George Foreman '73 Vs Tyson '88

Funny, that so many pick Foreman. I'm not saying it's wrong, but even though Foreman has advantages in size and probably strength, Tyson is after all quicker, a better boxer and arguably has better chin and stamina, while having comparable power.

 

Ive always said Tyson. There's two ways to look at this imo. One is that Foreman in theory has a style that is bad for Tyson, stronger than him and can push him back and render him inneffective, eventually stopping him. The other is that Foreman it could be said has somewhat of a weakness in stamina (not durability), and against the man who has one of the most potent offensive arsenalls in history at his disposal this could mean trouble for him, that speed together with the switching from body to head, can mean a stoppage. I must say though, Tyson would need to be in absolutely impeccable form to pull it off, even if he fights brilliantly, its not like he's gunna change Foreman's approach and style, and George is bound to have some success in the fight. All this might weigh up in Foreman's favour moreso than Tyson's.

But i still pick Mike!!!

 

Cus D'mato didn't want Tyson to fight George.

(Only Liston ever backed George up....and that was in sparring.)

When they meet at center ring it would be like the WW2 Kursk tank battle...with all big bombs flying until Tyson retreats to the ropes ...then its all she wrote.

George in 2 rds after being down once himself.

 

I agree that Tyson, in his prime was the better overall boxer, but he would have been an unfortunate matchup against the 1973 Foreman. The idea that Tyson had better overall chin and stamina is an idea with which I beg to disagree.

Both guys hit hard as heck. Neither was known for anything else really.

I say that because:

1. George fought the same no matter what management he had.
2. George fought many fights, like Moorer and Holyfield where he was being nailed by much younger, world class heavyweights, but was not knocked out.
3. Being knocked out by Muhammad Ali is different from being knocked out by Buster Douglas.

Speaking to your real question, I say that the '88 Tyson v. the '73 Foreman eats the same plate of humble pie as Smokin' Joe Frazier. I understand that Tyson was a different fighter from Frasier, but the comparison can't be overlooked.

People forget that Ali was really a big guy. He was 6' 3". Tyson was under 6'. Tyson was bigger than Frazier, but closer to his size than Ali's by far.

Final Score: Foreman feels no intimidation. Foreman shakes off punches and hits the Tyson chin in a manner that reminds us old folks of how he turned the badass Philadelphia hooker into a rag doll over and over again.

Foreman in 6.

 

Yeh, and George was just coming off the amateurs. This comment opened up a whole new mental thread for me about a REAL Liston v. Foreman. I read The Devil and Sonny Liston among some other material on Liston. I sure would love to hear Foreman talk about that relationship.

 

The Joe thing was weird. I'm not sure any of us saw that coming at least in the shear enormity of the wipe-out. It was almost exactly like Patterson-Liston.

 

Im gunna start a Tyson appreciation thread if this keeps up!

Kiddin, good points made here.

 

What he said, George is a awful match up for Tyson imo.

 

Tyson had a better chin than Foreman? My ass... Foreman's chin is rock solid... Foreman was dropped by Ali in Africa due to heat exhaustion. Ron Lyle could KO a horse; no shame going down there.. And, for Christ sake, the knockdown scored by Jim Young in '77 was partly due to heat exhaustion and George being off-balance... That knockdown was scored officially, but it was NOT clean.... The '73 Foreman was indeed flawed, and his stamina sucked back then, I do agree with that....

MR.BILL:bbb

Again, The 1990 version of Foreman KO's Tyson in a 20X20 size ring..

 

Tyson's defense and chin get him through the first five rounds. In the latter half his speed and decent power (comparatively speaking) wear foreman down. I think a late round KO makes sense.

This is ONLY a prime Mike Tyson 87 or 88.

 

How does Tyson deal with the Foreman shoving? He shoved at the shoulders and moved guys were he wanted them. And how many uppercuts is Tyson going to absorb===5. 12? Foreman threw picture perfect uppercuts with both hands and off the lead foot even.

I don't see Tyson as the type that can reach into a bag of tricks and fight a smart and intelligent fight were he has to break down a formidable opponent in constantly dangerous waters. It'll be the Tyson defense and absorption factor that gives first.

 

You don't need a bag of tricks to beat Foreman, just speed. Why do you think Ali called him the Mummy ? Because he had a interest in the Pyramids ?

He got hit with countless lead right hands, which btw is a insult to any pro fighter. He punches wide and is even wider open, Tyson starts also a lot faster than Frazier and it stands to reason that he is also much stronger than him. It was almost comical when Frazier participated in some world strongest man contest in the early 70's and his strengh showing was beyond poor. Now that does not take away his boxing abilty but pure strengh, no contest against Tyson. So I am not sure if the shove works out so well plus it puts Tyson right back into his prefered punching range.

IMO speed kills and straight punches will do a number on Foreman. Still I would say a 70/30 fight favoring Tyson.

There is the old saying that the last thing a fighter losses is his power, I am in the minority opinion that Foremans power is heavily overrated. In his comeback once he stepped up from the journeyman level opponents he struggled mightly . He did ko a glasschinned ex lthwt but that is it. Morrison, Saverese, Stewart, Briggs etc he was unable to put away, as a matter of fact he could not finish Stewart off after the knock down. I said it countless times and I am going to keep saying it again in those Foreman /Tyson threads, a not on all cylinders blowing anymore Tyson waxed BOTH Saverese/Stewart in less than one round COMBINED.............while Foreman had to wear sunglasses for a couple of weeks after the fights.

 

So old George went the distance, huh?
Tell me, how did Mike Tyson do in his last 2 fights were he was the old guy for a change? Did he come out with the wins or just what was the result? And was that result against elite fighters or what caliber fighters anyway?

 

Been done to death, this matchup has, so I'll just say one thing and leave it there.

Foreman was extremely hittable in the 70's.

 

Exactly.

That's the reason I pick Tyson here, anyone with less than a very tight defense is going to get taken out by Tyson due to his lethal combos. Combine that with the fact Foreman was SLOW, and I feel Tyson would of finished him in about 4.