What if Tyson fought Holyfield Nov 1991 after the 2 nd ruddock bout ??

I think even at 205 Evander pushes Tyson around, it wasn't just strength, else Ol' George and the likes of Rahman would have won every fight, it was technique that allowed him to manhandle Mike. My background is grappling and I've seen many much bigger, much stronger men manhandled by physically smaller opponents. Power is nothing without control. Evander also had two things Tyson never had, discipline and an unshakeable belief in himself. I usually never say this about a fighter, preferring nine times out of ten, but I honestly believe Evander was all wrong for Mike psychologically and beats him every time....

 

Holyfield didn't fight that way back in 1991. At that stage he was still fighting like a light heavyweight style wise. He had better speed then but he often punched on bigger men only to gas a little when they didn't go anywhere.
I think if Evander was strong enough he would have pushed Bert Cooper back instead of going through that nightmare.The Bowe fight ofcourse finally convinced him to change up, bulk up.
So he lost some quickness and sat down on his punches better. More economical basically fighting like a heavyweight. As a crafty vet he used different "tools" his head bring one tool..

 

Tyson by stoppage Holyfield was considerably lighter at this point and was getting hurt and rocked in pretty much every fight vs Foreman, Dokes, Cooper, Stewart.

When Tyson fought Holyfield in 1996 yes Holyfield may not have been quite as fast or energetic as he was in early 90s. But he was physically stronger bulking up with PEDs and weighed between 215-218 pounds not to mention Holyfield fought smarter.

I think the lighter less physically strong more gung ho Holyfield gets stopped in 1991.

 

Tyson by KO/TKO in mid or late rounds.
Pre-prison Tyson was a different beast. He was still very confident in the ring and cared about his legacy. I think he would have been up for the fight, and wouldn't have shown some of the listlessness he demonstrated against Ruddock.
Tyson exhibited some of his best bodypunching and fighting out of clinches in 1991, and it would have mattered greatly for a formidable opponent like Holyfield, who relied on movement and combinations.

 

Fair comment, but the Cooper match was a late replacement and one who Evander clearly took lightly. Although he didn't fight like he did later, I'm sure he could have if he and his camp analysed the dangers Tyson brought...and if they didn't, Evander wins a firefight with Mike, even at around 205, I genuinely believe that.

 

Holyfield still beats Tyson albeit in a more competitive match.
The only version of Tyson I would feel confident about beating Holyfield is his 1986-88 incarnation.

 

Holyfield doesn't have the big fight heavyweight experience he gained while Tyson was rotting in prison. And while Tyson was losing his prime he was still fluid and active. COMPLETELY different fight...and outcome.

People saying Tyson looked terrible in the Ruddock rematch forget the fight was on again off again a couple times before it was finally official.

This might go down as one of the best heavyweight fights of all time. It would be a firefight with both men having success but Tyson ultimately wearing Holy down with body shots and lowering the boom in a brawl for the ages.

Tyson TKO8 Holyfield

 

Not a very daring answer but I think it would have been a tossup. They both would have been both physically and mentally prepared with everything on the line and both in their 20’s.

 

Tysons number was disconnected when Holyfield called

 

Tyson wins this

Everyone anticipated this fight but instead we got Holyfield coming periously close to getting stopped by Bert Cooper. He had trouble pushing Cooper back. I don't think he would manhandle Tyson. And Tyson hit harder than Cooper and although his defense had degraded, it was still a lot better than Cooper's. Holyfield also gassed several times.

Tyson by tko

 

Holyfield stopped Tyson in 10 in 1996. He would have stopped him sooner in 1991. Holyfield was too flexible.

Prime Tyson was almost impossible to counter. But Holyfield 1991 would have pulled out counters we hadn't seen before (that was gone by 1996.. he just held instead of countered). I think he was about to do it in their rematch, though, reach back one more time, before Tyson flaked out.

 

The sooner the better after Ruddock 2 he’d be sharp as a knife that’s a great fight 60-40 Holyfield as a random quasi educated guess.

 

There it is: Tyson never pushes Holyfield around.

 

I picked Holy at the time but I'm not so sure nowadays as I do think if i'm going to put any version of Evander in with Mike, it would be the 96 version (apart from maybe the Bowe rematch version). Past prime, but heavier and fighting a really smart (and dirty) fight getting inside more, and using his strength to bully Tyson.