Why didn't Mike Tyson change his style?

Hopeofmypeople

Hopeofmypeople

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After the joke of a heavyweight of Parker Vs Fury last week I have gone back and been watching a lot of old heavyweight fighters. And something I noticed that I never quite caught in to in the past (obviously being more knowledgable on boxing now) is the flaw in Tysons technique. Now first of all let me start by saying his technique is a beautiful thing and is an amazing thing to watch it incorporated in fights. The thing with it though is it's based entirely on mobility and reflex speed, the style is clearly suited to a younger guy and even then it's dangerous. The style I am talking about is his bobbing and weaving style which he used non stop as his defense. When he was younger he had the stamina to pull it off and even then he was still in danger of taking shots to the face. He was so brilliant though with the style that in his younger days he would cut the ring off so quickly with that style and lay you out fast before you could counter. I noticed in his older days he was still trying to use the same style (Tyson vs Lewis), why didn't his trainers advise him to switch it up and change his defensive style? To me it seems like that style was a double edged sword and as he got older and slower he should have brought other styles in though. This man is a legend and one of the best he just had a flawed style but as a specimen he was on another level able to cut of the ring from guys much taller than him with a clear reach advantage.:wow:
 
MoroccanBoy

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Floyd pattwrson also had back problems from the bobbing and weaving style that cus damato taught. It's an obsolete boxing style. You are too squared up. You have to have some physical gifts to use that style and get to the top level. Patterson was also very fast for a heavyweight and had a big left hook.

By the time the Lewis fight came around Tyson didn't give a fukk about boxing he was just in it for the payday. Even long before that boxing was secondary for Tyson. The kind of life he was living and the money he made how could he stay dedicated to boxing? Particularly as the head case he was and his mentor dying. Cus was the only one who could keep him on track. The fact Tyson was able to do what he did shows what a physical freak he was because by 1990 boxing was an afterthought for him and he never regained that passion for the sport.
 
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He became too ridged with the peak a boo stance and he regressed with age and weight...However that movement is what allowed him to put his weight behind a punch.....he would tear viciously from side to side, also allowed him to do the D'Amato shift, which let him get off unpredictable punches from awkward angles.....



 
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Tyson could dance around and actually box as shown in that exhibition fight he had after he retired. Reason why he didn't change his style :yeshrug: not sure but probably has something to do with reverting back to muscle memory when it was an actual fight and people paid to see Tyson of old KOing dudes not technical skill.
Maybe if he kept Kevin Rooney around he would've been better off but he didn't
 
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He did change his style, he stopped fully using the one Cus taught.

As much as a athletic freak you had to be to use it, he stopped because he lost discipline, focus, and the training habits required to maintain it. After cus died and prison he was a totally different fighter... So even though he was able to KO guys with a shell of his former self it still wasn't the same.

And anyway, a lot of fighters don't change their styles for the better once they get older. Look at Roy Jones.

Floyd changed his up somewhat once he moved up at weight but Tyson was a undersized heavyweight. He needed that style to be productive going up against 6'4 cats while he is like 5'10. The style worked... It could still work especially at heavyweight, it just takes the right person and discipline to keep it up. It is a tough style to imitate and requires a lot of habit forming training.
 
The Amerikkkan Idol

The Amerikkkan Idol

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AS has been said, Tyson did change after he got rid of Kevin Rooney (thanks to Robin Givens) and the original Catskills crew.

His problem was he stopped using the bob & weave style and stopped going to the body in the Don King circus sideshow years.

PLUS, a lot of people forget that Mike Tyson was on powerful Psychotropic drugs that made him slow, sluggish, and gain weight throughout the mid to late '90s.

i think that's a large reason that his behavior became a lot more erratic too.

Just look at all the mass shooters we've had here in America, they've all been on those drugs too.

YOu put that with Evander Holyfield being one of the most blatant drug cheats in history and you get basically what you got in those two fights.
 
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