Mike Tyson has revealed the unheard truth about his devastating punching power.
During his prime years in the sport, Tyson dismantled almost everybody in front of him inside the ring, having recorded 44 of his 50 wins via knockout.
Many of Mike’s past rivals thought that they could figure him out, but only few managed to stop Tyson.”
Revealing his secret strategy that put his opponents face-first on the mat, the 54-year-old champion explained that it wasn’t his power that actually got the job done.
Instead, Mike credited his timing and precision at the time.
“It wasn’t my punching power. It was the accuracy,” boxer said on “HotBoxin’ with Mike Tyson” earlier this year. “I was fast so I got the punches there before the hard punchers got there.”
“George Foreman is a hard puncher, but he just pounds you,” he continued. “Hits you in the shoulders, arms and f… you up. But I am precise on hitting you. Everywhere I hit you there is a reason. Mostly I get the right results. Most of the time. The objective is the guy doesn’t see the punch. Those are the punches that knock you out.”
While former champion Iron Mike is certain that it was his accuracy that made him unique, one of his long-time trainers–Billy White–has a different observation.
According to White, Mike’s power is special, but it was his Kobe Bryant-like “Mamba mentality” that puts him a cut above the rest.
“Kobe’s Mentality (is like) Cus’ strategy–day by day in every way, get better and better, different wording, same powerful message,” White said ahead of Iron Mike vs. Jones. “Bottom line is you take that Mamba Mentality.”
“What does a mamba do?” he continued. “He simply has head movements to avoid strikes which is exactly what Mike, 54 years old, does. And then he strikes with speed, power and precision, and if you do that, and use that Kobe mentality, it’s a perfect fit.”
Renowned MMA trainer and Tristar Gym head coach Firas Zahabi, on the other hand, speculated that what the prime Mike had was something natural.
“Where does power come from? Number one on the list, is where your muscle is attached to the bone. It’s genetic,” Zahabi said last year. “So, boxing legend Iron Mike, he has a powerful left hook not because his coach taught him how to hit a left hook. He could have hit a left hook like that if he had a mediocre trainer.”
