Were there any boxers that would be able to beat Tyson mid-range?

I completely doubt Dempsey hit harder than Lewis. Or maybe even Holyfeild.

 

I have a feeling Foreman and Liston could beat Tyson at mid range. Almost as easily as they beat Patterson and Fraizer

 

Beating post-prison Mike is one. It's quite another to have beaten the guy before he went inside. Only Douglas did that.

 

Morrison's performance is underrated in that fight, for the first 3 rounds most over heavyweights would have fallen

Edit: I mean his performance in the first 3 rounds not altogether

 

As long as he didnt quit and was in shape, liston could beat tyson at his own game. It would have been an insanely entertaining exchange while it lasted.

Joe Louis hand speed, parries, trap setting, powerful jab, and technique could neutralize tysons weave, seek and destroy approach. But the big question is Joe's chin. If he can survive a bomb or get off the floor and clear his head to make it past round 6, Tyson would be in deep waters and deep trouble.

Neither guy I would put as a massive favorite over him tho.

I think Foreman is about the only guy who could confidently stand his ground at mid range and flat out beat tyson due to his height/chin, grappling, shoving, and vicious hooks and uppercuts. Even then tyson could still manage to badly hurt or stop george because of his speed and timing but he's he's about the only guy i can think of who id favor to beat Tyson at mid range primarily due to Tysons reach and lack of a consistent jab. He relied more on slipping and countering rather than true defense and im not saying foreman was some defensive wizard--im saying the roles are reveresed and Tyson is put under pressure by a barrage he either slugs it out or gets knocked out. I dont recall Tyson ever patiently covering up and blocking or parrying shots when under fire. His fast heas movement was more effective against the stick and move types who threw long straight punches. Against foreman he might get timed with a big upper or foreman stops his movements with his hands out style (although this is still risky for foreman as tyson had great accuracy and a speed advantage).

 

How much harder do you think Dempsey hit than Lennox Lewis? Razor Ruddock? Heck, even Smith and Bruno.

 

Good post and points.

 

I place him just below Morrison, who hit harder than all of them. Bruno is too much of a wild card for me to rank though

19 first round knockouts over top contenders, the destruction of Willard, only person to knock down Tunney, etc.

 

Imo there's not a chance he hits harder than Lewis, not a chance. Not even close. A guy under 190 isn't going to hit as hard as a great puncher at 227-250.

So he had 19 1st round ko's over top contenders? What do you define as a top contender?

 

Lewis is overrated as a puncher imo. More of a good boxer

Diminshing returns, I see this size argument so often. Why did Dempsey hit harder than Carnera? Baer? Louis? Firpo?

Dempsey is a freak of nature. Lewis doesn't have the knockout resume to compare, besides TKO 6, in which he didn't knock down Vitali but simply cut him. Perhaps you'll mention shot Tyson or China chinned Bruno? Yes more impressive than knocking down Willard 7 times, who'd never been down in his entire career beforehand.

Why does Morrison hit harder than Lewis if he's so much smaller? Why does Lyle hit harder than Briggs? Perhaps you wanna explain why Fitzsimmons hits harder than Jeffries? Or Marciano hitting harder than Baer?

 

Ok so i'm looking at these 19x ko1 over top contenders. Two of these are in Dempsey's second and third fights and they were making their debut's. How could these guys be top contenders? I see another two over debutants. One over a guy 10-9-6. 25-20-13. 0-1-, 0-3-0. 27-25-4. 6-9-3.

These guys were "top contenders"?