Yes 100% definitely— Tyson was a freak!

During one of his retirements, Sugar Ray Leonard was once asked, “ Will you make a comeback?” Leonard, never short of a joke replied, “ Well I can always comeback & fight Mike Tyson’s neck — that must weigh about 160lbs !”

At the time, Tyson’s neck size was a prime example of his freak genetics — where it mimicked the neck of an American pit-bull. Given that the average human male has a neck circumference of 15” — Tyson’s came in at close to 20”, which comfortably placed him in the 99th percentile.

Looking through the eyes of his original mentor, Cus D’Amato— the legendary boxing guru would have quickly recognized freak genetics in a juvenile Tyson. Shortly after seeing Tyson shadow box & spar for the very first time, Cus D’Amato apparently said, “ Right there, that’s the next heavyweight champion of the world.”

When one of the very best boxing trainers ever makes such a bold prediction— it surely must have been for a good reason. Just from a purely physical standpoint— few if any 13 year olds were built like a pit-bull. At age 13, this raw juvenile delinquent named Tyson had never set foot in a boxing gym before & yet was already holding his own against grown men !

It quickly became apparent that Tyson was a great mover in the ring. There have been many 16 stone heavyweights over the years, but very few have displayed the panther like movements of a young Tyson. Both in terms of hand & footspeed — he was significantly faster than the competition & could close the gap on taller fighters in the blink of an eye.

A young Tyson always seemed to be in the right position to launch devastating, unseen attacks —just like a panther. Additionally, he proved to be a freakishly fast learner & absorbed the advice of his great trainer like a sponge soaks up water.