Fight Night Physics

Great subject, but I wish you would have left Tyson's name out of it.

He's a punk, idiot, poor sport, baby...........................................anything, but an athlete.

As far as I'm concerned, Tyson and boxing don't belong in the same sentence since the night he bit Holyfield's ear off.

I guess he's one of the greatest..................if you happen to like dog fighting.

i cant comment on the ear-off between holyfield and tyson ...

however i would suggest there are alot of people who would respect tyson for the pure ability , and also give him compassion and sympathy for the informed view that his jail term for rape was a gross injustice.

as tyson said " his mistake was not walking the girl down to the car like a gentleman after they had sex "

the complainant was at best a vexatious girl looking for revenge , attention or money , or at worst , possibly in a conspiracy involving Don king.

You're getting off into his personal life, which I really don't care about.

I was watching the fight when he bit Holyfield. It probably ranks as the most disgusting display in modern sports. Any talent he had, (which was substantial), was nullified that night. He could have been the greatest boxer of all time.........................but after that, it doesn't matter.

I agree with you that you almost have to look at Tyson under the handling of Cus D Amato and stop there. What I do NOT agree with you about is suggesting Tyson could have been the greatest boxer of all time. Tyson was NEVER a boxer. He was always a puncher. One of the greatest Puncher/Boxers of all time was someone, also with a very storied past, and who does not get enough praise because of it, was Sonny Liston. He was exceptional. To even consider Tyson over the likes of Joe Louis or Sugar Ray Robinson is nuts. He can't even breathe the same air as those two. If anyone reading this gets a chance, read the book Jacob's Beach. Terrific book on mid-20th Century of what went on in Boxing.

Well sure. Boxing is an art form. I'm surprised you didn't mention Ali. People loved to hate him back in the day, but he used all of the tools at his disposal................................grandstanding, dancing around the ring, playing head games with his opponents to get them enraged and throw off their game, etc.,..................and then he would come in for the kill.

As far as Tyson goes, maybe not so much practicing the art of boxing, but as far as raw power is concerned.................................forget about it. If he connected, it hurt!

You make a good point though...............unlike other boxers, Tyson's fighting ability was driven by primal rage. He demonstrated his inability to control it with Holyfield, and it was his undoing.

This is fast becoming an interesting discussion. Your original premise was and remains THE PUNCH. Nonetheless, you now bring Ali into the picture who was NEVER a puncher. He was a pure boxer who, after wearing down an opponent, could knock them out. No one feared his punch, they feared his cutting jabs and his agility in the ring. Same with Sugar Ray Leonard. Whereas Tyson, Forman, Shavers, Norton, Frazier, Max Bear, Joe Louis, Duran, Hearns, Hagler and others all had devastating punches that opponents feared. (I put Norton in there reluctantly, but he did nail Dwayne Bobick in sixteen seconds of the first round.) Yes, boxing IS an art form, especially when one combines boxing with punching. Which is why Liston, Joe Louis, Hearns, Hagler and at times Duran were so beautiful to watch.

I don't feel like debating about different boxers. My original point...............and my only point, is that Tyson is not worthy of being part of the discussion. That's it.

There are plenty of others that respected the sport and were great boxers. I don't understand why Tyson was chosen as the headliner of this blog.

I just want to see Mike Tyson try to punch out the Pillsbury Doughboy, who would probably be resilient enough to take it and bounce back smiling.

The post is less about Tyson and his flaws, and more about the respect for his boxing ability, specifically his cross. A few sources placed him amongst the hardest hitters ever.

You're right. The point I was trying to make, is that his inabilility to contol his temper should preclude him from any conversation about boxing. There are plenty of hard hitters that we can talk about. He rendered himself unworthy of being a part of any conversation that pertains to boxing..........................much less pasting up a big picture of his sorry a$$.

I'm not provoking an argument, just discussion:

Pete Rose should be banned from baseball then? Roman Polanski films, they shouldn't be distributed in America?

Just seeing if it's possible to dissociate a person's personal demons from their talent...

Poor Kramarat is getting clobbered with his own boomerangs here, talking more than anyone else about the unmentionable name.

I'm used to it.

Apples and oranges. I don't think Pete Rose should be banned from baseball, unless he was found to be intentionally throwing the games....................which he wasn't. Now, if Pete Rose lost his cool during a game and clocked some other player over the head with a baseball bat........................hell yes he should be banned.

My opinion of Tyson is based only on what he did to Holyfield in the ring that night. None of his personal stuff matters to me in the least.

I mean c'mon man.......................we're talking about a grown man biting off another man's ear during a sporting event. He disgraced the sport, and he disgraced himself.........................in front of the whole world. It's just my opinion, but I don't think his name should be brought up again in connection to boxing. Especially in the context of what a great hitter he was. He's not a great anything. It does every other boxer that played by the rules a disservice.

Let me put it this way:

Suppose you had two coworkers at work...................Tim and Tom.

Both of them have done a lot for the company, helped the bottom line, and helped put them on the map.

Tim plays by the rules and is a pretty decent guy. Tom's a guy that likes to bend the rules, both at work and in his personal life, but he gets the job done.

A chance for a big promotion comes up, and both Tim and Tom are up for the position. Well, before the announcement, Tim gets in a car wreck and ends up in the hospital.

Come to find out, Tom cut his brake lines and was the one that caused the accident.

Now, would you expect to see Tom's name keep popping up in the company newsletter, touting his accomplishments? Or would Tom's name just quietly disappear from everything?

I kind of feel bad for the blogger..........................I'm sure they didn't see this coming.

Just in case you've forgotten:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/551008/

To me, this nixes all of his accomplishments.

Believe me..................I wish I had never brought it up.

But, since you seem to be of the opinion that nothing about boxing is good, and all boxers are scumbags at heart, I feel obligated to disagree with that also. I'm not passing judgement on the world of boxing. Only one boxer, and only based on one thing he did while in the ring.

HUSH. I just realized that you're the blogger.

It is a good blog...................I just don't like Tyson. I had paid money to watch that fight on cable. Everything was just right....................beer, snacks, nice big TV, good crowd of friends................................and then THAT!!!

I'm sure you can imagine how pi$$ed off we were when they called the fight. The big ugly picture at the top of your blog brought me back.

As long as discussion is provoked, I'm content. Whether technically or athletically apt (this blog bleeds both) I'm just here for the ride.

I can understand your position and thank you for expressing it, especially tactfully.

It's the the blogs and threads that stir up a little controversy, that end up being the most interesting and conversation generating.................keep up the good work.

Tactful?

Sometimes I'm a little shy, and have difficulty expressing my true feelings. I'll try to be more forthright in the future.