Now we have a super main event between two fighters who truly transcended the sport of boxing. In the blue corner you have the Brown Bomber Joe Louis considered by many as the greatest Heavyweight of all time, a 12 year reign as champ with 25 defences going against Kid Dynamite Mike Tyson the youngest ever heavyweight champ and the first fighter to unify all major belts. A true spectacle of a fight and one you can guarantee will not go the distance. Studying the tale of the tape Joe had 4 inches in height and fives inches in reach over Mike however Tyson is about 20lbs heavier and built like a tank. Both had great combination punching and extraordinary power with 75% and 76% KO percentiles respectfully. Tyson’s slightly faster in hand speed and quite a bit faster with foot speed, has a better chin however Louis has more heart and stamina. This would be an absolutely epic showdown, a real firefight with amazing boxing skills on display as well as concussive power. So how does the fight go? Like any 50:50 match up there will be testing times for both boxers and by the end the real winners would have been the fans. Tyson will come out fast throwing his brutal combinations and overwhelming Joe. While coming in Mike would get a little overzealous and Louis would land a couple of beautifully timed shots that knock Tyson down. Straight away the crowd would be on their feet sensing an early finish however Mike would be smart enough to clinch and clear his head similar to the first Bruno fight. Once Tyson has found his legs he would use his superior hand and foot speed to avoid Joe’s powerful punches. Bobbing and weaving his way in and mixing up his body and head attacks Mike would connect with some spectacular shots. With Joes poor head movement Tyson would land a damaging left hook to the chin knocking Louis down in the fourth. Once Louis is back on his feet he would make some adjustments and tie up Mike on the inside with his longer reach and try to frustrate him. By round six both fighters are weary of the others power however Mike would have enough in the tank to land some really debilitating punches. Tyson’s angles of attack would give Joe some real problems who did struggle with movers. Louis would never have faced such a fast and ferocious fighter and with Mike’s stronger chin absorbing Joe’s combo’s Mike would again drop Louis with a perfectly timed body shot followed with a wicked uppercut. Joe would get up however Iron Mike was a clinical finisher and would force the ref to step in waving the fight off. Verdict – TKO win for Tyson round 8
Yes, disagreed. Louis was efficient and counterpunching-orientated, often settling for inches and tight-close slips that allowed him to maximise opportunities for return fire, but he was just as capable of weaving up and down, and around the centreline. Beautiful fighter.
Next up: How Trevor Berbick or Bonecrusher Smith would beat Joe Louis, who was just a jabroni. Seriously, Joe Louis IMO would not go undefeated in a series of fights with Tyson, Tyson was too good and strong, but on average Louis would take him out in about 10.
I think the key would be Tyson’s speed and power in both hands, Louis would be a tough fight for anyone but a prime Mike would probably win more often than not
Tyson has a better chin?? I strongly disagree. I also vehemently disagree when people say Louis was slow of foot. He was economical IMO not slow. No wasted movement. His combination punching was also the best in HW history. Short fast powerful beautiful combinations. Tyson was an awsome spectacular fighter but consistently overrated IMO. Louis would have won IMO
Louis had faster hands than Tyson. Tyson didn't have a better chin. Louis was measured with his footwork, he wasn't slow, certainly not slower than Tyson. If Tyson clinched with Joe he would get battered on the inside. Louis had power in both his hands too. Joe's did not have 'poor head movement'. In reality, Louis cleans him up.
Tyson may have been overrated but his chin was much much much better than Louis's. That's not even up for debate.
Louis was pretty much in his prime at 24 and got completely mauled by Schmeling, Tyson never suffered such a beat down in his prime, the Douglas fight he was outboxed all night but that’s different to a sustained battering and he was already on the slide neglecting training and partying too much
Schmeling was a world champion and an extremely disciplined master boxer who excelled in an era of a single belt and culturally and economically based austere competition of countless restless fighters. Scratch the second part if it reeks of rose-tint. Max would be one of the very best names on Tyson's resume, rising above the coke-ravaged, Don King-abused, Lost Generation of Alphabet Champions he beat on his way to the top (still often a solid opposition). That and Louis avenged the loss in a brutal manner.
I agree Max was a great fighter for his time but you can't deny the fact that Louis was battered pillar to post can you name another ATG top ten Heavyweight who suffered such a brutal beat down in their primes I really can't think of any. Again not taking anything away from Louis easily top 5 maybe even top 3 Heavyweights in history on achievements but head to head I can't see him beating any of the following Ali, Tyson, Lewis, Bowe, Foreman and maybe even Holmes
You're giving him far too much credit. He fought a great fight against Louis the first time, and that's pretty much it. Other than that he was not a great fighter. Before the Louis fight, nobody cared about him. He was only celebrated, (in Germany), after he KO'ed Louis and then Hitler wanted to have lunch with him etc. Nobody gave a toot about him before that. I do not see him as more talented than the Don King crew of the 80s, (and I don't rate any of them as great fighters either).
Louis was wobbled by light fisted Billy Conn who had a grand total of 64 knockouts and was outweighed by 30 lbs. Fighters a lot lesser than Mike Tyson came out swinging and put Louis on arse. Yes, he got back up, but I don't fancy his chances against a finisher like Tyson. Louis was painfully slow of foot. This would not bode well against a rampaging style like Mike's. The flat footed style is why he may have been a good combination puncher, but it would also make him a sitting duck against Mike Tyson. MT was very difficult to time coming in, he had the upper body movement, was very fast, and could punch himself. Tyson by first round KO.