Why didn't Tyson-Witherspoon happen, and how would it go down?

My bad, it was after Bowe just beat Holyfield for the titles. He gets in Lennox's face and then gets interviewed by Jim Lampley with Foreman next to him. Not positive if this is the right post fight interview.

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Seems to me the ONLY verifiable reason is Foreman's obvious dislike and MASSIVE distrust of King. That's plenty.

 

See, to me this is true of both Foreman and Holmes. Tyson would have run into that uppercut again and again...and both fighters were unquestionably harder punchers than Douglas.

Holyfield/Foreman stops Mike in 9. Holmes in 11. Mike might just be able to slip the monstrous jabs of those two men, but he was so open coming in, and that's just what Big George liked.

As far as pre-Steward Lewis goes, Foreman would have knocked him way sillier than McCall. But Steward-era Lewis very well might have ko'd George...he had the speed and power.

I don't think Bowe could beat George by 1996. George>Golota, in a big way.

 

After Holy 1, when he p#$d George off by kissing his head.

And Bowe would have beat that George imo.

 

Ha! You beat me to it. Foreman's face was priceless!

George rules.

 

Imo something that underscores how awful King could be (and completely justifies George not wanting to deal with him at all) is simply reading Tim Witherspoon's biography/interviews. He was so stressed out, feeling ripped off, and disliking of Don King he says he threw his title away to a guy who (though a really good puncher) turned out to be a paper champion and overall unbelievably boring (at times) and lame fighter.

Witherspoon getting blown away by Smith could be quite indicative of how he would have fared against Mike.

 

Witherspoon overall just wasn't a great fighter imo, and that goes for all the contenders and champions during Larry's reign besides the obvious (Norton, Ali, Mike). Just my opinion. Williams, Thomas, Smith, etc. All tomato cans.

I hesitate to say this (not being sure at this time), but it's possible Mike Weaver was the most legitimate threat through more than a little of Holmes' reign. Mike was like a heavyweight Spinks jinx.

 

That's true. But like others have stated before, to get to Tyson you needed to go through Don King. Holyfield had Main Events to back him and Foreman had Bob Arum. Things could've been worked out. In 1996 when Lennox didn't want to deal with King, Holyfield stepped to the plate to prove he could beat Mike in the ring and not the courts.

 

You're right, especially considering how much money George could have made. Even Larry succumbed to King's charms, choosing to fight Mike when he'd been out of the ring for eighteen months and coming off two losses.

 

With Holmes, a fight with Tyson was thisclose to happening in 1986. But HBO wanted Tyson for their heavyweight tournament, so Jacobs and Cayton promised Holmes first crack once Tyson scooped up all the belts. Holmes knew a fight with Tyson was on the horizon so he sat back, fought an exhibition and studied Bonecrusher's approach. It just didn't work.

 

Cocaine. Tim loved the cocaine.

 

I didn't know that, thanks! Larry's my favorite fighter, but I'm not sure at all he would have beaten Mike at that time (probably not). Now, bring the clock five years earlier (and just pretend prime Mike was around then). Mike would have been hitting air and getting swoll up and stopped by that jab and uppercut.

 

I doubt that. Tyson always beats Holmes with the exact style Cus implemented specifically to beat fighters like Holmes. During their actual fight, it's when Holmes opened up on offense was when his downfall began. He was flying around for 3 rounds and avoiding Tyson to try to tire him by Rounds 4 and 5. That was his strategy. A prime Holmes would be on the offensive and this would be exactly what Tyson wanted.

 

I like your thinking, you make your points very interesting and almost conceivable....but I respectfully agree to disagree. Though Shavers was NOWHERE NEAR as great a fighter as Mike, he was definitely on his level (probably heavier) as far as punching power goes, and he was usually coming in. Mike in his prime was far more adamant and aggressive. But seeing Smith smother Mike all those rounds and make him look so lame. Holmes would have picked him apart, by using his move-to-the-left-jab-right hand-then-clinch formula. Those fighters who made Mike work so hard and overall look kind of lame in the 80s were NOTHING compared to Larry Holmes.

Of course, all this is my opinion, and I respect yours.