What age version of Ali could prime Tyson beat??

The pre 1964 and post 1975 incarnations of Ali.

 

Every incarnation from Liston I until just after the Thrilla in Manila.

 

I think comeback Ali would get beaten "fairly easily" by Tyson.
Ali without his footspeed would be at a big disadvantage, and Tyson was extremely resilient, it took Buster Douglas 11,5 rounds of domination and possesion of two very powerful hands to get Tyson down.

Ali does not have the offensive power Buster Douglas had and that would have put him in very big trouble against Tyson combined with his legs that were "gone" it could become a fight like Holmes-Tyson

 

Good for Ali, but Tyson took the bathtubs thrown by Ruddock

 

Anything post exile. I don't think Ali, by then, had the legs or power to beat Tyson.

Tyson would be live against any version though.

 

^disagree. I would rather do 15 rounds of Ali's shots than 12 of Ruddock's. Two times in 3 or 4 months makes it that much worse.

 

Ali hit sharp but not that hard.

Ali's good offense was mainly because that jab hurt and tended to cut and bruise any opponents he faced, even the ones that weren't known as bleeders

But his KO power was way below Ruddock or Bruno or Douglas for that matter.
Ali would need his mobility, he didn't have that in his comeback

 

I have always thought that the mobile style of Ali's 'prime' would have played right into the strengths of Tyson. With his hand and footspeed it would be very hard to stay away from Tyson, and his whole game was based on slipping the jab and coming in behind it.
In other words I wouldn't bet on any version of Ali to beat Tyson. I think the version of Ali that fought the first and third Frazier fights would have the best chance, if he was lucky enough to get a referee that would let him break the rules and frustrate Tyson into clinching when he got close instead of letting his hands go on the way in.

 

In losing a UD in Tyson's 19th fight; he became a much better fighter later on.