Mike Tyson talking about the time Teddy Atlas put a gun to his head

I could listen to Atlas all day,his recent Cus D'amato talks were great.
Mike seems to have more than 1 version of this story for that reason I believe Atlas.

Mike is one of my favs his footwork,movement and defence in his pomp is the best of any heavyweight of any era.
Ali's style is the easiest to perform low energy and arm punches with an uncomplicated defence that any child could watch and reproduce,the Tyson drills with movement,footwork and shifts are a complicated regime which take enormous fitness and motor skills to get anywhere near correct nevermind the power punching.
Long winded point to say I'm not biased against Tyson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z69P5CDF5so

Teddy Atlas has been running down Tyson for decades in every interview, you could say still dining out on his name because of the short time they spent together, always calling him mentally weak and not one of the greats, not even in the top 10, it's just bitterness because Atlas was given his marching orders for putting a gun against his head.

Tyson's biggest asset was simply his explosiveness, he also had the advantage of fighting everyone who was taller than him so he got used to throwing punches upwards, as he was only 5'10, whereas most heavyweights were well over 6 foot and when they fought him they had to punch down. So many boxers he fought lost before the fight started because they were scared of him, even Larry Holmes as experienced as he was, looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, a much bigger man as well.

I've just watched the Tyson v Holmes fight on YT.... in the ring pre fight was a healthy looking Muhammad Ali and a young looking Donald Trump

The criteria for which most in boxing call a 'great' is different from ours.
The reality is Tyson was great for such a short period until lots of factors went against him,he didn't have the longevity at his best to be called a great.
In my opinion at his best I can't think of anyone who could have coped with him.
I don't think Atlas dines out on Tyson stories,he gets asked about those days so often and is in a position to give honest answers.
If you look back he would speak of Mike's mental weakness (for a fighter) when Mike was was about 15/16.
He also rates Mike as the best puncher he's ever trained and praises him about his natural physicalities from a young age I particularly enjoyed hearing about Mike's first fight.

May 25, 2020 -- 12:26AM, mecca wrote:

I've just watched the Tyson v Holmes fight on YT.... in the ring pre fight was a healthy looking Muhammad Ali and a young looking Donald Trump

Cracking story about Larry Holmes when Cus,Teddy and a 15 year old Mike were watching him fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4cviPMogCM

May 24, 2020 -- 11:49PM, DenzilPenberthy wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z69P5CDF5so

Yeah totally different version from Tyson there in 2017. He seems more brutally honest about himself last couple of years though. Interviewer is like 'Please let me get out of this alive'

Yes he's like a different person grows and smokes alot of weed it seems

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/11309670/mike-tyson-cannabis-empire-ranch/

Has his own podcast now 'Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson' that he hosts alongside a friend of his, Eben Britton.

Don't know much about Britton, but Mike is a supremely fascinating character. The podcast shows how much he has grown as person, and very interesting to listen to him talking to various personalities from all avenues of life.

Sugar Ray Leonard one is superb, and Tyson gets really emotional while talking in that one.

I always thought Mike Tyson was quite intelligent and eloquent when he spoke about something he knew about. It is a shame Atlas was not around a lot longer. It would appear Mike respected him and would have learned a lot about life from him. It cannot be good to have yes men and people who just want to take your money around you all the time.

Ali all day for me. Can you imagine a 1967 Ali in the ring with Tyson? I would have Tyson as a great though. He beat himself up more than anyone else did. Certainly better was than any other Boxer since Holmes. It is a shame he didn’t fight Lewis in particular earlier or Holyfield before he fceked himself up.

Tyson was most similar to Frazier in that era, Ali struggled a lot with Frazier, people always readily dismiss Tyson's chances against Ali but I don't know why, he would have stood a chance, there were not many boxers Ali fought that were as ultra quick and powerful as Tyson, it's George Foreman who he'd really have struggled against in his prime, Foreman made Frazier look like an amateur and did not allow him to get close to him, Ali on the other hand made the mistake of letting him get close the whole time.

Tyson went downhill when Don King got a hold of him, he lost his sharpness, he was fighting untold fights every year then he slowed him down to only 3 or so fights a year.

