Of all the fighters around with Tyson who did you wish he had fought . Any point in his career for any reason !!!! Knock yourself out !!! I'm picking Mercer ! At any point .
I really don't think that to be accurate, Tyson began a personal & both inside boxing and outwith unravelling, prior to the height of his troubles, very few could beat him. Mike Tyson for a period was a real 'Baddest man on the planet". it's a shame really those years until his retirement, he was a troubled man for a long time.
Imho it was already too late. Even Tyson, who fought Ruddock, was no longer the 1986-88 Tyson; he was no longer:
There were several good fights that could have happened in the early 90s like Holyfield, Bowe, Lewis, Foreman and Witherspoon
Holyfield in 1991 - this is the year they were closest in performance and skills. Also a battle with both at their peak (88 Tyson vs 92 Holyfield). Foreman in 1991 - my two favorite heavies at the time AND to show fans in the future that Old Foreman most likely gets TKO'd. Bowe - a contrast in styles yet both were the most exciting heavies I've seen. Morrison - a barnburner for however long it lasts. Tua - a showcase of similar styles and power but a huge difference in skillsets. Too many to name...
True, he'd lost a little discipline in the way he fought. But we'd have at least seen him fighting the big name's of the decade.
Tyson vs Tua would’ve been great but even if he secured victory, it quite possibly would’ve taken a lot of our Mike. I recently re-watched Tyson vs Ruddock II. Jesus that was a brutal fight for both guys. At best, Mike had some chin on him, he absorbed several of Razor’s best smash punches. Great fight really, just imo.
Tyson post prison would've had a real problem with Tua especially if he only went headhunting. You had to make Tua eat his ribs for dinner. He's soft there. The Ruddock rematch was incredible how much punishment they dished out. A full 12 rounds of brawling, and low blows, and multiple fouls, and more low blows. Not sure what the exact problem was but leading up to the fight Don King would tell both guys that the fight was on again, off again. He was unpredictable. Only a few weeks before the bout neither Tyson nor Ruddock knew if they were fighting or not. I like the first Ruddock fight. There was more excitement in the air and had it been properly promoted it would've made everyone involved much richer!!
In addition to some names listed above.... Later on--would have liked to have seen him wearing the shoes of old champ vs pedigreed up and comers. Klitschkos for example. Even would have liked him in there against a Chris Byrd or even Toney instead of say Danny Williams. Brewster might have been interesting as well. Or see him breaking down the boxer types like Akinwande or a Mavrovic.
I agree with you on Ray Mercer. If Tyson had a good manager post prison and they actually cared about bringing him back to top form. After 2 or 3 fights match him with Ray Mercer. It would have been a tough fight that couldve went either way. Tyson at that time needed some rounds. He would of had to dig deep at some point because Ray wasn't laying down or an easy nite. I think Tyson would win a close decision looking like do do in the process. That would have been the best thing for him at the tjme.