Mike Tyson had a high fight IQ – that’s why he feared this big dude right here:
Quite frankly if you didn’t fear Foreman then you clearly lacked common sense because this guy was probably the top HW beast in history.
Truth be told, to an extent Tyson feared ALL his opponents- clearly some he feared more than others. But prime Tyson used to use that natural adrenaline fear in a positive way.
“I use fear as my friend. I reflect that fear back on my opponent; if I don’t have fear then I don’t fight,” said Tyson when talking about his own pre – fight psyche way back in 1986.
Oftentimes he was actually more fearful of failing in front of a large audience rather than pure fear of his opponent.
But either way there has been widespread speculation that apparently Foreman was a bad matchup for Tyson.
Personally, I think prime vs prime it is a 50:50 matchup & the fight would probably have been similar to the classic slugfest that Foreman had with Ron Lyle.
Other than Foreman, I don’t think any other fighter genuinely scared Tyson:
Although he was always wary of fighting very tall, strong & athletic guys with a stiff jab, who also knew how to grapple.
These types of fighters could potentially keep pit bull Tyson at bay for a few rounds & then spoil & smother him on the inside.
At the end of the day, Tyson was a very instinctive boxer & first & foremost he simply wanted to have a good old fashioned brawl. This is when his legendary peek-a-boo style was most effective.
But quite frankly, if you saw a random guy like this at the weigh- in of a prize fight, most people would say that fear was the other guy’s problem.
It has generally been acknowledged within the boxing fraternity that prime Tyson played the intimidation game better than anybody in the modern era.