Tyson's career was over after he got knocked out by Buster Douglas way back in 1990. And anyone who paid for a pay-per-view fight after he bit off Holyfield's ear in '97 was a sucker. For shame, because between '86-'89 he was the best.

I'm not so sure Tyson was done after losing to Buster and he certainly started looking sharp again in 95-96, taking out the likes of Frank Bruno (again) and Bruce Selden. Remember Lennox Lewis had lost to McCall and had to catch with the public, Holyfield had lost 2 out of 3 with Bowe, Riddick Bowe was headed for his two foul fests with Golota which destroyed his career, Foreman had lost to Shannon Briggs, Michael Moorer was going through the likes of Axel Schultz and Frans Botha after his loss to Foreman. The division was wide open and Tyson had another chance to dominate till he ran into Evander. I suspect Tyson's handlers were thinking the same thing now-with Lewis gone, the division is so open that Iron Mike still had a chance. That illusion is surely gone.

Keep the boxing posts coming, Karol.

So, what's next for him, an action movie or reality TV? Can you imagine him on Celebrity Poker Showdown?

i saw the bruce seldon bout on tv. all 60 seconds of it the guy took a fall.

To be honest until he met holyfield he hadnt fought anyone remotely decent since he went to jail. Lewis humiliated him and he should have retired after the 1st bout.

Mike Tyson's career was on it's way to being over as soon as Cus died(the real decline became immediately evident when Kevin Rooney was fired). He just wassnt prepared to handle the world he was in(he was still a child mentally).The Buster Douglas fight was a joke(his corner that was put together from his posse didnt even have and endswell, they used a baloon with ice...very sad). Tyson was overweight for the 1st time in his career, and at that point had already turned into the no defense, 1 or 2 punch at a time fighter we would see for the next 15 years. If anyone remembers the Tyson of old, it was all about head movement from that peakaboo style and hand speed never before or since seen in a heavy weight(Ali had quick hands that produced the best jab ever, no disrespect to Holmes). Tyson threw combinations to body and head faster than his opponents threw jabs, and that is what really intimidated his opponents. There have been plenty of fighters that hit hard, but non that had the elusiveness, speed and agility of a middleweight. Now to defend Iron Mike's honor just a bit. First of all i hate that every moron who knows nothing about nothing calls him a rapist. Desiree Washington is a bold faced liar, and was proven to be when she was began to change her story while Mike was in jail. His incident was no different than Kobe's, except that he wassnt married and they made prior arrangments to meet(at 3am in his hotel room), there were even more holes in that story that i just dont remember so many years later. That boy was set up. Now to the Holyfield fight. Holyfield is the dirtiest fighter i have ever seen that didnt get disqualified on a regular basis. If anyone remembers that fight, it was actually a good fight in the 1st few rounds and Tyson was drillin unHolyfield with vicious body shots, and had slowed him considerably, that is when Holyfield began to lead with his head, and eventually (with what i was screaming at the time should have been an intentional head butt)opened Tysons eye. This was actually the 1st fight that Tyson ever employed dirty tactics. Tyson bit him as retaliation and it was stupid, but i think if anyone deserved it, it was Holyfield. If anyone has any doubt about Holyfield's headbutting, just watch his fight with Hasim Rahman. And now Iron Mike, it is time to call it a career, I hope you end up o.k.

Mike Tyson's career was on it's way to being over as soon as Cus died
And/or Jim Jacobs. That's when Don King got involved and he had no real friends to save him from himself.

If anyone remembers the Tyson of old, it was all about head movement from that peakaboo style and hand speed never before or since seen in a heavy weight
That is the Tyson I remember also. Devastating.

(Ali had quick hands that produced the best jab ever, no disrespect to Holmes)
Ali's jab was quicker, but Holmes's was harder. It landed with a thud. (I'm not arguing that Holmes was the better fighter.)

