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Good but not great
Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes debate
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Tyson was a clear front runner and didn’t respond well to adversity ....had poor stamina and never once cameback to win a fight .... an all time great needs these qualities
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I cant stand the way Tyson gets slammed by fans. Tyson KOd Holmes because Tyson was just that good at the time, not because Holmes was too old. Look at Holmes resume post Tyson. He was still a damn fine fighter. Second, Tyson had plenty of quality scalps, performances where he looked invincible, and two amazing stoppages over Spinks and Holmes.
The other laughable remark is people trying to act like Tyson's prime wasnt a thing. Do you have eyes?
The other laughable remark is people trying to act like Tyson's prime wasnt a thing. Do you have eyes?
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some fighters are just not that easy to peg, roy jones is another, neither guy really did what all the other greats had to do to be considered great. neither beat a guy who beat them, neither beat someone heavily favored to beat them, neither came out on top in a tough war, they aren't easy to place although it's obvious they are exceptional. and before someone says the first jones tarver fight, jones pulled it out, but can we call it a tough war? I don't think so, a tough fight? sure, and he pulled it out. tyson took hellacious beatings before being stopped in the douglas and the holyfield fight, he hardly just folded. but he also bit the guy in the next fight and quit in a couple others. Jones looked absolutely horrible in some of the post tarver kayo fights, no resilience at all to what happened.
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What makes a win great? Because if its not beating an undefeated lineal champion, then what is?
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The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long.
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I never got people downplaying that win. Spinks was legit obliterated, yes, but not like he didn't come in a legit top tier opponent. I guess it's fun to come up with excuses after a talent like Tyson makes a great opponent look exactly the same as the guys he was KOing in 4 rounders at the beginning. Tyson made it look easy, but he earned every bit of that win. Its literally the same thing as "fans" trying to downplay how bad Toney looked against Jones. Post fight excuse syndrome.
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Never came back to win a fight? Not true, he came back against Botha in a fight he was clearly losing, and there were a number of fights early in his career where he dropped the 1st and/or 2nd round. He even dropped Douglas in the 8th after getting ass kicked for the previous 7 rounds.
Respond to adversity? Tucker rocked Tyson bad early, and it didn't phase him. Ruddock hit Tyson with everything had in the 5th round, but Tyson kept coming and ended up stopping him.
Poor stamina? Tyson went 12 rounds many times, and never looked exhausted in the later rounds--he just slowed down. That's not "great" stamina, but it's not poor either. In the twilight of his career his cardio was crap, but who counts that?
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On paper it was a great win .... the reality is Spinks was very fortunate to get the decisions against Holmes and then fought a couple easy fights ....Tyson was his first fight at hw against a young killer ....What about the fact Tyson responded poorly to adversity and never came back to win a fight ? Can you name another all time great that never once battled back to win a fight ?
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He didn’t carry his power into the later rounds ....never ko’d Anyone late .... I honestly forgot he was losing the Botha fight ( embarrassing to need to comeback to beat him ) .... Tucker caught him off balance and he certainly didn’t get rocked badly ....Rudduck rarely landed clean because Tyson’s defense was great ....Rudduck was the one battling back from early knockdowns ..Lennox Lewis showed what happens when Rudduck fights a all time great .....Tyson is a favourite of mine ... but he’s the most overrated fighter of all-time....losing a couple early rounds and then ko ing fighters you’re supposed to ko isn’t overly impressive to me
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Holmes was well past his prime when he fought Tyson, and had been retired for a few years. He came back for the big paycheck, as they were scraping for ANYONE for Tyson to fight, having beaten everyone before that with ease. People were looking for anyone to make it even remotely competitive.
Having said that, prime Holmes would still lose, just probably would last a few rounds longer. Would have been fun to see though. Prime Holmes = no joke!
But the combination of speed, power, and Rooney would have been too much for Holmes.
Having said that, prime Holmes would still lose, just probably would last a few rounds longer. Would have been fun to see though. Prime Holmes = no joke!
But the combination of speed, power, and Rooney would have been too much for Holmes.
