Greatest Heavyweight Boxer of all time

[Risen Star]

Tyson, with Cus D'amato and Kevin Rooney, could have knocked out any heavyweight who ever entered a ring.

Now of course he also could have gotten knocked out too, but that's what makes this such an interesting question. Could I see Ali survive and win a decision over Tyson? Yep. Could I see Mike land one of those deadly combinations to an over confident Ali's head and turn his lights out? Absolutely.

That dude was a destroyer when he was young, focused and hungry. I don't know who's the best, but he was definitely the most dominant I've ever seen.

 

[dreghorn2]

Tyson, with Cus D'amato and Kevin Rooney, could have knocked out any heavyweight who ever entered a ring.

Now of course he also could have gotten knocked out too, but that's what makes this such an interesting question. Could I see Ali survive and win a decision over Tyson? Yep. Could I see Mike land one of those deadly combinations to an over confident Ali's head and turn his lights out? Absolutely.

That dude was a destroyer when he was young, focused and hungry. I don't know who's the best, but he was definitely the most dominant I've ever seen.

I don't think Tyson could beat any of the good big guys, and he had a very suspect chin.

Feed him a dose of jabs and a little head movement and he was done.

Still the greatest upset in heavyweight history, Buster Douglas defeating Tyson in Japan, complete and total 'Rocky' story, his mom passing, the whole thing.

If you have ever watched the fight it's amazing how the announcers transform from, another boring Tyson beats a no name easily, fight call, to hmm.. Douglas is kind of hanging in there, to man, this is getting weird, and finally HOLY COW Mikes getting beat.

Watching Douglas wake up to the realization that Tyson can be hit, and stopped, with a steady dose of hard jabs and straight rights is pretty cool.

Great fight, post D'Amato-Rooney or not, Tyson could simply not handle good big men. He could punch though.

As always just my opinion of course.

 

[jobberone]

While I agree that any heavyweight capable of a one punch knockout can win any fight, Ali just wasn't susceptible to that kind of punch. Too quick to dodge blows and at times to take one. Norton broke his jaw but didn't knock him out. Ali's only KO was a TKO to Holmes in the tenth when his corner stopped the fight. That was Ali's last fight. He was almost 40 years old then.

 

[joseephuss]

While I agree that any heavyweight capable of a one punch knockout can win any fight, Ali just wasn't susceptible to that kind of punch. Too quick to dodge blows and at times to take one. Norton broke his jaw but didn't knock him out. Ali's only KO was a TKO to Holmes in the tenth when his corner stopped the fight. That was Ali's last fight. He was almost 40 years old then.

The Rumble in the Jungle ended with a KO of Foreman. George did not get up before the count.

 

[jobberone]

The Rumble in the Jungle ended with a KO of Foreman. George did not get up before the count.

I'm talking about Ali getting KO'ed.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Ali was the best I've seen.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

It's very difficult to say.

For starters, certain styles of boxers will eat alive other styles of boxers if the skill level is anywhere near the same. Ken Norton was nowhere near as great as Ali, but his style meshed perfectly against latter day Ali's style. There's no way Joe Frazier could stand a chance against Foreman with Frazier's squatting style and Foreman just pummeling him.

Then you have somebody like Joe Louis who was so feared that virtually nobody wanted to fight him. So you have some critics who question his quality of opponents, but it's tough to blame a guy that nobody wanted to fight.

I would probably go with Ali just because nobody was as intelligent as he was. He would adjust styles on the fly if he thought he could use that to beat the opponent and was great at the mind games. But, he also had the skill and the jaw to back that up.







YR

 

[burmafrd]

I don't think Tyson could beat any of the good big guys, and he had a very suspect chin.

Feed him a dose of jabs and a little head movement and he was done.

Still the greatest upset in heavyweight history, Buster Douglas defeating Tyson in Japan, complete and total 'Rocky' story, his mom passing, the whole thing.

If you have ever watched the fight it's amazing how the announcers transform from, another boring Tyson beats a no name easily, fight call, to hmm.. Douglas is kind of hanging in there, to man, this is getting weird, and finally HOLY COW Mikes getting beat.

Watching Douglas wake up to the realization that Tyson can be hit, and stopped, with a steady dose of hard jabs and straight rights is pretty cool.

Great fight, post D'Amato-Rooney or not, Tyson could simply not handle good big men. He could punch though.

As always just my opinion of course.

suspect chin? Wow don't know what Tyson you were watching - or actually if you ever did.

Mike Tyson at 19-20. Not that guy at 36. Big difference.

You convienently forget the long count in the Douglas fight. Probably never actually saw it did you?

After Gus D'amato died Tyson went off the rails. was never the same again. If D'Amato had lived a couple more years Tyson would probably have been known as one of the greatest of all time.

And yes he was more than fast enough to hit Ali. He was faster than Frazier and Frazier put Ali down.

 

[Canada180]

suspect chin? Wow don't know what Tyson you were watching - or actually if you ever did.

Mike Tyson at 19-20. Not that guy at 36. Big difference.

You convienently forget the long count in the Douglas fight. Probably never actually saw it did you?

After Gus D'amato died Tyson went off the rails. was never the same again. If D'Amato had lived a couple more years Tyson would probably have been known as one of the greatest of all time.

And yes he was more than fast enough to hit Ali. He was faster than Frazier and Frazier put Ali down.

I dont know if Ali was the best but that man as Cassius Clay was in my books the greatest heavy in history.

I dont think he ever was the same when he came back from exile

The young confidence filled braggadocious Clay was the fastest most skilled heavy in history. Case closed

 

[jobberone]

For those who think Ali had no power look at 3:50 on.

