Fans were drawn to Mike Tyson because of he relentless style of fighting. The peek-a-boo style, combined with his reflexes and power, made him something to marvel over.
He didn’t look like the traditional fighters. Tyson didn’t wear a fancy robe to the ring, or even socks and underwear, for that matter. Not having those things made him feel more barbaric, but that isn’t why he doesn’t make the grade as one of the top 10 boxers of all time.
It’s simply that the following 10 were better…
Top 10 Heavyweights
1. Muhammad Ali
2. Joe Louis
If you polled boxing fans and asked them which all-time fight they want to see most, the better portion of those fans would likely say Muhammad Ali vs. Mike Tyson.
They want to see Ali fight because most boxing fans consider Muhammad Ali the best boxer of all time. He beat the menacing Sonny Liston, shocking the boxing public, and later in his career he beat the unbeatable George Foreman. Unless you have Joe Louis No. 1, it’s Ali atop your list.
3. Lennox Lewis
4. Rocky Marciano
I have Lennox Lewis at No. 3 all-time, because he beat every fighter worth anything during his career. He cleaned out the division, including a knockout over Tyson.
Rocky Marciano is fourth on my list, because he’s the only champion to never lose his title. You can question the level of talent during his run, but at the end of the day nobody could stop him in 49 career fights.
5. George Foreman
6. Joe Frazier
Until Ali defeated him, George Foreman was considered to be unbeatable. I think he did enough in the first part of his career to make this list, but the second part of his career puts him in the top five.
Joe Frazier only lost to two fighters, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, No.1 and No.5 on my list of all-time fighters—not bad if you ask me. Joe fought in a time when the heavyweight division was at its best. The third Ali fight is the most brutal display of boxing.
7. Larry Holmes
8. Jack Dempsey
I know some of you are thinking, “Mike Tyson beat Holmes,” and that is true. However, he didn’t beat him in his prime; he beat a two-year retired Larry Holmes. Not the Holmes that won 48 consecutive fights.
Jack Dempsey is in at eight on the list, and in some he opinions should be higher. One of the most dominant the sport has ever seen, he could box or slug it out toe-to-toe.
9. Sonny Liston
10. Jack Johnson
Sonny Liston was thought to be as unbeatable as Marciano. Many boxing historians believe if Marciano had stayed around to fight him, that would have been his first loss of his career. If Muhammad Ali hadn’t beat Liston, nobody at the time was going to do it.
Jack Johnson is regarded as one of the best ever, and on some other lists he’s higher than he is on mine. The reason that Johnson and Dempsey are lower on my list has everything to do with the era. They might have been higher if their time frame had been different. Like all other sports, boxers got better as time progressed.
The Career of Iron Mike Tyson
Tyson exploded onto the boxing scene. There wasn’t a lot of film on Tyson because he made short work of his opponents. He would go on to be the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history, passing the record held by another Cus D’Amato fighter.
The foundation was set up for Tyson to become the greatest of all time. Even Muhammad Ali, who always proclaimed to be the greatest, believed Tyson would end up being better than anyone who ever put on boxing gloves.