His gas tank was far from ****e, but you're correct that he doesn't beat a prime Ali. Prime Tyson could definitely beat most versions of 70s Ali though.
Ali: Knocked on his ass when he was Clay in his 11th fight, against Sonny Banks. Punch was a left hook. Ali: Knocked on his ass when he was Clay in his 19th fight, against Henry Cooper. Punch was a left hook. Clay needed smelling salts in between rounds was the rumor. Ali: Knocked around all night by Joe Frazier and knocked on his ass in the fifteenth round. Punch was a left hook. “Iron” Mike Tyson’s best punch you ask? His left hook. If you watch Ali, even in his prime, he is susceptible to the left hook. History above proves this. It is not hard to fathom that Tyson would be close to, if not the fastest opponent Ali ever faced. Tyson will land on Ali and land left hooks. Tyson hits harder than Sonny Banks or Henry Cooper. It’s not hard to see a good punchers chance for a Tyson victory.
Tyson had the best blend of left hook (that Ali was vulnerable too), power, hand speed, combination punching, and accuracy, and finishing ability of any heavyweight. Ali had an excellent chin but the Tyson attack is something anyone is going to have a problem surviving ... From Chuvalo to McCall to Ali
I can see Tyson KO'ing Ali. He had every punch in the book and was a great finisher. Ali fought guys that had about the same power, but no one that also had Tyson's speed and combos.
I could. Tyson's speed and power was shocking especially if you backed up and let him come forward. He was explosive and Ali held his hands low. I'm certain Ali would be on the canvas early. He probably guts it out and loses a decision. I don't think Ali punched hard enough to KO a prime Tyson.
It's not impossible Tyson doesn't get the early ko. However Ali had much faster feet than Mike, hits hard enough to get his respect and had a tonne more heart than Tyson. Not to mention an excellent chin, fantastic reflexes, moved like a welterweight, fast hands and had a history of defeating daunting dominating fighters in Liston, Frazier and Foreman etc. Mike has the ability but he can't sustain it throughout a full fight against Ali where he loses on the cards or gets stopped late on.
In his Clay years, Ali was knocked down by Banks, and Cooper. He probably would have even lost the Cooper match had the punch not come at the end of the round and had Dundee not given him smelling salts (which btw way illegal back then). So the ideea that Ali can't be KOd is silly. IMO 70s Ali had a much better chin than 60s Ali, which is the version we are talking about. Another thing worth mentioning is that Tyson poses a completely different threat to anything Ali ever faced, due to his unique blend of skill, speed and power. Ali faced some big punchers in his career (mostly in the 70s), but none of those had Tyson's accuracy and ability to land big punches on him, nevermind combinations. One might argue that guys like Liston and Foreman were bigger punchers than Tyson, but they did not land significant power punches (Foreman only had a few to the body). Tyson certainly has the ability to land his, not to mention the fact that he had an amazing defense in his prime and barely got hit. Regarding the second part of your statement, when he was training with Rooney, Tyson was in very good shape and had no problem going the distance. His fight with Ribalta was a masterful display of technique, speed and power, all coupled with endurance. IMO prime vs prime, Tyson beats Ali. He was trained since he was a kid to beat up Ali type boxers. I reckon Tyson would have far more trouble with boxers like Foreman and Liston than he would with Ali. It's a matter of styles. And sorry for the long post.