Pheonomenon vs Legend

I am far from being the worlds biggest boxing fan, but a couple of things have coincided to make me dwell a little on the art of fisticuffs. There has been a TV show on Sky One about the merits of the greatest sporting legends, i havn't actually sat and watched it but from the promotional clips it appears that David Frost and Des Lynam debate each other over who was the greatest in their field and presumably 'the greatest' of all. It goes without saying that Mohamed Ali was going to feature prominently even in the advertising of the show and as it happens during the course of the programmes run there was the retirement of Mike Tyson, probably still the biggest name in modern boxing if no longer the biggest talent.

So while i didn't watch the show i couldn't help but bring myself to compare the famous boxers, their achievments and their legacy. I came to the conclusion that Mike Tyson was a phenomenon who burned brightly after exploding onto the world scene before spending the larger part of his career in decline, even more often in disgrace and more likely to end up as a footnote in the annals of the sport, in comparsion to Ali in anycase. While Mohamed Ali also burst onto the boxing scene in a spectacular fashion, also courted controversy, he has proven both his ability and longevity within the ring and shown enduring character outside it. If Mike Tyson is to be remembered for more than just his early promise and as a cautionary tale in the future it will be a spectacular victory for a man that has shown as much frailty of character outside the ring as he once exposed inside the ring from oppenents when he was in his fearsome prime.

A succesful amateur career for Ali culminated with winning an Olympic gold medal at the 1960 games in Rome, still at this point using the name Cassius Clay it would be four years later after stunning the world of boxing with his stoppage of Sonny Liston that he would drop the name Cassius Clay and take on the new name of Mohamed Ali after announcing that he was a member of the Nation of Islam. An unpopular move in itself it would be the least of Ali's worries in 1967 when he refused induction into the US armed forces to fight in Vietnam and faced the real threat of going to jail. He was also stripped of his title, had his passport taken from him and denied the right to fight anywhere in the USA. It would be 2 1/2 years before Ali got back into the ring, during this time Ali supported himself by speaking to colleges and was the first national figure to speak out against the war. Despite setbacks Ali went on to cement his boxing reputation by defeating the much feared George Foreman in a fight no one expected Ali to win. The time away from the ring had taken it's toll and Ali didn't perhaps float quite like the butterfly of his youth, he could however still sting like a bee. He allowed Foreman to hammer away at him for 7 rounds tiring himself out, very much on the ropes Ali appeared to be taking the beating of a lifetime. In the 8th round though Ali came off the ropes and knocked out a tired and spent George Foreman to regain his World crown and secure his reputation as 'The Greatest." Perhaps around about this time he should have hung up the gloves, however he went onto win the "Thrilla in Manilla" against Joe Frazier, before losing and regaining his title to Leon Spinks to become the first person ever to win the World Title three times. Indeed after beating Leon Spinks Ali did announce his retirement but the lure of the ring was to great and he went on to fight Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick in 1980 and 1981, he lost both and afterwards finally retired. With his reflexes notably slower and showing signs of sluggishness after the Holmes fight Ali was initialy misdiagnosed as having a thyroid condition, sadly Ali was discovered to be suffering from a more serious problem and began being treated for Parkinson's syndrome in 1982. Even in this though Ali has proven an inspiration to millions with his courage and he has used his fame and fortune to try and leave behind a legacy greater than just being the greatest boxer of all time.

Mike Tyson whilst also bursting onto the boxing scene was a very different character to Mohamed Ali, Tyson had nothing like the wit and entertainment value Ali could provide outside the ring. A troubled childhood Tyson spent time in juvenile detention centres and was expelled from high School. Rescued from reform school by early mentor Cus D'Amato, Tyson's boxing potential was developed and a fast rise to the top was completed when on November the 22nd 1986 he became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world in history. For the next few years Tyson dominated heavyweight boxing and had the world at his feet, millions of dollars made and still countless more to be made, from a bad start in life Tyson now had riches beyond imagination and the chance to move beyond anything he could have possibly expected from life as a young kid constantly getting into trouble. Yet Tyson couldn't shake off the shackles of his difficult start to life, he seemed to be fueled by anger and fury and with his personal life in turmoil he was heading for a fall. This duly arrived in 1990 with a completely unexpected loss to a rank outsider James Douglas, two wins in 1991 against Donovan "Razor" Ruddock seemed to suggest that his boxing career had suffered only a setback, and it was only a blip compared to what was waiting around the corner. Tyson was arrested, tried and convicted of rape in 1992 and sentenced to 3 years in prison. He wouldn't fight again until 1995 and when he came back he was a shadow of his former self in the ring, he did win back some world titles but his boxing career was to all to soon about to career of the rails. After losing to Evander Holyfield he was disqualified in a rematch for biting Holyfield's ear, he was subsequently banned from boxing for a year and fined $3 million. In a long drawn out decline Tyson spent more time in prison, won against a few journeymen, lost the more meaningful fights, declared himself bankrupt and eventually retired after losing to the journeymen Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. One wonders what legacy Tyson will leave behind other than that of wasted talent and no obvious qualities outside the ring to reccomend himself as a human being.

So in Mohamed Ali we have a man, not without his flaws he does have 3 ex wives behind him, but also an icon who has transcended boxing and is an example of the best the 20th century had to offer. In Mike Tyson we have possibly the flip side of the coin, he did transcend boxing but will be remembered as the polar opposite of Ali. I might be wrong about how long 'Iron Mike' is remembered but it won't be for the right reasons.