I don't have anything against Tyson, David. As I said, he was a worthy HOF selection and is a top 15 heavyweight. However, when viewed
objectively, he is not a top-ten heavy for the reasons I stated. He could have been better if he'd been a better person, perhaps, but when gut-checked he was found wanting. He lost three prime years because he raped a woman and got his ass kicked by the two best fighters of his generation. He doesn't even measure up favorably in head to head battles with his elite contemporaries. That doesn't make me or the many other researchers who've ranked him "purists", just objective analysts. My favorite of the modern era is Lennox Lewis: I think he was better than Tyson but I wouldn't rank him with Ali or Dempsey or Johnson.
Now as far as the cards go, again, I am trying to be objective. I don't have any stake in this list, financial or otherwise. I have the modern cards as a collector but that's about where it ends for me; I don't have multiple copies of them sitting around so I have no reason to build a market for them, and I don't want more of them so I don't have any reason to tear down a market for them. You are correct that there is a PSA 10 Tyson that allegedly sold for $5,100 last year. Was it your purchase, because I see that you posted one in another thread about Tyson cards that you started last December? If not, do you know if it was an actual sale? Because from where I am sitting it looks very much like a Probstein/PWCC fake sale during the run-up. The prior sale was $1324.99; the next reported sales were $2650, $1927, and $2125. All strong sales to be sure, but not even close to top ten all time. For example, just taking Heritage's past results:
1948 Leaf Graziano: $29,875.00
E125 Jeffries: $19,120.00
T226 Johnson: $19,120.00
N167 Smith: $8,962.50
N386 Sullivan: $6,572.50
E125 Johnson: $5,975.00
I also know of multiple private sales in excess of $5,000 for individual cards and many more above $2,500.
I also don't operate on the paradigm that there 'should' be a modern fighter on the list. That is not a logical argument. It is a form of logical fallacy called a moralistic fallacy. Plus I am old enough to consider Ali a modern fighter
It is a nice and significant card, no doubt about that--I said it is one of the top five cards of the last 35 years--but viewed objectively and in context of all boxing cards I don't think it is the stuff dreams are made of.