If anyone remembers that fight, it was actually a good fight in the 1st few rounds and Tyson was drillin unHolyfield with vicious body shots, and had slowed him considerably, that is when Holyfield began to lead with his head, and eventually (with what i was screaming at the time should have been an intentional head butt)opened Tysons eye.
I hate Holyfield also. (Bowe beat him THREE times, not two.) But I remember this fight differently. Holyfield head butted Tyson, but I remember Holyfield kicking his ass from the opening bell also.

I love the boxing talk on AN also.

Agree with your comments on Evander to some extent (though I think John Ruiz is a much dirtier fighter but the bastard is never dqed).

Look. Cus died before Tyson turned pro and he was able to teach Iron Mike the "peek a boo" style that Cus taught Floyd Patterson way back when. I think the downfall began when he lost Jim Jacobs, fired Cayton, fired Rooney, was taken over by King, married Gibbons and then had the first car accident.

So where does Tyson rank with the greats ? Hard to say. He cleaned up a lousy heavyweight decision, taking out Trevor Berbick, an overblown inactive light heavy in Michael Spinks, the overhyped Tyrell Biggs, Tony Tubbs (who at 47 is still fighting and kicked the crap out of till then undefeated prospect Brian Minto back in December....when he is finally done Tubbs will be a hell of a trainer ala Buddy McGirt), Pinklon Thomas, Tyrell Biggs, Frank Bruno, Truth Williams (rather early imo) but he also got into major borefests with the likes of Tony Tucker, Quick Tillis and Bonecrusher Smith, Jose N. Ribalta and so on. Yeah Tyson beat up Holmes but Holmes was like 38 and not in shape (though Holmes still had some life in him as his subsequent wins over the likes of Ray Mercer proved). There are not that many names of the all time greats on Tyson's resume. He did fight Lewis and Holyfield but we now what happeend there. But look who is not on his resume:

Riddick Bowe
George Foreman
Michael Moorer
Oliver McCall
Hasim Rahman
David Tua
Chris Byrd
Klistchko (choose either)

Would Tyson have beaten them ? Probably McCall, who knows with Rahman (he has a weird tendency to lose fights he should win and win fights he should lose), probably Moorer, maybe W. Klitchsko. Based on Tyson's bad record when facing adversity, I think Big George and Big Daddy Bowe would have beaten him. This is out on a limb but based on how well Byrd managed Tua, I suspect Chris would have beaten Tyson in an all time snore fest.

You can't put Tyson up with the all time greats (Ali, Louis, Marciano, Dempsey) or the second tier (Foreman, Frazier, Holmes, Johnson, Liston). I suspect Tyson is somewhere below the third tier of Lewis, Patterson, Charles, Tunney but above the fourth tier of Jeffries, Jersey Joe, Bowe.

I think the timing of Tyson's rise (and fall) are causing you to underrate him, Von Bek.

Tyson didn't just beat the top heavies in the division at the time, he destroyed them. The dull fights against Tillis, Smith and Ribalta were the exception, not the rule - and they weren't close fights, just boring ones.

Post-jail Tyson wasn't the same fighter. By the time he fought Holyfield he was junk (and even worse when he fought Lewis).

I would have loved to have seen Tyson fight Holyfield or Bowe (or Lewis, though he wasn't yet fighting the top guys at the time) when it would have mattered, but those guys weren't particularly interested in fighting him.

If things had gone correctly after the Douglas fight (with competent management), I think Tyson would have been comfortably in the second tier. (Liston in the second tier? No way.) Also in the second tier if he didn't go wacky: Bowe. I thought he was the best fighter of his generation and he threw it all away.

I should start a boxing blog. I think Liston gets a little underrated since a lot of his peak years were spent in the 50s when he could not get a crack at the belt. I also think Charles and Tunney are a little underrated since they were at the best at 175 (I suppose the same could be said for Moorer who was nasty at 175, perhaps the hardest puncher I have seen at that weight).

I think Bowe could have been one of the all time greats had he been more focused. Even the legendary Eddie Futch could not keep him in shape. I've never seen a fighter get so bad so quickly as he did against Golota the first fight.

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