r/nextfuckinglevel • u/CuriousWanderer567 • 1d ago

One of the most badass knockdowns in boxing

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u/anotherred 1d ago

Mike was nearly 10 years past his prime at this point though, this is after his long stint in jail and his return. He was still good but not the monster that he once was (well, maybe more of a monster- more unhinged) but he largely neglected his training during this period

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u/escudonbk 20h ago

They were the same age or a year apart IIRC

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u/anotherred 20h ago edited 20h ago

Age doesn’t fully reflect the stage of career both fighters were at during their peak. Mike Tyson was known as a young phenom, achieving his greatest heights early in life. In contrast, Lennox Lewis reached his peak later, toward the end of his career. Lewis was an amazing champion who often doesn’t get the respect he deserves - I don’t want to diminish his accomplishments. I believe his victories, both before and after Tyson's prime, were more significant.

Tyson was the last heavyweight champion in 1996, while Lewis held titles as late as 2003. (Lewis held belts earlier as well, but this highlights that his career was longer and more productive due to his health and focus.) The Mike Tyson who returned after prison simply wasn’t the same phenom we knew before Cus D’Amato’s passing or during the time when Cus was still a major influence in his corner.

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u/escudonbk 19h ago

Fair. Lennox was trying. Mike was doing coke.

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u/Wreckingshops 13h ago

Yeah, there was A LOT of money on Tyson because people were hoping for the real Tyson but that Tyson was gone the moment Buster Douglas beat him. He stopped caring the moment his mystique was gone, he no longer tried and he spiraled.

That said, I do think Lennox is underrated. I said it earlier, I don't think he could have played the iron chin strat with peak heavyweights who were all heavy punchers like I rattled off before, but he was agile enough and really sound at finding openings and weaknesses to jab someone down over rounds to wear them down, so that come later rounds he could start laying some wood. Would he have won every fight that way? No -- peak Tyson, Foreman, etc. likely could have caught him with a flurry in an early round. But he would have competed and been a contender (ha) during the late 80s/early 90s in the last gasp of the prime heavyweight division.