Just watching Frazier Quarry 2 and thinking what a fight between Frazier and Tyson would have been like. As you say quite a match!

Ali fought Frazier after 3 years out of the ring. I have to say  do you think the6 were better at taking shots back in the day? Quarry taking more big hits in three rounds than the whole of a modern day championship fight!

Ali is probably the most overrated fighter in boxing, many of his fights were very dubious points decisions or even thrown fights in the case of Liston with him lacking the power to floor and keep down most heavyweights. If it was dancing around talking garbage then Ali was the greatest ever but he made his name off the Foreman fight which virtually everybody expected him to lose because Foreman was a far better fighter. Buster Douglas beat Tyson but clearly wasnt a better fighter, compare how foreman got on against Frazier to how Ali did and you have your answers.

As for a 1967 Ali, who did he beat exactly that year.. Ernie Terrell who lost both fights after ali to the great names of thad spencer and journeyman bum manuel ramos. His other fight was against Zara Folley who got battered by Henry Cooper and Brian London.. hardly legends in boxing he was facing

Frazier had limited power,speed,movement,footwork,ring IQ and size played a part because of his limitations he was perfect for Ali and Foreman.
Ali hit him at will in the second and third fights and Foreman was too big/strong.
What Frazier had in spades was heart his movement although he looks like he's bobbing and weaving is just that it's not a learned skill the way Tyson was from his youth.
Ali would not have had the power to keep a prime Tyson off with his arm punches and a prime Tyson had far better footwork and handspeed.
Ali flicking out arm punches isn't hand speed anyone can be fast with arm punches and limited power Ali couldn't crack an egg in reality,his chin,boxing IQ,durability and who he was as a man was why he was so good.

A clip from Muhammad Ali and Cus D'amato talk boxing 3:53 before the first Frazier fight the full version is on YT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDZUTRL_iaM

Denzil you say " ali hit frazier at will " in the second and third fights having lost the first one but many people felt he lost the dodgy decision in the second fight with it going to judges.. why couldnt he put him down and keep him there? Foreman put Frazier on his arse over ten times in their two fights utterly annihilating him. He clearly wasnt perfect for Ali has he beat him once ( many people thought twice).. I'm not sure how you can say Frazier had limited power. He hit far harder than Ali and virtually every other heavyweight of that era bar foreman and Shavers.

Tyson is my favourite fighter of all time, he was incredible to watch in his prime but the reality is there were two other great fighters of that era and despite being younger than both he lost to both men

May 25, 2020 -- 11:57AM, wolf3011 wrote:

Denzil you say " ali hit frazier at will " in the second and third fights having lost the first one but many people felt he lost the dodgy decision in the second fight with it going to judges.. why couldnt he put him down and keep him there? Foreman put Frazier on his arse over ten times in their two fights utterly annihilating him. He clearly wasnt perfect for Ali has he beat him once ( many people thought twice).. I'm not sure how you can say Frazier had limited power. He hit far harder than Ali and virtually every other heavyweight of that era bar foreman and Shavers.Tyson is my favourite fighter of all time, he was incredible to watch in his prime but the reality is there were two other great fighters of that era and despite being younger than both he lost to both men

Frazier didn't have the power to put Ali away he hit Ali more than anyone and Ali hit him more than anyone they were perfect for eachother neither had enough to beat eachother.

Tyson is my favourite fighter of all time, he was incredible to watch in his prime but the reality is there were two other great fighters of that era and despite being younger than both he lost to both men
When they got rid of Kevin Rooney Tyson wasn't the same guy (as you know) Tyson will have known he couldn't beat Lewis or Holyfield at those times.
When I talk about Tyson I talk about his abilities up to the Rooney split it's a short shelf life,it's said Ali wasn't the same after his lay off Ali came back with something greater a mind that was impregnable.

Ali is probably the most overrated fighter in boxing,

Not having that at all but have to go right now. Will come back later.

No one really had the power to put Ali away  Denzil. He had one of the best chins of all time, it doesn't mean Frazier was lacking power.. Id say Fraziers left hook was as powerful as any heavyweight in history bar maybe Tyson and Shavers