mike fought both at their best,, Tyson more than likely would've knocked Lewis out within 5 one sided rounds or sooner.
We forget how good this guy was,,, he was a child prodigy who at 15 couldn't find sparring partners accross the USA because he was knocking them out effortlessly,, these were grown men with seasoned boxing ability brought in by Cus D'mato and Jim Jacobs.
Lewis was a great champion, more by the fact of what he achieved and how he conducted himself as a champion rather than his skill as a fighter and don't get me wrong he was a very very good boxer(A gold medalist in Seoul, However, Bowe was bashing him stupid until Lewis landed a big haymaker,,Watch the tape) but he was no Mike Tyson, Tyson was once every 30 years and I just hope the next time/if we are lucky enough to get someone like that again, we can look after them better and not let them get consumed and destroyed by the Robin Givens and Don Kings of this world.
My opinion also, Cheers.
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