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Buster Douglas
I recall that not being pay-per-view. That started pay-per-view. My parents had Showtime & HBO.
I follow Mike Tyson because people in high school sometimes called me White Mike Tyson because I was stocky like him and spoke softly but liked to fight. Tyson had the GREATEST ability of all time but not the discipline, so it was like a self-directed crash dive....self-destruction. He could have been the greatest if not for himself.
He was certainly good, but he avoided the best fighters during his prime. Instead he mostly lured long out of their prime fighters like Larry Holmes into big money fights they had no intention of extending any longer than necessary, or he simply picked on much lesser fighters. He never fought George Foreman, Michael Moorer, Riddick Bowe, or Lennox Lewis, and he only fought Holyfield when he needed the fight to get back on top. Of course we all know how that worked out.
I'm not a diehard fan. However, I think some numbers might show why he didn't face those guys.
Tyson got his first title shot when he was 27-0.
When Tyson lost the title....
Moorer wasn't a heavyweight yet. He was light heavyweight.
Lewis was only 7-0. No reason to take him on yet.
Bowe was only 14-0. Same kind of thing.
So it seems perhaps Tyson lost before these guys had quite earned their place.
They were developing resumes still.
When Holyfield crossed over from light heavyweight to heavyweight, Tyson was 35-0.
How many bouts should Holyfield have at that level before getting a crack at the titles? He was 5-0 as a heavyweight when Mike lost.
When Mike fought Holyfield, Tyson was not climbing back, he was back on "top". Tyson won the WBA title and the very next fight defended against Holyfield (and lost it to Holyfield).
Foreman? I think we get a bit speculative. Foreman came out of retirement in 1987 and after returning he was 20-0 when Mike lost the title. I'm not sure George was beating up the top contenders. Look at the names. Any impressive? Plus he was 17 years older than Mike. Did Mike avoid him for fear or for George's sake? George was 38 years old when he came out of retirement. Shouldn't have a shot immediately. By the time he accumulated that record when Mike lost George was 41. It's speculative. Idk.
Anyway, thought that info might shed some light on why he didn't fight them in his prime.
He would be just like Floyd Merriwether in this regard, as each of them picked a good time to be champ. as they fought mostly bums.Both Holyfield and Foreman were seeking a Tyson fight pretty aggressively, and were repeatedly denied. Its a pretty well known fact that Tyson rarely fought any elite fighters. This article outlines his competition through the years. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...tyson-is-not-a-top-10-heavyweight-of-all-time
I'm not a diehard fan. However, I think some numbers might show why he didn't face those guys.
Tyson got his first title shot when he was 27-0.
When Tyson lost the title....
Moorer wasn't a heavyweight yet. He was light heavyweight.
Lewis was only 7-0. No reason to take him on yet.
Bowe was only 14-0. Same kind of thing.
So it seems perhaps Tyson lost before these guys had quite earned their place.
They were developing resumes still.
When Holyfield crossed over from light heavyweight to heavyweight, Tyson was 35-0.
How many bouts should Holyfield have at that level before getting a crack at the titles? He was 5-0 as a heavyweight when Mike lost.
When Mike fought Holyfield, Tyson was not climbing back, he was back on "top". Tyson won the WBA title and the very next fight defended against Holyfield (and lost it to Holyfield).
Foreman? I think we get a bit speculative. Foreman came out of retirement in 1987 and after returning he was 20-0 when Mike lost the title. I'm not sure George was beating up the top contenders. Look at the names. Any impressive? Plus he was 17 years older than Mike. Did Mike avoid him for fear or for George's sake? George was 38 years old when he came out of retirement. Shouldn't have a shot immediately. By the time he accumulated that record when Mike lost George was 41. It's speculative. Idk.
Anyway, thought that info might shed some light on why he didn't fight them in his prime.
Why would Foreman's record reset? Is that the rule?
He would be just like Floyd Merriwether in this regard, as each of them picked a good time to be champ. as they fought mostly bums.
What sparked this memory?
He could have been the greatest if not for himself.
in my opinion the upset of all time in sports history.
I think that there were very few elite boxers around in his time, and just look at the ones at time of Ali. Frazier, Norton, Foreman, to name a few.Perhaps, but many believe his management purposely kept him from fighting elite fighters. As it stands, the only truly elite fighter he ever fought was Holyfield, and he was 0-2.