Teddy Atlas: Mike Tyson was not a great fighter

[Rookiemonster]

Teddy had held a grudge against Tyson for years. Tyson said some inappropriate things to his daughter .

Tyson’s career is filled with ifs. I still think he was a great fighter. Not the greatest ever but still I haven’t seen anything like him since.

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

Teddy had held a grudge against Tyson for years. Tyson said some inappropriate things to his daughter .

Tyson’s career is filled with ifs. I still think he was a great fighter. Not the greatest ever but still I haven’t seen anything like him since.

I have...Rhonda Rousey!


It's the old 'Emperor's New Clothes' thing

or

'Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!' from the Wizard of Oz..

[BearBailey]

Teddy as usual is spot on. Once the fear went away he never adjusted. In his early years no one more exciting to watch but not a top 5 all time heavy weight.

[Jim65]

Tyson was very overrated. Ali would have picked him apart, a younger Foreman would have destroyed him. I would have loved to see a Frazier-Tyson bout.

[Huysmans]

The assessment was spot on. Tyson is considerably overrated, and not someone I'm a fan of in any way.

[ronniehatesjazz]

You guys are out of your minds! Teddy Atlas must have CTE with these outrageous claims!

[steve B]

It's sort of similar to why I never really liked Tyson. I was used to the guys I watched a few years before, Ali, Foreman, Frazier...… Lots of bluster, but a lot to back it up. And no dancing around stuff with too much politeness.


Tyson on the other hand... Knocks a guy out in under a round, and in the post fight tv interviews says "he fought a good fight," No, he spent a bit over or under a minute trying to make running for his life look sort of like boxing then got hit and that was that.


It was a very happy day for me when I heard Buster Douglas had beaten him.

[vintage mesiah]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

Teddy had held a grudge against Tyson for years. Tyson said some inappropriate things to his daughter .

Tyson’s career is filled with ifs. I still think he was a great fighter. Not the greatest ever but still I haven’t seen anything like him since.

It was actually his neice,

[aaroncc]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWJSvZKVWu0

[Exhibitman]

We already know what Tyson would do with Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield: lose. Let's go through the exercise for some better champions:

Muhammad Ali: would have made mincemeat of Tyson before they ever got into the ring. Ali's mental games were tailor made for guys like Liston and Tyson, and his style was perfect: look at what he did with Frazier, and Frazier had balls. Tyson is disqualified after 7-8 rounds of being cut to pieces and frustrated to the point of, I don't know, biting Ali on the ear.

Joe Louis: every bit as powerful as Tyson in his day (he broke Schmeling's back with a punch), cool as a cucumber under fire, would have beaten him down and knocked him out inside 10.

Jack Dempsey: Same outcome as Louis but way more fun to watch. The guy who shattered Jess Willard's face in 1919 could punch with anyone. Dempsey's vulnerability was to a master boxer, not a brute.

Joe Frazier: I would PPV this one, and I am a cheapskate, as it would be the war of the worlds. Tyson would quit or be KTFO.

Sonny Liston: This would have been a live one. Two intimidating brutes with emotional and mental deficiencies going at each other. Close but I give Liston an edge based on quality of opposition.

Rocky Marciano: same fight as Frazier. Marciano would walk through hell rather than lose; Tyson, not so much.

Jack Johnson: Similar to the Lewis fight. Uses his jab and defense to hold Tyson and bay and take him apart. One-sided and boring distance fight.

[Dboneesq]

Thanks for sharing. Was an interesting watch

I wonder what Teddy would say about Clayton Kershaw, considering how poorly he has pitched in the post season.