wow, check how mike tyson let himself go! fat pics!

[DavidI]

I have followed "Iron Mike's" career from the start. He was absolutely ferocious in the ring. As a boxer, the terms used are "boxer" and "brawler." I believe Mike was a combination of the two. Watch his fights in the way that he slips punches, bobs, and weaves. Those are not the skills of a brawler. I would say that he is 80% brawler and 20% boxer. He won most of his fights before even entering the ring. His opponents were usually scared of his uppercuts and hooks before the fights even began. He is one of my all-time favorite fighters. I would like to see a prime Mike Tyson vs. a prime Smokin' Joe Frazier.

David

[peppy]

Youngest heavyweight champion ever 20 years old. I am glad others remember what he could do in that ring, and what he did for the sport.


Outside of the ring he needed a lot of help.

[the]

I think he was the last really great fighter, at least to me. No one after Tyson has been able to generate any interest to me. He no doubt, in his prime, lived up to his "Baddest Man on the Planet" nickname.

It was unfortunate that he didn't have the mental ability to make good decisions, keep himself away from bad people, and keep at least some of his $300 million in winnings.

It not only ruined the end of his career (the end of his career as a fighter was pretty pitiful and not fitting of a great champion like he was), but really, his life. He could have had a really wonderful retirement, he had it all. From what I understand, he has been broke and very unhappy.

[TerryH]

Devastating punching power....

[JCF]

Nice post Terry.
I had almost forgotten what a great fighter he really was.

It would have been something to see him against Fraizer - they would have knocked the house down.

But the person I most would have liked to see Tyson in the ring with would have been Don King - and that he would have knocked his head into the farthest, darkest corner of The Garden.

[myamoto1]

Sorry for the delay in getting pics out to everyone. Unfortunately my father nearly cut his thumb off w/ a chop saw, the day I asked for him to scan the pics. I told him to suck it up and start scanning... here are the results:







He couldn't find the one of Mike giving me the uppercut, but he'll keep an eye out for it. Oh, and his thumb should be fine. He finds out on Thurs if the skin graft (sp?) has taken or not.

[9dreizig]

Originally Posted by myamoto1

I've known Mike since he was 16. My father used to work for the NYS junvenile system. My father was actually the one that approved Cus D'Amato to take custody of Mike. Given the environment he grew up in, he was one hell of a guy. He saw one of his best friends shoot his other best friend, 5 feet from him. Everyone that was ever a positive roll model in his life died on him. His mother, Cus, Jimmy Jacobs... then Don King stepped in and lead him down the most beneficial path for King. Last time I saw Mike was the day before his first title fight. I was at the boxing club w/ him and there was a horde of reporters. He wouldn't let any of them take his pic, unless I was sitting next to him. Granted, I was only 13 and he was larger than life to me at that time, but he always went out of his way to include me in any event I was at. He would come to our house for dinner often and I attended many of birthday parties and Golden Glove celebration. My father has seen him several times (pre-Homles incident) and Mike always pushed his way through the crowd to greet my father.

So while he's made a lot of bad choices near the end of his career, keep in mind who was holding onto the reigns. With all of the negative influences in his life, you'd be amazed at how gentle of a person he really is. As the saying goes, "don't judge another, until you've walked a mile in his shoes."

I"m not suprised at this story ,, the interviews I've seen of him he seemed truly torn.. Correct me if I'm wrong but he's now on some medications and seems pretty at peace with his life ( although lost that anger that made him really special in the ring)

[vash]

josh...AWESOME!

hope your dad finger heals up quick.

[myamoto1]

9dreizig - I haven't had any contact with him in years, so I'm not sure what his current mental state is. I hope he's gotten away from all of the bad influences and straightened his life out. My dad ran into him a few years ago in NY. The last time I saw him was actually the 3rd pic above (me in my stylish 80's jacket and hair). The poloroid was actually given to me by one of the photogs that was there that day.

vash - thanks, I'll pass along the well wishes to my dad.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by DavidI

I have followed "Iron Mike's" career from the start. He was absolutely ferocious in the ring. As a boxer, the terms used are "boxer" and "brawler." I believe Mike was a combination of the two. Watch his fights in the way that he slips punches, bobs, and weaves. Those are not the skills of a brawler. I would say that he is 80% brawler and 20% boxer. He won most of his fights before even entering the ring. His opponents were usually scared of his uppercuts and hooks before the fights even began. He is one of my all-time favorite fighters. I would like to see a prime Mike Tyson vs. a prime Smokin' Joe Frazier.

David

I agree.

Tyson in his prime vs Ali, Frazier, Foreman, all the greats....man what fights they would be.

I grew up in the 70s, there will probably NEVER be that much boxing talent in it's prime all at the same time again for the rest of our lives.

[911Rob]

Originally Posted by vash

josh...AWESOME!

hope your dad finger heals up quick.

YES..... Wow!!!
Thanks.

Remind me not to give you any lip if I ever get out of line. I'll bet you learned how to land a punch?
I fought a few boxers in my day; ouch. Hardest hitting ba$tards of the bunch imo!

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by TerryH

Devastating punching power....

Wow that is a LONG highlight reel of knockouts!

I think Mike was 37-0 with 33 KO's before he lost his first fight.

PS: The requiem for a dream soundtrack is awesome for these highlight clips.

[speeder]

Those are great pics, Josh. I've been hesitant to post on this thread because he's a pretty close friend, to this day. I really love the guy and vice-versa. He definitely has his demons but he's working on them. He always will be. The Mike I know is the sweetest, most gentle human being you can imagine. When he's around town we can be found sitting around Urth cafe or some other spot with our other friends sipping herbal tea and having some serious laughs. He's a very funny guy.

