And don't forget that nobody ever ko'd Ali. Ah, Holmes, you might say. But Bokaj has already gone into that. And a prime Ali looked just as invincible as a prime Tyson, though Ali's fights took a little longer to end. But that's easily explained on attitude and style. And a peak Ali was even more amazing to watch than a peak Tyson.
And Holyfield went on to beat Tyson twice. So where does that get us? And don't forget that Holmes went straight into the Tyson fight after almost two years of inactivity whereas he got in 5 fights over the course of 10 months before facing Mercer and then Holyfield.
I pick Tyson, one way or another. Tyson basically specialized in beating Ali impersonators. They were all over the place in the 80s, and Tyson had his way with them (save the bull**** Tillis argument). Ali, on the other hand, really wasn't fighting anyone who resembled Tyson too closely (including Patterson). I'm not really too impressed with Ali's resume from his first reign other than the first Liston victory. And when he finally stepped up to the super aggressive guy, in Frazier, he got his ass handed to him. Cooper and Frazier both got massive left hooks in on him. I think the matchup favors Tyson.
Tyson before he lost his mind would be trouble for anyone. Thats just a simple fact. He was a powerhouse with uncommon handspeed and when he loved boxing he was tough to deal with. I still think Ali would find a way to take the fight into deep water and start to pepper Mike. Ali would take some licks and maybe find himself on the canvas. He wouldnt stay there. A key would be the referee. Ali would have to tie up Tyson on the inside. He would buy time and smother the shorter fighter. Remember Tyson let guys tie him up. He liked to rest inside himself. Ali`s big jab would do some damage to Tyson`s eyes as the rounds go on and I believe Mike may lose the edge of his aggression by the midrounds. Ofcourse once that happens Ali`s sharp righthand wouldnt be far behind. Ali TKO 13th.
I say Ali Tyson probably knocks him down once but just look at what happened in the first round of Tyson - Biggs, Ali could do that for 15 rounds and could do it better for the whole fight than Biggs did it in that one round.
'88 Tyson beats them all, including any version of Ali and he would face**** Viturdi and Wladiqueer that same night
:huh Did you not see that big left Liston landed in the second round of the first fight i believe? That shot woulda taken out most...
I watched the Bruno / Tyson I again last night - surprising how close Bruno came, he really rocked Tyson twice and if he had a more effective jab you could see how Tyson was there to be beaten. You put Tyson in with a hyper mobile, now you see me, now you don't, unorthodox fighter, who can stick it to him with a wicked jab, and then substantial right hands, I can see Tyson looking ordinary. The longer it goes on the more it favours Ali - and I just can't Tyson taking out Ali early doors. Ali's chin is too good for Tyson, even if he got caught. Ali wins comfortably, Larry Holmes at his best would probably do a similar job.
I get Ali/Marciano but Robinson/Leonard? Robinson/Leonard is a borderline mismatch. Robinson has much faster feet than Leonard and has way more power than Leonard. It's like saying that a son can fight his dad. Ali/Tyson would be much more in demand than Ali/Marciano.