Early MIKE TYSON: Amazing!

[Jasonny5895]

I AM NO BOXING EXPERT, but have trained kickboxing, boxing and wrestling for years as well been an athlete for most of my life and can safely say that Mike Tysons early pro fights are some of the most impressive and dominant footage Ive ever seen PERIOD!

There is a special on espn 2 and it shows his first 20 or so pro fights (lasting like an hr. because he' knocking everyone head off in the first). He has lighting quick hands/feet, insane head movement and a the most devastating hook Ive ever seen.

I am 27 so my viewing of Tyson was mostly post cus/rooney era and have never seen this footage, and just wish this man didnt fall off track because he appeared poised, and compsed in the ring and was a monster like Ive never seen. He even acted like a gentleman after knocking them out with zero arogance. It also gives me great appreciation for the power of a great trainer in cus/rooney for harnessing his ability and his personality the way they did.

Please if you have a chance see this special, it shows what an awsome fighter he was, beyond the self destructive nonsense.

 

[surge_factor]

Physical dominance is only one part of the fight game, as you would know well, having trained.

Mike is proof that you can have million dollar natural talents and still fall short of being the best ever because you can't deal with being pressured, being put beyond your zone of comfort in the ring and being forced to really dig deep down in that intangible reserve of human will to win.

Impressive in and of themselves, those early fights are indeed that. But when taken in the context of his whole career you start to realize how they only represent situations where his physical skills alone, when brought to bear, could win him the fight.

 

[BrooklynBomber]

You're right, you're no boxing expert.

 

[BobbyBrez]

Ha. Good to have you back.

 

[pitfighter1]

mike was great until he hooked up with don king. runing into buster douglas dident help either

 

[omgitsrick]

Mike had all the talent in the world, but didn't have the intelligence to utilize it to his full potential.

 

[Z-Rex]

Physical dominance is only one part of the fight game, as you would know well, having trained.

Mike is proof that you can have million dollar natural talents and still fall short of being the best ever because you can't deal with being pressured, being put beyond your zone of comfort in the ring and being forced to really dig deep down in that intangible reserve of human will to win.

Impressive in and of themselves, those early fights are indeed that. But when taken in the context of his whole career you start to realize how they only represent situations where his physical skills alone, when brought to bear, could win him the fight.

Well said bro. I agree 100%

 

[Jasonny5895]

Physical dominance is only one part of the fight game, as you would know well, having trained.

Mike is proof that you can have million dollar natural talents and still fall short of being the best ever because you can't deal with being pressured, being put beyond your zone of comfort in the ring and being forced to really dig deep down in that intangible reserve of human will to win.

Impressive in and of themselves, those early fights are indeed that. But when taken in the context of his whole career you start to realize how they only represent situations where his physical skills alone, when brought to bear, could win him the fight.

Guys I 100% agree with you all, I only started this thread because I am from a generation that knows him as a self distructive maniac, with little appreciation for the skills he possesed beyond his power.

I agree that this shows even with the physical tools, one must still have the intelligence and mental functioning to be a true champion, however at the same time showed the impact of a good trainer.

This thread was just a reflection of my surprise (believe it or not) of just how good he was early in his career, before all the nonsense took over. I think one could argue at his prime he would have been a tall task for anyone to tackle with his hand speed, head movement and down right explosiveness.

Thanks guys for all the feedback

 

[Colinfirth]

Mike was great at his peak, but wasnt proffesional enough and didnt have the discipline to live his life right. His career could have turned out differnent with more guidance/

 

[Jasonny5895]

I believe his true flaw was not in intelligence but was how impressionable he was. It was very positive when he had great people around him. If you watch his earlier fights, he did not celebrate after, taunt, but rather went over to usually unconscious person and greeted them. He was a product of his coahes teachings in fighting and in social behavior

However, this same personality trait ended up being his down fall when he met the wrong ppl, that took him off track, and seemed to focus to much on his knock out ability and not his head movement and hand speed, and defense.

 

[Valiss]

He was the MC Hammer of boxing.

 

[Jasonny5895]

He was the MC Hammer of boxing.

I disagree, I would say more like the jimmy Hendrix, but for hendrix it was death for Tyson it was Don king/prison.

An unbelievable talent, that was taken (****phorically) before we could see his true potential.

 

[BR]

I disagree, I would say more like the jimmy Hendrix, but for hendrix it was death for Tyson it was Don king/prison.