[youtube]uzWynvBLJ4I[/youtube]

 

[TNCowboy]

Marvin Hagler is the best fighter I've ever seen.

Edit: just read the first post, and missed that it was supposed to be just heavyweights.

Larry Holmes was the best I've seen. I think Tyson is the most overrated fighter, and made his reputation crushing tomato cans like Holmes when he was 40, or a washed up Michael Spinks. I think he had almost no chance against Holyfield or Lewis if they all had been in their prime when they fought.

 

[FiveRings]

I didn't get to see him during his glory days but doesn't anyone think Fraizer deserves a mention? If he beats Ali in the third go it's likely that it's his name being thrown around like Ali's is now

 

[dreghorn2]

suspect chin? Wow don't know what Tyson you were watching - or actually if you ever did.

Mike Tyson at 19-20. Not that guy at 36. Big difference.

You convienently forget the long count in the Douglas fight. Probably never actually saw it did you?
After Gus D'amato died Tyson went off the rails. was never the same again. If D'Amato had lived a couple more years Tyson would probably have been known as one of the greatest of all time.

And yes he was more than fast enough to hit Ali. He was faster than Frazier and Frazier put Ali down.

Oh boy, the long count.

That was such a blatant attempt to steal a fight as there has ever been. So much so, that even Don King at the height of his powers couldn't make it stick.

The backlash from that attempted theft was so strong that even King had to back down.

Everybody has there own perspective of who is the best etc.. as shown by this thread, so i'm not here to argue, but man you might be the only person i have ever heard think that Tyson somehow got ripped off that night.

 

[dreghorn2]

suspect chin? Wow don't know what Tyson you were watching - or actually if you ever did.

Mike Tyson at 19-20. Not that guy at 36. Big difference.

You convienently forget the long count in the Douglas fight. Probably never actually saw it did you?After Gus D'amato died Tyson went off the rails. was never the same again. If D'Amato had lived a couple more years Tyson would probably have been known as one of the greatest of all time.

And yes he was more than fast enough to hit Ali. He was faster than Frazier and Frazier put Ali down.

I saw almost all of Tysons fights.

He was 23 years old that night in Japan, and pretty much exposed.

His biggest fights to that date were a defeat of an aged Larry Holmes, and the title fight with Spinks, who was really a pumped up light heavyweight.

Other than maybe, and i say maybe Razor Ruddock, he fought very poor excuses for heavyweights both prior to, and after the Douglas fight.

Seriously pull up a chronology of his fights, there is no one there, Botha, Golota, Bruno, Seldon, McNeely, nothing there, not exactly Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Jimmy Young etc.. next thing its the Holyfield era, Lewis and hes done.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I saw almost all of Tysons fights.

He was 23 years old that night in Japan, and pretty much exposed.

Yup.

Tyson had awesome punching power and was able to dodge punches instead of block them. I think he had a pretty tough chin, but mentally he got rattled easy. If he couldn't finish the fight early and the opponent wasn't intimidated by him, it would be a long night by Tyson and eventually he'd give up.

As far as D'amato goes, I think if he had lived it would have been a similar story anyway. Mike was a real piece of garbage before meeting D'amato and still had his old ways with Cus training him. We're talking about a guy who used to *mug* old ladies by telling them he would help them with their groceries, only to knock them out and steal their money.






YR

 

[The30YardSlant]

At his absolute peak, Mike Tyson was the greatest boxer of all-time. He had a kind of strength that you simply don't see in boxing. A lot of guys could knock you out with one clean blow, but Tyson could knock you out even if he barely connected. As an amateur he KO'd a guy by punching through his defense, that's power.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

At his absolute peak, Mike Tyson was the greatest boxer of all-time. He had a kind of strength that you simply don't see in boxing. A lot of guys could knock you out with one clean blow, but Tyson could knock you out even if he barely connected. As an amateur he KO'd a guy by punching through his defense, that's power.

No. The greatest Boxer, IMO and many,many others, is Surgar Ray Robinson. He was simply dominating in 4 different weight classes. He, IMO, is easily the best fighter of all time. he fought for 26 years professionally. As an Amature, he was 85 and 0, 69 by knock out. In his first 11 years as a pro, he was 128-1-2. Retired in 1952, came back in 1955 and regained the Middleweight Title after 2 and a half years of retirement. In his career, he defeated the likes of Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basillio, Gene Fullmer, Randy Turpin, Carl Olson, Henry Armstrong, Rocky Graziano, Kid Gavilan and my own Grandfather (True Story). All of these fighter, except my Grandfather, were Hall of Fame fighters. Nobody fought more great fighters then Sugar Ray Robinson did and keep in mind, he fought many of these great fighters multiple times. If you consider the entire body of work by Sugar Ray Robinson, I don't think any other boxer even comes close to comparing. JMO

 

[SkinsandTerps]

ABQ, Dropping the knowledge. I agree. The guy was simply the class of boxing that we may never see again. My grandparents were friends of his and say he was the most respectful and classy guy you ever wanted to know. Then you add on his in ring accolades...forget about it. The best.

 

[burmafrd]

there are a number of fighters that can be called the GOAT. But Sugar Ray Robinson certainly belongs in the conversation

 

[burmafrd]

Oh boy, the long count.

That was such a blatant attempt to steal a fight as there has ever been. So much so, that even Don King at the height of his powers couldn't make it stick.

The backlash from that attempted theft was so strong that even King had to back down.

Everybody has there own perspective of who is the best etc.. as shown by this thread, so i'm not here to argue, but man you might be the only person i have ever heard think that Tyson somehow got ripped off that night.

Yes I watched that fight and everyone i the room with me agreed that Douglas should have been counted out.