This is a kind of cool way to predict whether or not an upcoming fight will be a banger or a sleeper. It also gives individual boxers a score, kind of a like a QB rating in football.
This article was written before the Pavlik-Taylor fight and they pretty much guaranteed it would be a good fight. They also used it on Oscar de la Hoya/Mayweather and it accurately said chances were it would be a boring fight, same with Hopkins/Winky.
It's not meant to be taken too seriously, but fun to look at nonetheless. At the bottom of the article are the boxers who have the best Tyson Index rating (both ranked and unranked).
[I'm only going to post the parts of the article that explains how it works, see the link below for full article]
By Don Steinberg
Special to ESPN.com
I've decided to invent a new boxing statistic. It's a measurement of pure ring excitement. I call it the Tyson Index.
Any fan would agree that knockouts are what we are hoping to see. A guy ending all his bouts early -- think a prime Mike Tyson -- is somebody to watch.
So, here's the new excitement statistic. Technically, it's the percentage of scheduled rounds that a boxer fights. Lower is better. If you're in a match scheduled for 10 rounds, and you win it in Round 4, you fought 40 percent. Your Tyson Index for that fight is 40. If you go the distance, you have the worst possible Tyson Index of 100. This stat is a more refined version of raw "knockout percentage." Here, it matters how soon you end a fight and how many rounds it was meant to go, so you get extra credit for ending bigger fights earlier. Overall, in an analysis of fights in all weight classes around the world, the average is about 72.6. Fights, on average, go 72.6 percent of the scheduled distance.
Of course, every formula needs a standard, so here are a few qualifiers. To make this stat useful, the Tyson Index adds up the results of a boxer's last 10 fights only -- that's the best indication of what each guy is capable of now. (Tyson, after his first 10 fights, had a brutally low Index of 29. That's why this is named after him.) Also, if a boxer in a scheduled 10-rounder loses in Round 4, he still gets a Tyson Index of 40. And why not? The fight wasn't less exciting just because the other guy won. However, I've made sure the list includes only fighters who have been truly road-tested, and the official leaderboard includes only fighters who are ranked in the top 10 by Ring magazine (though I've compiled a separate list of top unranked fighters as well).
So how do the numbers look? Well, a list of ranked fighters with the best Tyson Index numbers contains some of the sport's most exciting performers. From first-round knockout artist Edwin Valero, down to sluggers Miguel Cotto and Joe Calzaghe, these are guys that excite fight fans. Everyone on this list has gone, on average, two-thirds or fewer of his scheduled rounds in his past 10 bouts.
At the other end of the spectrum are the guys making the dullest fights in the game. If you ever considered John Ruiz the most snooze-inducing man in boxing, the numbers support you. His Tyson Index is a soporific 97.5.
Of course, over the course of a career, a fighter's numbers usually rise. He meets better opponents, and early KOs are less frequent. Shane Mosley's last 10 fights have gone a drawn-out 85.3 percent of the distance, while Mayweather's have gone 83 percent, and De La Hoya's, 82. These dreary numbers are indicative of fighters who have settled into a pattern of going the distance more often than not. And let's be honest: Those long-distance fights usually are less exciting.
Which brings us to Taylor's recent opponents. His last five fights have all gone 12 rounds. That's been uncharacteristic; he just happened to have lined up consecutive opponents with the most boring Tyson Index numbers in the business. Bernard Hopkins, when he first fought Taylor, was 90.8. Winky Wright scored a 91. Kassim Ouma: 86.8. Cory Spinks: 93.3. The only thing that does 12 more reliably than these guys is a ruler. After fighting them, Taylor's Tyson Index has slipped to a boring-side-of-average 79.
But before Taylor started fighting this dull bunch, his fights were thrillers. Taylor's Tyson Index was a sweet-and-low 57.4 before the Hopkins clinchfest. Today, that number would put him in the company of crowd pleasers like Rafael Marquez and Kermit Cintron. Now, in Pavlik, Taylor finally will be fighting an opponent who won't drag him into dullsville: Pavlik's Tyson Index is 49, meaning his fights on average go about half their scheduled distance.
Can these stats predict how exciting a boxing match will be? Well, let's say that boxing stats are about as effective as earned-run averages and quarterback ratings in predicting results. Which is to say, they can help. Mayweather and De La Hoya, going into their fight, had very high Tyson Index numbers that promised a lack of excitement -- and their bout lived up to that sleepy promise. By contrast, the numbers predicted fireworks when Pavlik (then at 48) fought Edison Miranda (60) in May. It was slugfest that ended in by TKO in the seventh with Pavlik's third knockdown of Miranda.
