I am sick of the tyson won on fear myth

[TIGEREDGE]

I am sick of the tyson won on fear myth. Its a load of shit that if a guy stood up to him, mike was very beatable This may of been true to a degree during the late 90's. But the younger tyson didn't need to rely on fear.

He had great power and defensive boxing ability. look at the smith and tucker fighter. mike was outboxing and out jabbing good boxers with over a 7 inch reach advantage. It takes exceptional skill to achieve such a feat

[ironchamp]

Most people credit Ali for employing psychological warfare on his opponents and psyching them out before a fight, but discredit Tyson for his alleged intimidation tactics.

Later on in his career when his skills were diminishing he did rely on intimidation. But pre prision whether or not you feared him, he was one way or another going to beat you.

[radianttwilight]

Most people credit Ali for employing psychological warfare on his opponents and psyching them out before a fight, but discredit Tyson for his alleged intimidation tactics.

Later on in his career when his skills were diminishing he did rely on intimidation. But pre prision whether or not you feared him, he was one way or another going to beat you.

Exactly. The "intimidation" came from his no-frills beatdown approach, impeccable defense (you couldn't even tag him clean when he was prime, hardly), iron jaw, and outstanding training ethic. When you were signed for a fight with Tyson, you knew that there was no way for you to out-train him.

[Bill1234]

I can think of a man that did more training than Tyson radianttwighlight, Rocky Marciano. He used to hit the heavybag for 60 rounds. He would train for a 10 round fight like you would for a 45 round fight.

[Woddy]

I am sick of the tyson won on fear myth. Its a load of shit that if a guy stood up to him, mike was very beatable This may of been true to a degree during the late 90's. But the younger tyson didn't need to rely on fear.

He had great power and defensive boxing ability. look at the smith and tucker fighter. mike was outboxing and out jabbing good boxers with over a 7 inch reach advantage. It takes exceptional skill to achieve such a feat

I agree with most of what you're saying, except Boncrusher Smith didn't exactly face Tyson by showing a ton of heart or skill. He clinched for most of the fight and rarely took a chance on opening himself up to throw a punch. I tend to think that Smith was a bit intimidated by Tyson. The same could be said for a number of other guys Tyson fought as well. Still, Tyson had a lot of heart, skill, handspeed and power, which are the things that people should focus on the most. That said, I think that your points are valid ones. :good

[JonOli]

The way he bobbed and weaved mayed him very hard to hit.

[Jbuz]

mayed

Wow. Just...wow.

[AnthonyJ74]

Razor Ruddock tried to decapitate Tyson in both fights. I remember the first seconds of the first round in the first Tyson/Ruddock fight when Ruddock threw a huge uppercut at Tyson's head that missed. I knew Ruddock came to fight!

[fists of fury]

Tyson wasn't born with that menacing aura. He earned it. That in itself says a lot.

[McGrain]

I am sick of the tyson won on fear myth. Its a load of shit that if a guy stood up to him, mike was very beatable This may of been true to a degree during the late 90's. But the younger tyson didn't need to rely on fear.

He had great power and defensive boxing ability. look at the smith and tucker fighter. mike was outboxing and out jabbing good boxers with over a 7 inch reach advantage. It takes exceptional skill to achieve such a feat


The title of this thread and what you are saying in your post contradict each other. Of course Tyson wasn't as good as beaten if anyone stood up to him - most of the guys he fought stood up to him, they were pro boxers.

But he did indeed have several fights as good as won because of the fear factor BEFORE he stepped into the ring. Examples include Bruno II and Spinks. These guys still needed KO ing, but that was all they needed.

Fearelssness is certainly a core ingredient of the recipe needed to defeat Tyson (see Hollyfield) and I think this is where this myth has come from.

[TBooze]

I think some forget, the power prime Tyson had was merely an added bonus, he would at his best been brilliant if he hit like Byrd.

As for the fear thing:

Every fighter has to have some fear steeping into the ring other wise you will be too confident and not give your best. The secret is to control your fear and use it to your advantage. There can be no doubt a few failed that test against prime Tyson.

[DamonD]

And really, there's nothing wrong in Mike being viewed as having that 'fear factor' on his side. If you can, with a combination of your look, attitude and body language, create that kinda of monster aura around yourself then well bloody done, and it's a great and perfectly valid weapon to use.

Nothing wrong with putting fear into your opponent. It's not a worthy excuse for a loss, or a denigration for a win.

Fair play to Mike, is what I'm getting at.

As for the 'stand up to him and you win' theory, I just don't buy it. I do think it's a part of what you need, maybe a large part, but that alone doesn't guarantee you a win. Guys like Ruddock and Botha weren't terrified of Tyson but they still didn't win.

[RoccoMarciano]

Every fighter has to have some fear steeping into the ring other wise you will be too confident and not give your best. The secret is to control your fear and use it to your advantage. There can be no doubt a few failed that test against prime Tyson.

I don't agree. Why enter a ring being afraid of the other guy? That's a recipe for your own defeat if I've heard/read one.

