Mike Tyson was never just a brute however much he looked like one. He had skill coming out his ears. Remember that he could nail at will and from the getgo fighters who had up to eight inches of reach advantage. Remember the three and five punch combinations that came in at unreal speed and ferocity. Remember that Mike Tyson did something that many young people have to learn to do: Study the past and learn all that you can from it. When he entered the ring as a nineteen year old he knew more about the strategy and tactics employed by the greats going back a hundred years than probably any one else except perhaps Cus.
Tyson is no moron and he’s no slob he was cerebral when it came to his craft. He knows he’s 57. He’s gonna come out with that peek-a-boo thing he used to to. He’s gonna take his opponents reach and speed measure, then he’s gonna nail him. And I doubt even at his age that he is at all enfeebled in the matter of punching force.
We have t even discussed the close in body assault he was so terrifyingly good at. And terrifying is the word forTyson . Against most 57 year olds 27 is a distinct advantage. Against the most terrifying, schooled and thinking, physically imposing and talented fighter perhaps of all time 27 ain’t all that it might sound like in other circumstances.
Yes, he had Cus D’Amato. He may never have been defeated, if he lived longer.