Holyfield did not headbutt Tyson
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forzaeva — 12 years ago(June 01, 2013 10:23 AM)
I'm interested in offering a different point of view.
To me, the headbutts looked accidental, a result of clashing boxing styles. But I'm not going any further into that at this point.
I believe what really ticked Tyson off, were never really the headbutts, but Holyfield's pushing and clinching to dominate him, physically and mentally.
Tyson's main weaknesses were very clear when his boxing matches are reviewed. He was fairly easily tied up in clinches and was almost exclusively pushed back (bossed around) in clinches, that includes opponenents he otherwise dominated (i.e. '86 Tyson VS Berbick) and KO'ed fairly easily.
Also note that Tyson was rarely the man to break out of clinches. I believe his reasons were first and foremost to treat clinches as a breather (remember Tyson himself admitted he had a lung-problem and thus admitting he never had the best long-term endurance in his own documentary 'Tyson').
Holding/clinching/pushing is always viewed as questionable sportsmanship. Whether exploited to avoid a KO loss (i.e. Tyson VS Ferguson) or in this case rather take advantage of a a boxer's known weakness in a clinch (Tyson VS Holyfield). But also keep in mind how effectively Holyfield was disrupting Tyson's style by dominating him in exchanges and taking some of his best punches like almost nothing happened. Holyfield is known for his hard chin.
Holyfield fought Tyson in a way that forced Tyson to be on the retreat. While being a great defensive fighter and counterpuncher back in his hey-day (Tyson), he was never used to be on the retreat. He was the one pressing forward, bullying and dominating his opponents, smothering them, imposing2000 his will on them. As the type of boxer Tyson was, he was not comfortable being the one on the retreat. Along came Holyfield, who effectively forced Tyson out of his comfort zone.
Clinching in a boxing match is part of human nature. There is a reason for it. Keep in mind that just about everyone who would ever box would do it as a means to survive. With that in mind, it is understandable that the referee is more inclined to DQ someone who performs a more obvious act of foul play (i.e. Tyson's earbiting) rather than someone who exploits clinches to his advantage.
I'll always think of both Tyson and Holyfield as ATGs (All Time Greats), by the way. -
Topsword — 12 years ago(October 08, 2013 07:31 PM)
You need glasses cause in the two fights I saw, Holyfield intentionally headbutted Tyson. He did it repeatedly. Holyfield wasn't fighting fair and the ref and judges let him get away with it twice. Boxing is a corrupt sport like many sports. They barely ever call it right.
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bluesman-20 — 12 years ago(March 25, 2014 06:23 PM)
Little Known Fact. The referree Mills Lane was also a close friend of the Holyfield family.
Tyson didn't care if the original refferree was replaced by mills lane. He just wanted to fight. But when Lane went out of his way to let Holyfield get away with the headbutts. and if you watch the footage you can see Holyfield Head butt Tyson several times.
Mills LAne did his job. He handed the victory to Holyfield.
Five to one baby,one in five. No one here gets out alive -Jim Morrison -
furiousneon — 10 years ago(March 02, 2016 08:10 PM)
People don't understand that the headbu1354tts weren't big drawn out headbutts. Both fighters lead with their heads and this became advantageous for Holyfield in both fights. It was NOT a coincidence that Mike ended up bleeding in the same spot early on in both fights. I respect Holyfield for the heart he has as a fighter, no one can take that away from him. I fully believe though that had he fought Tyson when they were originally scheduled to before his conviction he would have lost. I also think he did headbutt Tyson, be it because of his style or purposely, multiple times. He still beat Mike mentally but well never know how the second fight truly would have turned out had it not been for Mike losing his composure (to put it mildly lol). I am a big Tyson fan but I respect Holyfield, you have to respect a man who kept it together during that second fight when so many would have retaliated. Now the steroids thing is an entirely different subject. Holyfields shoulders looked like flat out concrete boulders during those fights. His heart problems during the 90's also make it a touchy subject. Ive never ruled steroid use out for Holyfield but other than the reports and the Evan Fields debacle theres no real proof. Would be a shame though if it ever turned out that he indeed was on steroids during those fights.