Give your best knowing that is enough to knock the other guy's head off.

[The Whaler]

Most people credit Ali for employing psychological warfare on his opponents and psyching them out before a fight, but discredit Tyson for his alleged intimidation tactics.

Later on in his career when his skills were diminishing he did rely on intimidation. But pre prision whether or not you feared him, he was one way or another going to beat you.
I actually think Tyson was better at mind games then Ali. So good, in fact, that most people still think Tyson is the mad man he portrayed himself as.

I think Ali entertained the audience with his verbal jabs, but really didn't affect his opponents. Keep in mind, Bonavena with his limited English managed to fluster Ali when it came to trash talk.

[JohnThomas1]

I actually think Tyson was better at mind games then Ali. So good, in fact, that most people still think Tyson is the mad man he portrayed himself as.

I think Ali entertained the audience with his verbal jabs, but really didn't affect his opponents. Keep in mind, Bonavena with his limited English managed to fluster Ali when it came to trash talk.

Tyson isn't in Ali's class when it comes to stuff like this. Tyson's did have great intimidation based on his enormous power, scary record and plain and simple ability to knock a guy out, damn fast. Ali did good jobs on Liston and Foreman, too damn scary pricks who had most everyone running scared. Tyson never had the opportunity to intimidate such an opponent or prove himself vs such a guy. Regarding Boneva, Ali still won of course.

[Ezzard]

Tyson didn't win on intimidation alone but once he lost the aura he also lost a big part of his effectiveness, just like Liston and Foreman before him.

[JohnThomas1]

Tyson didn't win on intimidation alone but once he lost the aura he also lost a big part of his effectiveness, just like Liston and Foreman before him.

Very true, especially when he came up against other pinnacle level fighters like Holy and Lewis. Granted he still staved off big dangerous guys like Rudduck.

[TBooze]

I don't agree. Why enter a ring being afraid of the other guy? That's a recipe for your own defeat if I've heard/read one.

Give your best knowing that is enough to knock the other guy's head off.

Yes I agree to a point, that is why I said you need to be able to control your fear.

Say you fancied prime Charles to beat Tyson. If Ezzard went into the fight thinking he was going to knock Tyson's head off, he would be badly outgunned and probably lose.

If Charles went into the ring afraid of Tyson he would probably lose.

But if Charles went into the ring respecting Tyson's power because he knows what could happen if he does not, then Charles would stand his best chance of beating Tyson.

[SuzieQ49]

we really dont know how tyson would have reacted. right after the douglas loss, he responded very well knocking out dangerous # 2 contender razor ruddock and flattening alex stewart in 1(who went 12 with holy) and henry tilliman(who beat him at trials). we dont know what would have happened to tyson or how he would have done vs holy in 91 because he went to prison

[Vantage_West]

Tyson wasn't born with that menacing aura. He earned it. That in itself says a lot.great quote there:good
just out of curiosity who is the guy in your avatar

[zippy]

I do think there were times when opponents were very afraid of him, like Spinks and Bruno (talking about the second fight more than the first). But that fear came from the fact that the man was dangerous. It wasn't a myth that he was a badass. For a very brief time, he may have beaten any heavyweight of any era.

[round15]

People forget how good Mike Tyson was when he was young. Before he won the heavyweight title, I watched Tyson become almost the perfect combination of Floyd Patterson and Joe Frazier. The only thing Tyson doesn't have that Frazier and Patterson have is the 15 round endurance skills. Frazier's left hook was better than Tyson's but his right hand was not as strong as his. Tyson used to move his head, roll out and hook to either side and jab in and out to attack and counter. He did none of this against Lennox Lewis. Like Patterson, Tyson used his jab more and wasn't always coming forward. There were a few early fights where I saw a young Mike Tyson circle his opponent and attack on the angles. Joe Frazier used to do this early on in his career. The main impression of Frazier is the fact that he always came forward which wasn't the case. Frazier was an all time great at staying low and using the angles to land body shots. Patterson had the fastest hands of the three and perhaps the best jab. Tyson arguably could have finished his career in the top five if Cus had lived. He would have made sure Tyson's head was on straight and wouldn't have allowed him to be destroyed by Robin Givens, Desiree Washington, Don King and other useless trainers. A few years back, before he fought Lennox Lewis, Teddy Atlas called him out and welcomed him back with open arms. If Tyson had trained with Atlas again, maybe his weight would have been down and he would have moved his head a whole lot more than what he showed against Lewis. Tyson was an intimidating fighter and only after his exile did he start using fear tactics. Mike Tyson was a complimentary winner and helpful of his beaten opponent early in his career.

[C. M. Clay II]

we really dont know how tyson would have reacted. right after the douglas loss, he responded very well knocking out dangerous # 2 contender razor ruddock and flattening alex stewart in 1(who went 12 with holy) and henry tilliman(who beat him at trials). we dont know what would have happened to tyson or how he would have done vs holy in 91 because he went to prison

I totally agree.:good