calzaghefella

You don't have to mate, it is all about differing opinions. To be fair I did not put him as the best combination puncher either, I said he was up there with the best which I at least think he was, of course I respect the fact that you differ, quite a lot in fact as I like what you write a lot of the time.

I put Ali and Louis in there, I put a few guys up top on the top shelf in terms of combination punching. Of course they are all differing, they all have differing traits whether it is offensively or defensively, be it hitting from behind the jab or switch hitting from head to body or vice versa etc etc.

In the case of Tyson the combination punching was about very fast and powerful combinations of hooks, uppercuts and overhand shots as well as fantastic combination finishing.

IMHO his power was never the kind of single shot power of a Foreman or Marciano, or Lennox Lewis even. For me Tyson was all about very heavy hitting albeit less than the top one punch knockout wonder guys, but doing that very heavy hitting in relentless combinations of hooks, uppercuts and mawling overhand shots...that is IMHO how he did it, I feel combination punching for Tyson was a massive part of his success.

Also isn't combination finishing also a big part of it?

I mean often Tyson would nail a guys two or three times on the way down and not with glancing blows either, he would do it with devastatingly accurate on the money shots.

Again that for me is still combination punching, I mean what else is it if not combination punching?

I know where you are coming from and agree that it isn't the tidy more sophisticated combination punching that we have seen from some of the greats, but I beleiev Tysons combination punches are up there with the best, it was just his form of using them.

e.g I have never been a fan of Roy Jones as many know, but I have never critisized him for not being orthodox or throwing shots without leading with a jab...it takes all sorts and I feel that is true when it comes to each boxing skill, there is no one way or right way, differing guys use their skills in the way that fits them.

Must say though I don't really think Tyson threw many crosses, something you mentioned, that along with the jab are the last punches I associate with him, he just didn't tend to throw to many straight punches...least not from my memory.

I think you're abvove comments massively underestimate Tysons finishing ability. Also I don't agree that he did his best work simply on the finish. It was often multiple flurries of two, three or four punches ata time that reall had opponents reeling. And his finishing like I say was combination hitting, Tyson style.

Very rarely did I ever see Tyson hit a guy with one big shot as a finnish, it was nearly always hitting a guy multiple times on the way to the canvas therby removing any chance of the guy getting back up as might have been possible from a single shot.

All this is just my opinion of course, but I guess that is all any of these discussion are, differing opinions as we are nto discussing records or stats.

I know that when you think of combination punching you are not thinking of Tyson, but almost certainly of more seemingly considered and certainly slicker work, and most probably combination punching of a more classic textbook nature....nothing wrong with that......just opinions is all.