Uploaded November 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Mike Tyson is the most controversial heavyweight champion in boxing history. Fans and historians alike vehemently argue over whether Iron Mike deserves to be rated among the all time greats. Some fans insist that the young Tyson was perhaps the most dangerous if not the greatest heavyweight champion in history, while others argue that Tyson has been vastly over-rated citing that he lost all of his legacy fights. Both views have some credence.
How good was Mike Tyson? From 1986-1990 he was one of the most feared heavyweight champions ever. His unique melding of fantastic hand speed and shocking punching power made him a threat to any opponent he faced. Like Joe Louis and Sonny Liston before him Tyson's baleful stare and stunning power struck terror into the hearts of his opponents.
Because he scored some crushing one-punch knockouts some observers tend to think of Tyson as strictly a limited power puncher. However, in his youthful prime, he was much more than just a devastating hitter. Hank Kaplan, speaking of the young Tyson, wrote in Boxing Digest, "He has the best defense seen in the heavyweight division in many years." Tyson had excellent fundamentals, he showed good balance, exceptional head movement, kept his hands high, ducked and bent at the waist to remain in punching position and he slipped, blocked and countered punches very well. Tony Tucker and Bonecrusher Smith each managed to land only one significant punch in their entire fights against Tyson.
Iron Mike also was a fine combination puncher in his youth, an important skill that the later versions of Tyson abandoned possibly due to a lack of good work ethics. Famous trainer Angelo Dundee said after his fight with Trevor Berbick, "Tyson throws combinations I never saw before. When have you seen a guy throw a right hand to the kidney, come up the middle with an uppercut, then throw a left hook. He throws punches . . . like a trigger."
Tyson was also a debilitating body puncher. Watch the film of Tyson work over this whirlpool his body punching is incredible and just as workmanlike as that of a prime Joe Frazier.
The one legendary fighter that Tyson is most often compared to is Jack Dempsey who was one of his ring idols. Like Dempsey, Tyson was an aggressive bobbing and weaving perpetual motion machine that rushed his opponents from the opening bell. In the December 1988 Ring Magazine, Tyson and Dempsey: Is History Repeating Itself? writer John Reeves wrote about an incident in a bar while viewing the Tyson-Pinklon Thomas fight. Reeves had said to an old pug watching the fight, "A lot like Marciano huh?" "Not really" the old man replied, "I wouldn't say so. He fights more like Dempsey."
Find out more here coxscorner.tripod.com/tyson.html
Mike Tyson is the most controversial heavyweight champion in boxing history. Fans and historians alike vehemently argue over whether Iron Mike deserves to be rated among the all time greats. Some fans insist that the young Tyson was perhaps the most dangerous if not the greatest heavyweight champion in history, while others argue that Tyson has been vastly over-rated citing that he lost all of his legacy fights. Both views have some credence.
How good was Mike Tyson? From 1986-1990 he was one of the most feared heavyweight champions ever. His unique melding of fantastic hand speed and shocking punching power made him a threat to any opponent he faced. Like Joe Louis and Sonny Liston before him Tyson's baleful stare and stunning power struck terror into the hearts of his opponents.
Because he scored some crushing one-punch knockouts some observers tend to think of Tyson as strictly a limited power puncher. However, in his youthful prime, he was much more than just a devastating hitter. Hank Kaplan, speaking of the young Tyson, wrote in Boxing Digest, "He has the best defense seen in the heavyweight division in many years." Tyson had excellent fundamentals, he showed good balance, exceptional head movement, kept his hands high, ducked and bent at the waist to remain in punching position and he slipped, blocked and countered punches very well. Tony Tucker and Bonecrusher Smith each managed to land only one significant punch in their entire fights against Tyson.
Iron Mike also was a fine combination puncher in his youth, an important skill that the later versions of Tyson abandoned possibly due to a lack of good work ethics. Famous trainer Angelo Dundee said after his fight with Trevor Berbick, "Tyson throws combinations I never saw before. When have you seen a guy throw a right hand to the kidney, come up the middle with an uppercut, then throw a left hook. He throws punches . . . like a trigger."
Tyson was also a debilitating body puncher. Watch the film of Tyson work over this whirlpool his body punching is incredible and just as workmanlike as that of a prime Joe Frazier.
The one legendary fighter that Tyson is most often compared to is Jack Dempsey who was one of his ring idols. Like Dempsey, Tyson was an aggressive bobbing and weaving perpetual motion machine that rushed his opponents from the opening bell. In the December 1988 Ring Magazine, Tyson and Dempsey: Is History Repeating Itself? writer John Reeves wrote about an incident in a bar while viewing the Tyson-Pinklon Thomas fight. Reeves had said to an old pug watching the fight, "A lot like Marciano huh?" "Not really" the old man replied, "I wouldn't say so. He fights more like Dempsey."
Find out more here coxscorner.tripod.com/tyson.html