Statistics have limits. It's styles that make fights. It's training, desire, attitude and a hundred other X-factors that make great fights. But boxing fans are eager to see Taylor-Pavlik, and are anticipating a more exciting Taylor than we've seen in a while. The numbers show why.
TYSON INDEX LEADERS
RANKED
Boxer Index
1. Edwin Valero 27.6
2. Michael Katsidis 41.3
3. David Haye 42.3
4. Rey Bautista 45.2
5. Wladimir Klitschko 45.7
6. Kelly Pavlik 49
7. Enzo Maccarinelli 49.1
8. Daniel P. De Leon 52.6
9. Jorge Linares 53.1
10. Dennis Inkin 54
11. Sultan Ibragimov 55.1
12. Antonio Margarito 55.9
13. Jorge Arce 56.7
14. Rafael Marquez 59.2
15. Kermit Cintron 59.3
16. Nikolai Valuev 60
17. Vic Darchinyan 60.3
18. Samuel Peter 60.5
19. Paul Williams 60.8
20. Adrian Diaconu 60.8
21. Anthony Peterson 61.6
22. Carl Froch 61.7
23. Oleg Maskaev 62.3
24. Allan Green 62.8
25. Vladimir Virchis 63.2
26. Israel Vasquez 64.4
27. Calvin Brock 65
28. Edison Miranda 66.3
29. Miguel Cotto 66.7
30. Joe Calzaghe 66.7
____________________________
TYSON INDEX LEADERS
Unranked boxers
Boxer Index
1. Tyrone Brunson 18.5
2. Jung-Bum Kim 30.9
3. Peter Quillin 33.3
4. James Webb 37.2
5. Faruq Saleem 37.5
6. James Kirkland 43.9
7. Shannon Briggs 44.2
8. Joey Abell 44.4
9. Fahsan 3K Battery 45
10. Victor Oganov 45.3
11. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. 47.7
12. Andre Berto 48.8
13. Mark Suarez 50
14. Joe Mesi 52.4
15. Joe Greene 52.5
16. Chris Arreola 53.8
17. Ricardo Torres 54.9
18. Jason Litzau 57.1
19. Joel Julio 59.6
20. Rock Allen 63
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3025548
This article was written before the Pavlik-Taylor fight and they pretty much guaranteed it would be a good fight. They also used it on Oscar de la Hoya/Mayweather and it accurately said chances were it would be a boring fight, same with Hopkins/Winky.
It's not meant to be taken too seriously, but fun to look at nonetheless. At the bottom of the article are the boxers who have the best Tyson Index rating (both ranked and unranked).
[I'm only going to post the parts of the article that explains how it works, see the link below for full article]
By Don Steinberg
Special to ESPN.com
I've decided to invent a new boxing statistic. It's a measurement of pure ring excitement. I call it the Tyson Index.
Any fan would agree that knockouts are what we are hoping to see. A guy ending all his bouts early -- think a prime Mike Tyson -- is somebody to watch.
So, here's the new excitement statistic. Technically, it's the percentage of scheduled rounds that a boxer fights. Lower is better. If you're in a match scheduled for 10 rounds, and you win it in Round 4, you fought 40 percent. Your Tyson Index for that fight is 40. If you go the distance, you have the worst possible Tyson Index of 100. This stat is a more refined version of raw "knockout percentage." Here, it matters how soon you end a fight and how many rounds it was meant to go, so you get extra credit for ending bigger fights earlier. Overall, in an analysis of fights in all weight classes around the world, the average is about 72.6. Fights, on average, go 72.6 percent of the scheduled distance.
Of course, every formula needs a standard, so here are a few qualifiers. To make this stat useful, the Tyson Index adds up the results of a boxer's last 10 fights only -- that's the best indication of what each guy is capable of now. (Tyson, after his first 10 fights, had a brutally low Index of 29. That's why this is named after him.) Also, if a boxer in a scheduled 10-rounder loses in Round 4, he still gets a Tyson Index of 40. And why not? The fight wasn't less exciting just because the other guy won. However, I've made sure the list includes only fighters who have been truly road-tested, and the official leaderboard includes only fighters who are ranked in the top 10 by Ring magazine (though I've compiled a separate list of top unranked fighters as well).
