Tyson Of The Ruddock Fights?

Head movement wasn't quite there nor was the combination punching, but it was still a good version of Mike Tyson.

Make no mistake about it that version of Tyson, is still the favourite against mostly every other Heavyweight at that time. Ruddock had to absorb inhuman amount of punishment, with the broken jaw and ribs to have the accolade of saying he went 12 with Tyson.

Would a green Lewis win at that time ? Maybe not. Would a Holyfield who was getting rocked and going to war vs the likes of Cooper, Dokes, Stewart, be able to win at that time ? Again maybe not.

I'd still have Tyson at that time as the slight favourite, against the other top Heavyweights despite a small decline.

 

I think a lot of this is probably true. I don't see Lewis beating that Mike. But Holy and especially Bowe are a different realm altogether. I don't think the Ruddock Mike could have beaten the Holmes/Holyfied (I think EH would have taken a fairly close and exciting decision), and I really doubt he could have beaten Bowe at this point. The second fight wasn't terribly long before the first Holy/Bowe, and that Mike would have gotten stopped by Bowe imo.

 

The issue I have against Riddick Bowe, is that hes untested against punchers. Unless your counting Herbie Hide who was more of a blown up Cruiserweight.

When discussing Bowe I always bring up the point, that Bowe either avoided or somehow managed to not fight any of the dangerous punchers of the 90s.

Another issue is that Bowe didn't use his reach and height, and he also got hit way too much. I think that would be his downfall against Tyson.

To beat Tyson you got to either box on the outside, with the jab and keep it at distance aka Douglas. Or you got to tie Tyson up on the inside and fight a smart fight aka Holyfield 96. And again to be fair these two fights weren't against Tyson at his best.

But Riddick Bowe going toe to toe with Tyson with no defence ? I don't know I can't see Bowe winning it honestly. Although one thing in Bowe's favour was his tremendous uppercut, which might cause the smaller Tyson issues.

 

He seemed to have lost a bit of boxing ability but his heart was still in it and he was very much prepared for battle. It's entirely possible he was still the best fighter in the world but I think Holy beats him by decision. I'm less confident in picking Lewis or Bowe. Even 96 Tyson was probably the 3rd best heavyweight in the world.

 

Definitely the best post prime version of Tyson. I doubt though,Fergy,if he could have beaten the likes of Bowe and Holyfield at this stage of his career. 1987-88 incarnation of Tyson would have been succesful.

 

This. I do agree with @Dynamicpuncher in regard to Bowe's flaws: they were legion. However, I just don't see 91 Mike beating him at that time. If we're talking 87 to 89 absolutely, no way I'd bet on Bowe and I'd be sorely indecisive as far as Holy at that time.

 

More or less as good as ever in the first, I'd say. Ruddock was spoling for most of the fight, so there wasn't much room to fire off combos. Hor many did he fire off against Smith?

As for the vaunted head movement, it was never as consistent as is the popular myth would have it, and why move your head a lot against someone who does'nt throw straight punches? The risk would rather be that he moved into Ruddocks's hook/uppercut, since Ruddock waited for Tyson to move in so he could counter with that.

This was a better and stylistically more difficult opponent than Biggs and much better prepared than, say, Tubbs, yet Tyson didn't have too much trouble with him.

In the second fight Tyson looked a bit more sluggish, though, and Ruddock had more success. Still, Tyson showed mettle to several times come back from hard blows to regain control of the fight. Not his best night in terms of skill perhaps, but in terms of smarts, grit and will to win.

 

Riddick Bowe would’ve beat Tyson. Just my opinion. I don’t think it would have been close.

Ruddock and Tyson were great fights. Both. Tyson was on the cusp of mediocrity, but still more of his old self. Ruddock was clearly not good enough.

 

I’d be surprised if he didn’t beat Bowe. Bowe had crappy defense and a lot less power than Tyson.

Holyfield would be close to even odds.

 

Bowe did take WAY too much punishment.

I don't know, I keep seeing Mike's performance in the second Ruddock fight. Bowe didn't hit as hard as Ruddock, but he had that terrific jab and uppercut. And, even though I know he didn't deal with much for punchers, I think he could have withstood the fusillage of that particular Iron Mike. I'm wondering if Bowe could have drawn Mike into the inside, I think the latter would have been in trouble there. Once Mike starts trying to clinch...

It's a tough call for me. Bowe would take some nasty punches for sure.

 

Still a formidable HW. His combinations and ring IQ were still great, able to switch from body to head. Stopped trying to KO Ruddock with one hit and methodically broke him down with combinations. Still had good hand speed and power in both hands. Surprisingly good stamina.

The main thing that declined was his head movement and defense. Ate way too many punches and was more than happy to slug at any given moment. His timing had declined a bit too.

 

I think Bowe is a tough, maybe nightmare, matchup for this version of Tyson.

We’re talking about a Tyson who really wasn’t utilizing his jab (he was never the jabber some made him out to be but he did have a good one when he chose to use it to get inside) or throwing the kind of crisp combos of his earlier years. As someone said, a bit more sluggish version of Mike.

I think Bowe’s jab gives him trouble as the fight goes on and Mike’s lack of head movement becomes a handicap. And when he gets inside and throws one or two punches and looks to rest or clinch — Bowe’s about as good a big man as I’ve ever seen on the inside and his uppercut is a sledgehammer.

Yes, Bowe took too much punishment … but darned if he didn’t take it and keep fighting. He was very strong-minded and wasn’t easily dissuaded by an opponent having success. That’s a good temperament to have when it comes to fighting a guy who is surely going to land some big punches if you’ve got the whiskers and durability, which Bowe did.

I think he wears Tyson down and wins fairly widely or maybe even takes Mike out late. There isn’t a lot on Tyson’s resume that says he’s going to finish strong in a distance fight against a guy who is going tooth and nail with him and mauling him on the inside.

And I think Holy always has his number. You couldn’t bully Evander.