In what fight would a losing boxer be able to 100% defeat his opponent at the peak of his career?

Tszyu beats Hatton
Fenech beats Holliday and Grove

 

You used the example of Mike Tyson.

He would obviously have slaughtered Danny Williams and Kevin McBride in his prime, and he was matched against them precisely to give him low risk wins, despite his age.

 

Don't even get into Sam Langford, or the other sad stories who hang on too long.

The field is vast here.

 

Rubbish Prime Wlad was 2012ish with a win over David Hayes and pushing Povetkin over. Wlad loses to Fury 7 days a week and twice on a Sunday the big stiff robotic tool. Padded canvas cheat bum. Coward.

 

Nonsense.

And deep down you know it.

 

Prime Omar Narvaez beats Zolani Tete

Prime Carlos Canizales beats Panya Pradabsri

Prime Tepparith Kokietgym beats Kohei Kono

1988-1989 Rene Jacquot beats Gianfranco Rosi 1990


2016-2018 Cristofer Rosales beats Angel Ayala 2022


2014 Ryoichi Taguchi beats Hekkie Budler


2014-2018 Wanheng Meenayothin beats Panya Pradabsri


2006-2008 Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym beats Ryol Li Lee 2010



2004-2011 Pongsaklek Wonjongkam beats Sonny Boy Jaro 2012


2011-2020 Juan Francisco Estrada beats Jesse Bam Rodriguez 2024


2017-2019 Jerwin Ancajas beats Takuma Inoue


2018-2020 Kazuto Ioka beats Fernando Daniel Martinez

 

Tyson is several years younger than Lennox that logic doesn't check out.

Louis and Ezzard Charles v Marciano. Jimmy Young was much better in his pretty short prime.

 

Tyson is 10 months younger than Lennox

 

People are 100% sure a top 5 ATG like Muhammad Ali beats another top 5 ATG like Larry Holmes? seriously? if they didn't split a series 6-4 it'd be shocking to me, not much between guys on there level.

 

At no point would Iron have beaten Lennox.....................

Honestly there's numerous examples:

Prime Roy would've beaten Calzaghe (I don't think either was prime when they fought but Calzaghe had more left)
Prime Erik Morales would've beaten Zahir Raheem
Prime Michael Nunn would've never lost to Frankie Liles or Steve Little
Prime Hagler would've stopped SRL (I thought Hagler won regardless)
Wlad would've stopped Joshua

 

Besides Fulton Langford was never stopped between 1906 and 1923 when he was 40 and was stopped 3 times in the last 3 years of his career in about 20 fights. Before those final 3 years Langford avenged every single loss he had in this period. With the exception of Gunboat Smith he avenged them multiple times. While you can chalk up Langford not winning his rivalrys with Tate, Lee Anderson and even Wills to age losses are inevitable when you have so many rematches against the sort of guys Langford was fighting.

In those final 3 Langford still won over twice as many fights as he lost. I'm not sure he embarassed himself though the early 20s was probably the right time to get out.

 

Prime Ali ('67) beats everybody who beat him. He beats Frazier, he beats Norton, he beats Spinks, he beats Holmes, he beats Berbick.

 

- Ali beats Frazier, Norton, Holmes, Spinks & Berbick
- Leonard (1982) beats Norris at 154
- Holmes beats Holyfield, McCall & Nielsen
- Foreman beats Holyfield, Morrison & Briggs
- Holyfield beats Lewis, Ruiz (wouldnt take one loss to him), Toney & Valuev (he won but was robbed)

 

Just something to ponder---a peak trained and conditioned 1958-60 version of Sonny Liston vs the 64' version of Muhammad Ali. (I'd still make Ali an 8-5 favorite but he better not get careless!)

 

As I was flipping some of these through my mind, I am trying to negotiate where prime meets weight class — prime Roberto was 135, so I’m not sure he beats guys this big. Even if it’s prime 147 Duran, there’s still a major size difference. (Although with each you could take the lighter version, but prime Camacho is probably 130 so it’s still wonky.)

I think prime 135 Roberto probably does beat Pat Lawlor no matter Lawlor’s weight, haha.

Some I’ll throw out:

Prime Pipino Cuevas wrecks Roger Stafford

Tokyo Douglas manhandles Lou Savarese

Prime Ali embarrasses Trevor Berbick

Prime Mike Rossman beats Ramon Ranquillo