So how do the numbers look? Well, a list of ranked fighters with the best Tyson Index numbers contains some of the sport's most exciting performers. From first-round knockout artist Edwin Valero, down to sluggers Miguel Cotto and Joe Calzaghe, these are guys that excite fight fans. Everyone on this list has gone, on average, two-thirds or fewer of his scheduled rounds in his past 10 bouts.
At the other end of the spectrum are the guys making the dullest fights in the game. If you ever considered John Ruiz the most snooze-inducing man in boxing, the numbers support you. His Tyson Index is a soporific 97.5.
Of course, over the course of a career, a fighter's numbers usually rise. He meets better opponents, and early KOs are less frequent. Shane Mosley's last 10 fights have gone a drawn-out 85.3 percent of the distance, while Mayweather's have gone 83 percent, and De La Hoya's, 82. These dreary numbers are indicative of fighters who have settled into a pattern of going the distance more often than not. And let's be honest: Those long-distance fights usually are less exciting.
Which brings us to Taylor's recent opponents. His last five fights have all gone 12 rounds. That's been uncharacteristic; he just happened to have lined up consecutive opponents with the most boring Tyson Index numbers in the business. Bernard Hopkins, when he first fought Taylor, was 90.8. Winky Wright scored a 91. Kassim Ouma: 86.8. Cory Spinks: 93.3. The only thing that does 12 more reliably than these guys is a ruler. After fighting them, Taylor's Tyson Index has slipped to a boring-side-of-average 79.
But before Taylor started fighting this dull bunch, his fights were thrillers. Taylor's Tyson Index was a sweet-and-low 57.4 before the Hopkins clinchfest. Today, that number would put him in the company of crowd pleasers like Rafael Marquez and Kermit Cintron. Now, in Pavlik, Taylor finally will be fighting an opponent who won't drag him into dullsville: Pavlik's Tyson Index is 49, meaning his fights on average go about half their scheduled distance.
Can these stats predict how exciting a boxing match will be? Well, let's say that boxing stats are about as effective as earned-run averages and quarterback ratings in predicting results. Which is to say, they can help. Mayweather and De La Hoya, going into their fight, had very high Tyson Index numbers that promised a lack of excitement -- and their bout lived up to that sleepy promise. By contrast, the numbers predicted fireworks when Pavlik (then at 48) fought Edison Miranda (60) in May. It was slugfest that ended in by TKO in the seventh with Pavlik's third knockdown of Miranda.
Statistics have limits. It's styles that make fights. It's training, desire, attitude and a hundred other X-factors that make great fights. But boxing fans are eager to see Taylor-Pavlik, and are anticipating a more exciting Taylor than we've seen in a while. The numbers show why.
TYSON INDEX LEADERS
RANKED
Boxer Index
1. Edwin Valero 27.6
2. Michael Katsidis 41.3
3. David Haye 42.3
4. Rey Bautista 45.2
5. Wladimir Klitschko 45.7
6. Kelly Pavlik 49
7. Enzo Maccarinelli 49.1
8. Daniel P. De Leon 52.6
9. Jorge Linares 53.1
10. Dennis Inkin 54
11. Sultan Ibragimov 55.1
12. Antonio Margarito 55.9
13. Jorge Arce 56.7
14. Rafael Marquez 59.2
15. Kermit Cintron 59.3
16. Nikolai Valuev 60
17. Vic Darchinyan 60.3
18. Samuel Peter 60.5
19. Paul Williams 60.8
20. Adrian Diaconu 60.8
21. Anthony Peterson 61.6
22. Carl Froch 61.7
23. Oleg Maskaev 62.3
24. Allan Green 62.8
25. Vladimir Virchis 63.2
26. Israel Vasquez 64.4
27. Calvin Brock 65
28. Edison Miranda 66.3
29. Miguel Cotto 66.7
30. Joe Calzaghe 66.7
____________________________
TYSON INDEX LEADERS
Unranked boxers
Boxer Index
1. Tyrone Brunson 18.5
2. Jung-Bum Kim 30.9
3. Peter Quillin 33.3
4. James Webb 37.2
5. Faruq Saleem 37.5
6. James Kirkland 43.9
7. Shannon Briggs 44.2
8. Joey Abell 44.4
9. Fahsan 3K Battery 45
10. Victor Oganov 45.3
11. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. 47.7
12. Andre Berto 48.8
13. Mark Suarez 50
14. Joe Mesi 52.4
15. Joe Greene 52.5
16. Chris Arreola 53.8
17. Ricardo Torres 54.9
18. Jason Litzau 57.1
19. Joel Julio 59.6
20. Rock Allen 63
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3025548