Mike Tyson wasn’t a ‘great’ boxer, says Atlas

In a recent interview on the Lex Fridman podcast, Atlas gave his candid thoughts on his former star protégé.

“I don’t know if he was ever great,” he said (quotes by MMA Junkie).

“I know he was sensational. I know he was the greatest mix of, maybe speed and power, ever. I know he was one of the greatest punchers from either side of the plate, left or right.”

Atlas went on to drop some big names in comparison to Mike Tyson.

“There’s been great punchers with just the right hand like Earnie Shavers and Deontay Wilder and Max Baer. I don’t know if there’s ever been anyone who could punch as good as (Tyson) did on either side with either hand other than Joe Louis and a few others.

“I don’t know if there’s ever been such a combination of speed and power to that pure level that he had, and it was a pure level.”

‘He wasn’t tested’

For 1980s heavyweight boxing, a fighter of Mike Tyson’s caliber didn’t come often, if at all. After winning 25 of his 27 fights by stoppage, he won his first world title at age 20 by stopping Trevor Berbick in 1986.

He carried on with this streak until tasting defeat for the first time against James “Buster” Douglas in 1990, a fight he admittedly took lightly.
Buster Douglas KOs Mike Tyson in 1990. | Colorsport, IMAGO
But even throughout this impressive run until the Douglas loss, Atlas only saw one moment of greatness from Tyson.

“He wasn’t tested, but he might have been ready to be tested that one night against Michael Spinks when he took him apart in 90 seconds. I think I saw a great fighter that night.

“I don’t think you can be great unless you have all the requirements of being great.”

Teddy Atlas’ merits for greatness

Atlas has been in the game for decades now, seeing it from different viewpoints as a trainer and analyst. He has his own merits to define what a great fighter is. This is where he drew the line between Mike Tyson and the competition.

“To not rely on someone else’s weakness to be strong, to be strong on your own.

“Too often, (Tyson) relied on other people’s weakness, whether it’s by being intimidated or whether it was because his talent was so much greater than theirs, that it was like putting a monster truck in there with a Volkswagen.

“The Volkswagen was going to get crushed. No matter how much horsepower the Volkswagen might’ve had under the hood, it was going to get crushed.

“The monster truck was not going to allow it to be a contest. To be able to find a way when your talent wasn’t enough – he didn’t find a way when his talent wasn’t enough.”

Atlas also gave his definition of what a fighter is.

“A fight is not a fight until there’s something to overcome. So, if you go by my definition, not Webster’s, pretend it means something, Mike Tyson was only in five (six) fights in his life.

“The fights where there was something to overcome, he didn’t overcome it,” he said, referring to the two losses to Evander Holyfield and the KO loss to Douglas.

What is Mike Tyson up to these days?

Mike Tyson trains Francis Ngannou for Tyson Fury. | Icon Sportswire, IMAGO
Apart from his podcast, the 57-year-old Tyson remains involved in the sport. He recently helped former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou train for Tyson Fury in their October bout.

Ngannou lost on the scorecards, but exceeded everyone’s expectations. He even scored a knockdown in the process.

Tyson, of course, was nothing short of proud.

“I was really proud of Francis Ngannou because he listened to everything I said,” he said after the bout. “And I was telling everybody about the great left hook that he landed on his sparring partner and actually broke his leg, and I knew if he landed that left hook on anybody, they were gone – and I was right.

The champ went down. I’m happy. I’m very grateful to be involved with his glory, his victory. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of Mr. Francis.”

Mike Tyson retired from competition in 2005. He left the sport with a record of 50-6 (with two No Contests).