KEY POINTS

  • Mike Tyson details what makes his punches unique
  • Tyson says it was his accuracy that got the job done most of the time
  • Some experts also give their take on his KO power

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 Tyson’s past rivals thought that they could figure him out, but only few managed to stop “Iron Mike.”

Revealing his secret strategy that put his opponents face-first on the mat, Tyson explained that it wasn’t his power that actually got the job done.

Instead, the 54-year-old credited his timing and precision at the time.

“It wasn’t my punching power. It was the accuracy,” Tyson 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.”

Mike Tyson (R) -- seen fighting in his prime in the mid-1990s -- has said Jamie Foxx will star in a new TV series about his life
Mike Tyson (R) -- seen fighting in his prime in the mid-1990s -- has said Jamie Foxx will star in a new TV series about his life AFP / MIKE NELSON

While Tyson 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, Tyson’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 Tyson 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 [Tyson] 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 Tyson 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, Mike Tyson, 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.”

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