Do you even life bro???
I actually went through the game from start to finish once a few years back and beat Tyson legit.. and have never had a desire to do it again. I play MTP still but not that hardore. You are right that right at Sandman it starts to get super challenging. Hell Popinski can be a challenge if you haven't played in a while.
So my mother, God bless her, still has our old NES system and it's in great condition. So I probably take a crack at it every year or so when we visit. I've come so close to beating Sandy but he gets me every time with his move. Pop can be a bitc* too you're right but once I get the hang of it again he's no prob.
When I inevitably give up I just take out the frustration on duck hunt. Never fails.
The bros and I have a great time throwing it back to that system, lots of good memories. Funny to think how much gaming has come along since.