Could Joe Louis beat Mike Tyson?

I think Louis has a real good chance against Tyson, I really do not see this fight lasting long, both just have that power that they can blasted each other out. 50 50 to me.

 

It's a pick 'em fight, I'm not confident in a winner. It will likely be quick and ferocious either way though

 

Even 1996 Tyson would rampage through Louis era. The only one I see that MIGHT be able to do something against 96 Tyson is Walcott, but he would be giving away a little over 20 pounds.

 

Possibly. But he never faced anyone as powerful as Tyson.

 

I always thought that, because of styles, Tyson would be a more dangerous opponent for Louis than Foreman would have been.

 

No way was Liston 73 in 1970. I know his age was in dispute, but I doubt he was anything close to 73. At the oldest estimate, he was about 30 years younger than 73.

 

Prime Tony Tucker would have been a monster had he fought 100 years ago

 

I would agree, although I still think Foreman would beat Louis.

 

Hmmm.... Foreman was more tailor made for Louis. On the one hand, Foreman was in the mold of the type of fighter that Louis feasted on and hunted for sport, a big, tall and strong puncher that was relatively easy to hit and counter. On the other hand, Foreman was the gold standard of big, strong punchers and he had underrated skills and a powerful jab and despite his reputation for being a wild, technically unsound puncher, he actually had good technique. Watch the Foreman fight and see how he puts his legs in his punches and punches from the ground up.

All I know is, Foreman vs Louis, one man will have to be carried out of the ring.

 

I like Louis vs Liston as a barnburner. Possibly the greatest heavyweight dream match of all time.

 

The main thing we can agree on here is that you are correct, one man will be carried out. Ironically, they have a lot of crossover in their styles, even though there are many significant differences. Louis did specialize in taking about big punchers as you said, but he never fought anyone stronger, more resilient, and more accurate a puncher than Foreman.

 

No he wouldn't of he got a gift decision against a blown up Cruiserweight Orlin Norris who was 5'9, there's absolutely no evidence to suggest Tucker can beat smaller skilled Heavyweights of the past. Yes Tucker was 6'5 but he never had any impressive wins/performances over any ranked top 10 fighter.

 

Tucker was a spent force by then. Managerial problems on top of drugs can put a damper. I believe TNT took a few years off after the Tyson loss and came back woefully out of shape.

 

Honestly i think Tony Tucker is overrated on this forum, yes he did well to survive against Tyson, Lewis, fair play to him although neither fight was that competitive. But actually look at Tucker's best wins not a single stand out win against any ranked top 10 fighter. If you look back at all the 80's Heavyweights, even the ones who were inconsistent they all atleast had 1 or 2 stand out wins where they looked impressive.

Tucker has the win against Douglas in which he was way behind on points in a lackluster affair until Douglas decided to quit, again this win only looks decent with hindsight of Douglas's win over Tyson. But Tucker was certainly not impressive in this victory.

Then his only other notable wins is a gift decision against Orlin Norris, and another razor thin SD against Oliver McCall. Again nothing to write home about in any of these performances.

Not to mention Tucker's inflated undefeated record was against absolute nobodies for the first 30 or so fights, he never fought any of the other notable 80s alphabet champions or contenders like Witherspoon, Page, Thomas, Tubbs, etc.

Overall Tucker never really impressed me much, i will give him credit for his toughness. And he had decent skill set along with his height which makes him an awkward customer. But i do think people exaggerate how good he actually was based on going distance with Tyson which wasn't that competitive.

 

I agree with most of what you say. You see Tucker came out of that incredible U.S. amateur program that saw an increase in boxing due to Ali's popularity. TNT fought for Kronk with Emanuel Steward as his viceroy until their falling out. He might not have faced the best competition coming up in the 80's but we never got to see him pitted against the other 80's heavies that get a bad rep. Unfortunately that's the way the cookie bounces...

TNT went 35-0 before facing Tyson and hadn't lost since an amateur bout in 1978. He was on course to be part of the team that missed out at the 80's Olympics in Moscow. Going back to his pro days he was never dropped in a fight until Lennox Lewis and hadn't been KO'd until served up for John Ruiz in the late 90's. Tough MFer, TNT was.

He's another "what if" but to me he showed some skills for a big man. He did beat Douglas and a few trial horses like Animal Lopez. Maybe he is overrated in Classic but he was a mobile big man with pop and a tremendous chin.