The underrated Mike Tyson…
By Rui Zheng
If you’re around the age of 18-25, you probably remember Mike Tyson for two things: The “bite” and the “fight”
. The bite being Mike’s interpretation of payback for Evander Holyfield’s constant headbutts in their rematch and the fight being the last big heavyweight match in boxing between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson. But rewind back to the years between 1988 and 1990. It was after Tyson had destroyed Spinks in one round but before losing his championship to Buster Douglas. Between that time period, Tyson was atop most pound-for-pound lists and widely regarded as the man who would not only eclipse, but shatter Rocky Marciano’s unbeaten streak. The general consensus was that if you tried to trade with Tyson, you would get knocked out. And if you tried to run from him, you would either get knocked out or lose a lopsided decision. Tyson was on top of the world…
We’ve all heard the criticism against Tyson. “He never beat a great heavyweight,” “He never got up from a knockdown to win,” and the most popular one: “If you showed Tyson that you weren't’t scared, you would win the fight.” All of those comments are absolute nonsense.
Tyson’s first title shot was against Trevor Berbick, who gave a great account of himself against a prime Larry Holmes. Berbick was a solid heavyweight who would no doubt hold a title today. There was Tony Tucker, the rangy undefeated fighter with tremendous athleticism for a man his size. In their unification match, Tucker ran for dear life and survived 12 rounds with Tyson. Let us not forget about Pinklon Thomas, a former title holder who many believed that Larry Holmes had ducked throughout his years as champion. Speaking of Larry Holmes, Tyson was the first man to knock Holmes out and the only man since. Larry Holmes would go on to upset the undefeated Gold medallist Ray Mercer a few fights after losing to Tyson. Tyson twice defeated dangerous contenders in Frank Bruno and Razor Ruddock. And even way past his prime, Tyson made Andrew Golota, a legitimate heavyweight contender quit after 2 rounds of fighting. Clearly Tyson’s resume is not as poor as some would lead you to believe…
Though while it’s true that Tyson never got up from a knockdown to win a fight, I would prefer a fighter who never got knocked down at all to a fighter who would constantly get knocked down and occasionally rallied to make a comeback.
And the final myth of opponents standing up to Tyson and beating him, just ask Razor Ruddock and Trevor Berbick how that turned out. Berbick came to the Tyson fight firing out combinations and eating leather in return. A few seconds later following his heroic stand against Tyson, Berbick realized that it wasn’t such a good idea. Ruddock also came out firing against Tyson, however he simply got outclassed by Iron Mike.
As time passes, I feel that people will recognize Tyson as a Top 10 heavyweight and regard him as one of the best head-to-head heavyweights in history. But until then…