Why do people say Tyson had a weak chin?

Question

He didn't. He had a weak will.

I remember Tyson's first fight back after Douglas - against Razor Ruddock. Ruddock could bang, and Tyson mixed it with him for 7 rounds. Tyson took some shots in that fight.

And that was right off the 10 rounds of hell that he went through with Douglas - who could punch - using his head as a speedbag.

And let's not forget the punishment Tyson took against a monster hitter like Lennox Lewis for 8 rounds. Lot of other guys would've been out of there a lot sooner.

And of course, Holyfield - not the most awesome puncher that walked the Earth, but a legitimate threat in the power department.
11rounds Tyson took. To avoid the same in the rematch, he resorted to cannabilism.

When I think of a weak chin, I think of a bust like Michael Grant, that blesses Lennox Lewis before he gets KOd and gets dropped with the very first shot Jameel McCline throws.

What do you guys think?

da1Prophet - I like the way you fleshed that out.

Jane Furrows - best answer so far.

Answer 1

Getting KO'ed is definitely the main way people decide on who has a weak chin, but many people also factor in weak will as you mentioned.

You also mentioned the Razor Ruddock fight. This is a good example of this because Tyson may not have gone down in that fight, but a lot of the time he stopped throwing punches after getting hit. That could be interpreted by some as a weak chin, but I personally wouldn't.

Answer 2

No, I don't think Tyson had a weak chin. What I do think is that Iron Mike was not a scrapper. He always seemed hesitant of taking a fight to the later rounds.

Tyson was a 10 in the power department, but only a 5 in the toughness scale.

Answer 3

Tyson's chin weak, never. That guy could take punishment more than most. His first opponents all had reputations as heavy hitters and even later on after prison he took on a couple. It was only after his loos to Holyfield and when he joined Don King that he started taking on the cheap easy fights.

I think prison is what broke his will rather than the scrapping. He couldn't handle not being the crowd fav anymore. And he had lost his love of the sport. He was then in it for the money and wasn'r willing to stand up and take a beating because of that. So he'd stop fighting, unless someone pissed him off. Look at the Botha fight, the Holyfield fight, you could see his heart wasn't in it in both cases. In Botha he just started slugging to keep from getting hit and Botha being overconfident walked into a hammer and that was it. Holyfield being too smart to trade blow for blow, outboxed him and punished him on the run hence the furstrated bite and headbutts.

In the end he started looking for the easy way on to the next paycheck. That one quick hit.

Answer 4

I dont think that the nick name "Iron Mike" came from his chin. It came from the tenacity and intimidation that he brought into the ring and at his opponents. I am the first to admit that I am a huge Tyson fan, but I think his mental toughness is below average. There have been a few fights that I have seen where he would be hammering guys, they didn't fold then Tyson loses his confidence and gets beat. I love Iron Mike and I wish him the best but his chin is questionable. Keep in mind that almost every opponent he has ever fought was probably a good 20-40 lbs. heavier than him too. That makes a huge difference.

Answer 5

I've said he had a "weak chin" in the past but maybe that *is* technically incorrect. There are guys who can't take a punch physically and those who can't deal with it mentally. Tyson is likely the latter--like one of the other posters' said he has a "weak will". He's never been a fighter that responds well to a serious scrap, and that was even more the case at the end of his career--where he said himself that he didn't have the heart for boxing any more. I was using the term "weak chin" more euphemistically to describe the ease with which he was knocked out at certain stages of his career than anything else but technically speaking the poster of this question is probably correct.

Answer 6

He didn't have a weak chin. But he had weak character.

thetidesrolling....Agreed no fighter is ever the same when their away from the sport that long. But Ali was away for a longer time than Tyson was in prison (by about seven months), but he was able to reclaim the title and hold on to it. That shows character and heart. Tyson lacked both.

Answer 7

i honestly think people just hate mike tyson simply because he won. lennox lewis began winning people hated him as well as any other great champion such as muhamed ali, evander holyfield, and even for the little while he won joe fraiser. people love a new champ, but not one who goes on and on and on. mike tyson was a powerful, precise fighter and was too good to some people and as far as having a weak chin, im with you he took several punishing rounds. he was so good he never gave a chance to take alot of punishment because he destroyed so many of his opponents so quickly. JEALOUSY is all it boils down to, BOTTOM LINE people hate to see someone win over and over and after tyson's conflicts it was easy to bash him and put him under the ring. tyson was never the same after prison and it did seem like he was weak and he couldn't hit his opponent to save his life, but when you are away from boxing that long you fall out of the loop and in return was the fall of a great fighter.

Answer 8

let me say this, tyson may have had many faults, but a weak chin was certainly not one of them. as small as he is/was, he hung in there w/heavyweights of his day, who roamed the earth like behemoths and who saw no limit to fighting weights. he was easily outweighed by 20-30-40+ lbs. any man over 200 lbs can deliver a lot of damage. a trained fighter over 200 lbs, who knows how to turn a punch or get his hips into it, can definitely cause that much more damage. review his 'worst' fights and see just how much damage he absorbed. douglas, who was huge, and knocked his previous opponent(before tyson) down/out w/a jab(!), gave mike a real shellacking for 10 rounds! and mike still got up, only to be counted out! holyfield extended mike into the later rounds of their first fight and caught him coming in. despite mike being on 'queer' street for the last 2 rounds of that fight, holyfield pounded him across the ring, w/a series of punches, but couldn't even knock him down, much less out. the referee stopped that fight on a tko. lewis was just a huge mutant and pounded mike thoughout that whole fight. it was the accumulation of punches, one final haymaker of a punch, and a strategic push that put mike down twice in that fight - just look at the videotape and you'll see! now, ruddock, tucker, and that black british dude(oh yeah, frank bruno), all rocked mike..but couldn't stop him. his chin held up, and why? when tyson was first 'put together' he was built to w/stand punishment w/that awesome neck and shoulder combo that was built to naturally absorb the shock from head punches. but cus and co knew, it's smarter not to get hit. so they instilled in him that bob and weave defense and lightning quick reflexes. as cus taught: if you hit, and don't get hit, you can't lose! so, a simple review of all his fights shows that tyson had a solid chin, but, very few fighters could absorb the beatings he took and keep on chugging. ali could take more punishment than anyone, but he was hard to catch flush, more than once. fyi, heavy hitters are known for notoriously having weak chins, but this was not the case w/mike. his training habits and his will to destroy whatever was in front of him, waned as time wore on. mike was originally not a one punch knockout fighter. you can see, rather early in his career, he unfortunately transitioned from being a combination puncher(his corner would call out the numbers of combination sets they worked on in trainng camp) to a one puncher, w/no real style. this is what spelled doom for him for, as he fought a better and bigger class of fighter who would not be moved by one punch, he tended to lose his will and focus. so, personally, i think it was piss poor training more than anything that led to his tasting canvas.....not any weak chin. that man was a fantastic physical specimen w/awesome talent that he didn't exploit to its fullest potential. it's time people stop bashing mike and give him his props! he was, for a time, one helluva fighter!

Answer 9

Yes, I agree. He use to fight because he loved boxing, the dream is not what it used to be. To him its a job and he's going through the motions. He doesn't want to be there and his pride in being the best is gone.

Answer 10

He did not possess a will of championship caliber. Ali said it is the will not the skill. The ability to take punishment is in the will.