Lewis Vs Tyson - The Time Has Come

by B.Yap

On November 22nd, 1986, Mike Tyson, at the age of 20, became the youngest heavyweight champion ever in the history of the sport by knockout over then WBC champion Trevor Berbick. He then went on to unify the belts and ruled the division for over the next four years. Even former champions like Michael Spinks and Larry Holmes could not handle the sheer power and accuracy of the punching machine known as 'Iron Mike'.

Spinks was seen as the last man who could possibly have a chance of beating Tyson, however he was quickly disposed of in the first round, as he found Tyson was not only powerful, but also deceptively fast.

--- 1990 ---

Moving five years onwards, and in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport, Buster Douglas became the undisputed champion of the world by knocking out Iron Mike in round ten of their bout in Tokyo.

Douglas, a skilled heavyweight, was highly motivated for the bout, and he executed his game plan to perfection, using his reach and boxing skills along with solid power to keep Tyson at bay and making him pay each time he would come in. Even to this day, I don't think any other heavyweight including Evander Holyfield havebeaten Tyson as cleanly as Buster Douglas did.

Some people saw the win for Douglas as a fluke. Two of the three organisations even tried to strip him of the belt, and there were allegations that Douglas had been given a 'long count'.

Douglas however, was able to keep all the belts, but lengthy court battles with his ex promoter had taken their toll before his first defence against a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who was stepping up into the heavyweight division on October 25th, 1990.

During this time, Tyson was found to be guilty of rape and was sent to prison to do some time. He would remain there for the next four to five years, out of the heavyweight scene completely...

The heavyweight scene at this time was as follows :

Holyfield was now the new champion, but he appeared vulnerable. He had beaten the likes of Larry Holmes and George Foreman in his first defences, however he had been far from impressive since both took him the full distance. He was still seen at this time as little more than a blown up cruiserweight.

Razor Ruddock who had fought Tyson in two battles was seen as one of the best heavyweights in the division having fought courageously but losing to Mike just before he was sentenced.

Then there were the next generation of heavyweights, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Michael Moorer, Ray Mercer and Tommy Morrison. They were only at the start of their careers and had alot of potential.

--- Four Years Later ---

When Mike Tyson emerged from prison, four years later, The heavyweight picture was now completely different.

There were now three fighters who had proven themselves throughout the 90's as the best in the division. They were Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer. All three of them were at least two time champions and Michael Moorer had of course beaten Evander Holyfield on points. There were also now a new group of young heavyweights on the rise.

---- 1997 ---

Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson would finally meet on June 28th 1997. What people forget is that Holyfield specifically built himself up from cruiserweight with the intent of fighting Mike Tyson who was champion at the time. Holyfield dominated Tyson, using a combination of boxing as well as spoiling tactics which prevented Tyson from unleashing a sustained attack, whilst making Tyson feel the full impact of his shots. A few months later, a rematch was held, and in this fight, there were even more spoiling tactics from Holyfield, whether you think this was right or not, considering Tyson has also used such tactics, the fact of the matter is that Holyfield did win the fight, however Tyson beat himself as well by not successfully adapting or coming up with a plan B.

---- 2002 ----

Moving ahead to 2002, and the heavyweight picture becomes clearer. With Holyfield fighting three matches against John Ruiz which did not enhance his reputation, Lennox Lewis clearing his name in devastating fashion by knockout of his conqueror Hasim Rahman to once again making his record unique in being one of the few fighters who have avenged all their defeats, it becomes clear now that Lennox Lewis is the best heavyweight champion of the past decade.

Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis are the 'stayers' of the division, a whole era of boxing was skipped simply because these two would not retire and continued to not only be competitive but also to dominate the division. There had been high expectations for David Tua, Michael Grant, Andrew Golota and even David Izon, however there time has not come and may never come ...

---- June 8th 2002 ---

So now we move onto the fight on June the 8th.

Sometimes we compare fighters based on what they've done over their most recent fights. However this isn't always accurate. If you did that, you would have Tyson not being at his best, you'd have Lennox Lewis being knocked out.

Great fighters will rise to the occasion and perform differently depending on the level of the competition they are facing. Holyfield rose to the occasion when he took on Bowe in their second fight, and he did the same against Tyson in their first fight. In various other fights throughout those years, he has looked pretty much as he has against John Ruiz, unimpressive and looking like he is one fight away from retirement.

With the changes in Tyson's team, I think that this indicates that Tyson is serious and motivated for this fight. This is the fight where Tyson will have to dig deep and rise to the occasion. Apart from Holyfield I think that Lennox Lewis is the only other fighter Tyson has respect for and because of that respect he will put on maybe one of the best performances in his career. Lennox Lewis has been wanting to face Tyson for a long time now, so we know that we will also be highly motivated for this fight. And we all know that a motivated Lewis is also a dangerous Lewis.

The battles between Holyfield, Tyson and Lewis are like the final chapter of an era in boxing. The three of them have been the major forces in the division over the past two decades and before the next wave of heavyweights take over, this fight had to happen.

This fight should bring out the best in both fighters. Lewis has been criticised for fighting boring fights, but can anyone imagine him being boring with Tyson in there with him ?

Tyson also knows he has to be at his best, there is a mutual respect of each other's skills and that's why it should be a good fight.

Lewis, even though he has achieved so much, is still fighting for the respect he feels he still hasn't received. Tyson, will be fighting for redemption, because his achievements in boxing have in recent times been overshadowed by personal problems, this fight is his chance to do what he does best which is to fight, and so hopefully on June the 8th, the world will see a great display of boxing skills and championship heart from both fighters, if that happens, the fans will win and boxing will win