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To: wingman1
Tyson, in his absolute prime, would have beaten anyone.

Agreed.

Few people realize that at the height of his success, Tyson was not only the world's greatest offensive fighter, but he was also the best DEFENSIVE fighter. He was almost impossible to hit.

Things went downhill for Tyson a few months after he beat Michael Spinks, when he fired his trainer, Kevin Rooney. Rooney was training Mike in the style developed by Cus D'Amato. Not only did Mike not replace Rooney with an adequate trainer, but it seems that Mike decided that he didn't need to train at all. Sure, he cruised to a couple of easy victories after he beat Spinks, but in his fight with Douglas, it was clear that the fabulous Cus D'Amato boxing style that Mike employed to clear out the heavyweight division in the 1980's was completely gone. The defensive head movement was missing. The lightning fast choreographed combinations were absent. Mike now just simply attempted to walk in and knock out his opponent with a single power punch.

So those lightweight sports writers who like to comment how Buster Douglas "showed how Tyson could be beat with a jab" and how Holyfield beat Tyson by "bullying the bully" don't know what they're talking about. If anything, Holyfield and Douglas beat dissipated versions of Tyson.

Tyson's old trainer, Kevin Rooney, said that the Tyson who lost to Holyfield was only "one-tenth" of the vintage Tyson of the 1980's. And I have to agree.

31 posted on 04/20/2005 8:59:59 AM PDT by brightstar (George W. Bush -- Founding Father Of Democracy In The Middle-East)
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To: brightstar
Tyson's the red one on the left.


32 posted on 04/20/2005 9:08:15 AM PDT by Lazamataz (Not Elected Pope Since 4/19/2005.)
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