An unbelievable talent, that was taken (****phorically) before we could see his true potential.

I would say not. He was no phenom, bottom line is he never fought elite heavies aside from Spinks and Spinks had moved up. If your looking for guys to compare to Hendrix I would point you to Salavador Sanchez. Accomplished what it takes most fighters do by the age of 23 when he died. Tyson is not on that level. He was good, but not great. You might want to check out Ike Ibeabuchi as well. He was suppose to be the next Tyson, gave Chris Byrd the worse beating of his life (Byrd also fought both Klitscko's and Holyfield; beat Holy and Vitili Klitscko) only to get sent to prison before he got to where Tyson was.

 

[Jasonny5895]

I would say not. He was no phenom, bottom line is he never fought elite heavies aside from Spinks and Spinks had moved up. If your looking for guys to compare to Hendrix I would point you to Salavador Sanchez. Accomplished what it takes most fighters do by the age of 23 when he died. Tyson is not on that level. He was good, but not great. You might want to check out Ike Ibeabuchi as well. He was suppose to be the next Tyson, gave Chris Byrd the worse beating of his life (Byrd also fought both Klitscko's and Holyfield; beat Holy and Vitili Klitscko) only to get sent to prison before he got to where Tyson was.

Thanks for info, I will research these fighters careers to learn about them more and try and asses the comparison

 

[pr0ne2gr8tness]

i ve been watching a lot of old floyd patterson footage and its uncanny the similarity in styles with tyson (i do realise the cus d amato connection) basically tyson is a harder punching version of floyd with a better chin

 

[pr0ne2gr8tness]

I would say not. He was no phenom, bottom line is he never fought elite heavies aside from Spinks and Spinks had moved up. If your looking for guys to compare to Hendrix I would point you to Salavador Sanchez. Accomplished what it takes most fighters do by the age of 23 when he died. Tyson is not on that level. He was good, but not great. You might want to check out Ike Ibeabuchi as well. He was suppose to be the next Tyson, gave Chris Byrd the worse beating of his life (Byrd also fought both Klitscko's and Holyfield; beat Holy and Vitili Klitscko) only to get sent to prison before he got to where Tyson was.

david tua is a pretty good recent tyson clone with out the speed and defensive capabilities ( early tyson of course :icon_twis )

 

[alown4ge]

Thanks for the reminder bro, you can pretty much take the bi-monthly tyson ball-licking thread honors, I won't give a shit.

 

[Jasonny5895]

Thanks for the reminder bro, you can pretty much take the bi-monthly tyson ball-licking thread honors, I won't give a shit.

I wouldnt call this thread "ball licking" but I guess its been overdone and thats the sherdog way of reactong to that. I havent even thought about him in years, I started it just because Ive been training in Muay thai lately, and have been wanting to seperately train some classic boxing to adress head movement and other areas not focused on so much in muay thai.

The other night as im searching for a good dvd on the internet to get some boxing drills to work on when im in the gym training my thai boxing for head movement, I came across all these old fights and saw him the way I never got to see him due to my age and his career.

So sorry all if this is overdone, just wanted to hear some real boxers and analysts opinion on his abilities, because I was blown away with his head movement, defense, hand speed and explosiveness

 

[pitfighter1]

prime mike would have killed wladimir klitscho

 

[Dogmeat]

I believe his true flaw was not in intelligence but was how impressionable he was. It was very positive when he had great people around him. If you watch his earlier fights, he did not celebrate after, taunt, but rather went over to usually unconscious person and greeted them. He was a product of his coahes teachings in fighting and in social behavior

However, this same personality trait ended up being his down fall when he met the wrong ppl, that took him off track, and seemed to focus to much on his knock out ability and not his head movement and hand speed, and defense.

I know this subject has been done to death, but who cares?

Agree completely with this post - in the 'fallen champ' documentary (which was made before his release from prison) they say that they wanted to keep him in the ring and in the gym and not let him get distracted at all by the temptations and superstardom

When he was living in the house with other boxers and following a spartan regime, he was a beast, but also humble. It was when he started to be surrounded by businessmen, an ever growing entourage and people telling him to spend his money that he slipped off the path

Doesn't excuse him for becoming a headcase, but wondering how Tyson would have done with a strong team around him is one of those great "what ifs" in boxing. He may have an army of blind nuthuggers, but you can't deny the mans tools