Mike Check: The Top 5 Reasons Mike Tyson Will Never Be Considered One of the Greatest Fighters Ever

Pound for Pound, He Would Not Even Make the Top 20

Number one: He beat some good fighters, but he never beat a great fighter.

This was not all Mike's fault. In fact, I don't think anyone is to blame for the lack of quality opponents in the heavyweight division at that time. He came up through the ranks at a time when the division was statistically the worst in boxing. Added to the lack of real competition was the corporate re-structuring of the boxing mecca Las Vegas in the wake of almost 3 decades of mob control. The new breed of promoters and hotel/casino owners built heavyweight boxing up to an almost gladiator-like opulent spectacle and they were thirsty for blood. Watching a human bulldog like Mike run Rampant in a 2 or 3 minute bloodbath seemed to satisfy the celebrity sadists. It's arguable that he would have beaten better opponents anyway, but that is speculation. He spent his best years beating up on a string of dead tomato cans.

Number two: He hit really hard, but he was not a physically strong as he should have been.

Mike possessed a lot of successful tools a boxer have in order to be successful. He had hand-speed, a textbook uppercut, good power in right and left hooks, He knew how to work the angles and go to the body. Most of all he knew when he had his opponent completely figured out and how to finish him. But as early as his 6th professional fight, his sparring partners began to comment secretly that despite his punching power, he was unable to break routine tie-ups and clinches - which they probably did frequently. Although Mike used his body well in a fight, his predisposition for knockouts weakened his overall fundamental strength training. Unlike Floyd Patterson for example, who despite having fought his entire heavyweight career as a cruiser-weight (195lbs) he was a master of breaking clinches as a much less imposing figure.

Number three: Mike was completely one dimensional