[gravytrain]

I'd agree and I'll go one step further and give you guys a kinda conspiracy theory that I've alywas had about that whole rape situation.

Tyson was already dangerously spiralling out of control when the rape case came up. King had Holloway and whatever the other guy was as Tyson's managers and they were most definately feeding him the info on how badly Mike was veering off course.

When the rape case came up King got lawyer who was basically a specialist tax attorney, Vince Fuller I think his name was, to represent Mike. Remember Tyson could've afforded anyone in the world and on the advice of King they went for this schlub. Here is where I think King may have got a little tricky. Naturally I'm pretty sure that he didn't plant Desiree Washington but once the situation arose and always the opportunist he played it pretty well.

It was in King's best interests for Mike to lose that case. If he had the inside juice on how much Mike had slipped then he may have had an inkling that he could well lose the Holyfield fight. This way he gets to take him off the shelf, takes control of Mike's finances and even better when he comes out of prison Mike is an even bigger PPV attraction than he was before.

Of course Mike needs to fight on because King pretty much got all the money and now King has the bonus of getting Mike mega bucks against C class opponents because he has to allow him to lose the ring rust, which of course the public accpets and tunes in in their millions.

All in all this helps enlongate Mike's career before the inevitable happens against Holyfield. But by this stage King has squeezed millions more out of him which he probably wouldn't have got had Tyson not gone to prison and faced and got beaten by Holyfield.

i think Tyson was just going to lose the case period. DK just took full advantage of it. DK had a lot of influence over him anyway so i think it's just a matter of time before he got his way and had Tyson taking easy fights. being in need of coming and coming out of the joint would just be extra incentive lol.

i agree he would have kept fading as a fighter but it would have happened at a lot lesser pace.... he would never be the same when he came back from his prison stint... he was a good fighter when he came back had he been tested and brought back right but not the same fighter as he was even after the ruddock wins... even that tyson was still good enough to rule the division and that wasa shell of a fighter even then...

i think the funny thing is you can actually watch his fights and witness the changes. some people get crazy with it and try to worship Tyson but i think he legitimately wasn't the same after Rooney got fired and he got back from prison and wouldn't try to use it as a prime Tyson. i can't think of any other fighters where you can see a decline coinciding with their personal life.

Lewis and Wlad are two completely different stories.

Lennox's story is more Lion King and Wlad is more Broke Back Mountain.

Lennox was big and fought big. Confidence. Wlad is is big...a BIG pussy! He would flinch and cringe and stutter. Wlad fights like a big giant pussy.

I agree Id take Vitali over Tyson, but Tyson just eats Wlad alive. 90% mental. 10% physical. He'd have Wlad so mentally exhausted when he finally winds up to deliver the death blow, and Wlad cringes up in a ball on one leg, Mike relaxes, walks up, and blows on young Klit and the giant topples over for a 10 count.

that's why i give Tyson the edge, Wlad doesn't have the confidence in himself. Tyson would be too quick and too explosive and Wlad would just be out of his element. he just doesn't impose himself physically and doesn't fight or act like a big man. now if dude had the heart of his brother it would be a different story.

[Method]

I mean, could you imagine Wlad trying to get cute at the "Face Off" and just silently trying to stare Tyson down? Platforms like "Face Off" were PERFECT for Tyson's menacing psych game.

[The Ollie Reed F...]

Man, I always like to imagine and wish we could transport young Tyson into today. Like you said, he would be in his element on a segment like "face off", I would love to watch him on something like 24/7 or 360, and with the improvement in how promoters market fighters. Tyson would be huger today then he was back then, which says something, because that guy was huge just as it was.
He would be outselling guys like DLH, Mayweather and Pacquiao with ease IMO. Would love to see him marketed today.

Agreed. Modern sports entertainment was made for a guy like Tyson. I can see him routinely doing 3 million PPV's easy and against B-level palooka's. He would be a billionaire, particularly the pre-jail version where he had a lot of public goodwill.

It actually boggles my mind to think how off the charts a young Tyson would be today. He could probably reform Public Enemy to do his ring walk with him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[King Eugene]

I'm just imaging the different ways Tyson would call Wlad a "giant, big white faggot", lol.

