letter: Give Tyson’s foes credit

Friday, Jan. 29, 1999 | 11:43 a.m.

Regarding Ron Kantowski's statement calling Mike Tyson's win over Frans Botha one of Tyson's best ever:

Ron must have a poor memory or he is about 9 years old. I am not even a big Tyson fan, but in the '80s, Tyson cleaned up the heavyweight division. He beat the three belt holders, Trevor Berbick, Tony Tucker and Bonecrusher Smith. He also beat former champ Tony Tubbs and the true champ at the time, Michael Spinks.

All of these guys would have destroyed Botha at the time they fought Tyson, as would Tyrell Biggs. Just because Smith, Berbick, Tucker and Tubbs hung around too long doesn't diminish that they were strong opposition when Tyson fought them. Tony Tucker was probably 40-0 when Tyson beat him and had just beaten Buster Douglas, who is about the equal of Botha.

To call the knockout of Botha Tyson's best win ever is, as Tyson would say, "ludicrous."

SCOTT SHAFFER

New York City

archive