We talk about boxing some times and he has a lot of great stories, (obviously), the sad thing is that he does not look fondly on his boxing career because of the mean things he said and did to people. He was in great physical shape a couple years ago, running and keeping his weight down. That photo in the beginning of the thread is a deceptive angle, IMO, he's put on a little weight but is still an amazing physical specimen. Even as one of the smaller heavy-weights, he's a big man. I'm a fairly strong guy and I feel like an 8 year-old next to him. Trust me, he could still knock-out just about any MFer who could ever roll up your alley.

The really funny thing is that he considers me a bit of a hot-head, he jokes about turning me loose on annoying paparazzi or that he feels like choking them "like Denis would..."

[911Rob]

F'ing incredible!!!!
Kudos to you and your pal.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by speeder

Those are great pics, Josh. I've been hesitant to post on this thread because he's a pretty close friend, to this day. I really love the guy and vice-versa. He definitely has his demons but he's working on them. He always will be. The Mike I know is the sweetest, most gentle human being you can imagine. When he's around town we can be found sitting around Urth cafe or some other spot with our other friends sipping herbal tea and having some serious laughs. He's a very funny guy.

We talk about boxing some times and he has a lot of great stories, (obviously), the sad thing is that he does not look fondly on his boxing career because of the mean things he said and did to people. He was in great physical shape a couple years ago, running and keeping his weight down. That photo in the beginning of the thread is a deceptive angle, IMO, he's put on a little weight but is still an amazing physical specimen. Even as one of the smaller heavy-weights, he's a big man. I'm a fairly strong guy and I feel like an 8 year-old next to him. Trust me, he could still knock-out just about any MFer who could ever roll up your alley.

The really funny thing is that he considers me a bit of a hot-head, he jokes about turning me loose on annoying paparazzi or that he feels like choking them "like Denis would..."

Tell mike we at pelican say hi!

[KFC911]

Cool pics Josh, and story Denis! I was a Joe Frazier fan all the way (early 70s), and despised Ali (due to his loud mouth antics...but that was part of his "game"). I later learned to respect Ali's skills (and ability to TAKE a punch) immensely as his career progressed. That said, I "think" that Frazier would have been no match for Tyson's power (George Foreman destroyed him due to Foreman's sheer power), but Tyson vs Ali (in their prime) would have been the match I would have liked to see. I'm too young, but old timers almost universally say they're all behind Joe Louis...makes for fun "what if" discussions though!

[vash]

i their prime, i bet ali would have pummeled tyson. tyson was super powerful, but ali used his head. i was a tiny kid, and i understood when ali used mind games.

who knows? tyson was scary.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by vash

i their prime, i bet ali would have pummeled tyson. tyson was super powerful, but ali used his head....

That's the fun of these "debates"...we'll never know . I would put my money on Ali also for a few reasons...his reach (jab), his mobility & "keep out of range" leg skills, his ability to absorb a TON of punishment, and most importantly his "head". Tyson, as powerful as he was (but so was Foreman) was easily frustrated if a fight wasn't "short & sweet" imo, and Ali would have used that to immense advantage, and won, but not necessarily a pummelling. My dad maintains that Joe Louis would've whupped 'em all

[speeder]

I think that Foreman would have destroyed Tyson but who knows? It's a huge "what if" because Foreman never fought anyone like Tyson and Tyson never fought anyone like Foreman.

That's what makes the fight game so fascinating, it's not as simple as: A beat B and B beat C, therefore A would beat C..."

Frazier beat the **** out of Ali, (twice, really, even though he lost the second time), then Foreman killed Frazier. (Not to mention Norton, Holmes and everyone else dumb enough to get in the ring w/ him). Foreman in his prime was feared in a way that surpassed Tyson's psych advantage, though times were different because Tyson did not have any serious contenders in the early part of his career. It was a lull for heavyweights, which there are many. It's always amazing when great ones come along, they're not that common. At any rate, experts thought that Foreman was going to kill Ali. Maybe literally. Ali was scared and anxious but is such a genius of a fighter that he could figure out how to beat anyone. (Frazier the second time). Everyone has a weakness, (or three), he could exploit it. He would have beat Foreman in a street fight, that was one of the most amazing displays of boxing genius, (and guts), ever to occur in history.

I think that Ali would have beat Tyson easily in their respective primes but you never know because of Mike's *X-factor*, his punches were extremely lethal back then. Other fighters had never been hit that hard. When you get hit harder than you've ever been hit in your life AND you really were not expecting it, it has a double whammy. The obvious physical+ mental. You don't want any more of that. Your offensive game goes in the schitter.

If you love boxing and have not seen "When We Were Kings", about the Ali-Foreman fight, go rent it right away. Great documentary that deserved its Best Doc Academy Award.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by KC911

Tyson, as powerful as he was (but so was Foreman) was easily frustrated if a fight wasn't "short & sweet"

This became the case but was not always so. Watch old tapes of Tyson fights on his way up in the early '80s when D' Amato was alive and training him. He was a real boxer, patient and methodical about taking someone apart. There is a great tape I saw last summer on ESPN classics or something of Mike against some Russian who was really tough; he took Mike's punches for 10 rounds, (I think), before buckling. Tyson was as cool as a brain surgeon taking out a piece of grizzle from your hypothalamus. It's really impressive, maybe youTube has those old fights.