He would sell so BIG, it's not funny, haha. Even Tyson fighting Toney as a tune up, that would be a riot, haha.

Now that I would love to see, prefight, fight, and post fight. Goodness gracious that would have been amazing.

Hell to be honest I cant call how that fight would play out. Prime Tyson vs. the Toney that fought Holyfield.

Press conferences, 24/7. and Face Off. Whew!

This post has been edited by King Eugene: Jul 15 2011, 10:21 PM

[Lil-lightsout]

Agreed. Modern sports entertainment was made for a guy like Tyson. I can see him routinely doing 3 million PPV's easy and against B-level palooka's. He would be a billionaire, particularly the pre-jail version where he had a lot of public goodwill.

It actually boggles my mind to think how off the charts a young Tyson would be today. He could probably reform Public Enemy to do his ring walk with him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Coming out to "Welcome to the Terrordome". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup_anim.gif)

[gravytrain]

Tyson would have the sport on a different level today. this cat could easily make 70 million a fight including PPV. that would actually be a low number in my opinion, with all the social networking and media there's the build up would be crazy. Tyson getting out of prison would probably make 100 mil per fight, America loves a comeback.

with endorsements and everything this cat would have so much money women would be raping him, he wouldn't even be raping women. dude would run through more paternity tests than the Maury show.

[gravytrain]

He also probably would have fucked the brakes off someone like Kim Kardashian or accused of rape, or possibly had some sort of domestic violence. $$$$$

I know people say that a lot of the young guys decide to play football or basketball now, as it's safer and better money involved. But RIGHT now, there is HUGE money to be made in the heavyweight division. Maybe a while ago, not so much, but right now, it can be a gold mine for one lucky person to take that chance.

i don't think that really has anything to do with it. if you're a big dude in America your high school basketball coach or football coach is going to talk to you, there's no boxing coach. the chances of getting some kid in the gym at a young age, sticking with boxing and ending up being 6'7" and 250 pounds is pretty fucking slim. i think athletes that don't make it to the NFL or NBA should give boxing a try but there are other leagues to play in and boxing isn't something that takes time.

this is 2011, Fitz. Tyson would fuck some wannabe celebrity bitch and make a sex tape and she would make her career off of it. that or he would settle out of court on rape. get with the times

[The Ollie Reed F...]

i don't think that really has anything to do with it. if you're a big dude in America your high school basketball coach or football coach is going to talk to you, there's no boxing coach. the chances of getting some kid in the gym at a young age, sticking with boxing and ending up being 6'7" and 250 pounds is pretty fucking slim. i think athletes that don't make it to the NFL or NBA should give boxing a try but there are other leagues to play in and boxing isn't something that takes time.

this is 2011, Fitz. Tyson would fuck some wannabe celebrity bitch and make a sex tape and she would make her career off of it. that or he would settle out of court on rape. get with the times

I understand what you are saying Gravy. We actually had this same discussion about a year and a half back on the boards, not usre if you were around then. However I'm convinced that at some time a kid is gonna come through the HW division in America, it's simply too big a country for it not to happen, and that particular kid will be punching a golden ticket that is so fucken big it will make what Tiger Woods earns look like chump change.

To this day I remain convinced, and particularly with modern entertainment and the internet, that nothing lends itself to TV drama like a great HW knockin seven shades of shit out of people. If Tyson was around today he would be the biggest sports star in the world. Period. And despite it being a weak division. It wouldn't matter. That guy is ratings gold.

I wonder has the amount of money around in college sports been partially to blame for the demise of young boxing talent in America?

[Warlord]

Now that I would love to see, prefight, fight, and post fight. Goodness gracious that would have been amazing.

Hell to be honest I cant call how that fight would play out. Prime Tyson vs. the Toney that fought Holyfield.

Press conferences, 24/7. and Face Off. Whew!

Best fantasy match-up I've seen suggested in about a million years. The trash talking alone would've been worth the price of admission.

[STEVENSKI]

He would be outselling guys like DLH, Mayweather and Pacquiao with ease IMO. Would love to see him marketed today.

All 3 combined & then some I would think.