The guy set the world of boxing on fire from 1985-1990.
Yes the Douglas loss hurt but that Douglas was near the perfect heavyweight as there has ever been. That Douglas would've cooked a few greats even.
Losing Rooney and hanging with OG's was a bad move and his shortcuts in training evident in the Bruno 1 fight.
The Holyfield/Lewis losses -that wasen't Tyson, that was a mere shadow.
Is Tyson treated badly and underrated by historians? Is his place in history undermined by his out of ring antics?
I say yes.

This is an almost impossible question to answer.

I agree with a lot of people in so much as that the Tyson who swept the division in the mid to late eighties was one of the greatest fighting machines i have seen.
And if the ref would've counted to 10 against Douglas ( he was still rising at 10 ), and then got sentenced then Tyson would've been given loads of plaudits for showing greatness in winning a fight where he was on the brink of losing.
I also agree that Tyson lost to a Douglas who on that night only and fighting for the memory of his mother would've beaten nearly any heavyweight.

But i have one problem with Tyson. He basically quit in his second fight with Holyfield and Williams and McBride and almost gave up ( in my opinion ) and took shots against Lewis and possibly Douglas. Now Tysons skills in his prime give him a shot against nearly any heavyweight in history but in the back of my mind i always think Tyson might quit. I think deep down he has that bully mentality.

I know this hasnt answered the question but these are just my musings.

There were times when Tyson took those shots I think because he wanted to get hit. To get hurt. He wanted Lewis to beat him so maybe, finally, he wouldn't have to be the bad guy. So that maybe, finally he could pay for some of what he'd done, so the hurt outside would equal what was inside.

1 - I do think he's underated because he beat every power fighter and top ranked guy he faced in his prime. His prime was primal; and was absolutely as unbeatable as any wild animal there's ever been. Not only would I pick Tyson over absolutely every single fighter in their primes, including Louis and Ali and Marciano, but if the Tyson of the Spinks time was to actually get rushed by a 500 pound gorilla I honestly believe he could hit it hard enough to scare it off, and even hurt it. His speed hasn't been seen since in the heavyweights, and certainly wasn't before.

2 - I also think he's underrated because he deserves a lot more credit for being honest and saying he didn't have the heart for it anymore. All the constant belittlement, revilement, and criticism did it's work and ruined him mentally. Sure he was a bully... but before that he was a really hard working kid from a hard story that loved his trainer dearly... and afterwards he's been an honest self-critic even when he screws up. Not many me, forget boxers, can say the same.

Those may not be popular opinions of Mike, but I think they're fair.
I just question the motivations for ranking Mike low. It's like they're still trying to stick it to the bully when he's not even around; to punish his brand of animalism so much that it deters others from being like him. my opinion of course.

Cheers!

I wouldn't say he's underrated by boxing historians; to be great you need to overcome adversity, and Tyson just doesn't pass the test.

To me it seems more like the public is overrating him; he looked like a million bucks against walking punching bags, but what transpired when the bag hit back ?

That's the part a lot of everyday folks don't see.

hes underrated by boxing historians & hardcore fans, yet overrated by casual boxing fans.

Mike Tyson is rated fairly imo.

Mike Tyson did not have the mental make up to be a truly great!! fighter, i know people will say Cus dying etc, but i dont believe Tyson had the ability to suck it up when things were going against him.

Totally underrated. As earlier post said, he was almost a perfect machine in the eighties. Then, the bad life and habits take him away. But in his prime, i think he could destroy any heavyweight in history

Man did I love this guy but honestly folks he has never beaten a true champion. I give him credit for being honest also he said he lost the desire to fight after the Douglas fight and rightfully so that was a hell of an ass whipping he took . He didn't lay down for Lewis , Lewis simply kicked his ass and it was nothing he could've done about it. So basically he never rose to the occasion we all sat around waiting on an 80's phenomenon to reappear.

I think historians rank him fairly but I think the casual fans that watched him fight overrate him quite a bit.