Joe Frazier .vs. Mike Tyson

Man i got love for joe and all, he throws the best left hooks of all heavyweights i've seen especially to the body, but tyson takes this, too much pressure and quickness, but IT WILL NOT BE EASY!.

 

I keep reading that Joe would beat him up on the inside. Prime Tyson won't let that happen.

 

I think Tyson had the edge in chin...I'd go for Kid Dynamite. Stoppage within five.

 

The Frazier that got annihilated by Foreman was nowhere near the same fighter that was the dominant champion from 1967-1970.

Foreman had an easy time with a Joe Frazier that was far from his prime weight and prime shape. Prime Frazier may taste the canvas once or twice early against Foreman, but I'd bet on him to do significantly better and perhaps stop Foreman late.

George would have had a much tougher time facing a PRE-FOTC conditioned Joe Frazier and he'd be hard pressed to hit him as cleanly as he did in 1973.

As for Tyson, he doesn't have the height or reach advantage that George has against Frazier, so it would be a lot easier for Frazier to hit Tyson.
People forget that the man had two hands, although he was primarily known for his left hook. Head movement was a focal point of his offense and Joe made one of the fastest and arguably the best heavyweight of all time in Ali, miss many punches.

Prime Frazier, PRE-FOTC would be a very tough assignment for every heavyweight in history, and nobody stops this version of Frazier inside the middle rounds, not even Foreman or Liston, who many on this forum say destroys Frazier quicker than Foreman.

 

Tyson was much harder to hit than dumb Foreman!

Tyson never had a height or reach advantage against any opponent but in his prime it didn't matter he just knockedthem out in the 1st.

 

True (more or less). But his KO record in fights that went more than 5 rounds isn't really a flattering read.

 

But this wouldn't go 5 rounds

 

You may very well be right. Tyson has to be seen as the favourite, I guess. I also have a hard time seeing Frazier getting past the early onslaught.

 

Frazier was no clincher. He wouldn't, and couldn't, have used that tactic.

Smith et al. had the size to smother Tyson, Frazier didn't. And more importantly, it wasn't in his reportiore. He never tried to clinch when hurt.

 

There are three problems with this theory.

1. Frazier did not have the size or strength adavantage over Tyson the way that Green and Smith had. These were two 6'5", 225+ heavys. Joe would actually be the smaller and possibly less strong of the two.

2. You assume that Tyson had stamina issues in his prime. Based on what? He went 12 rounds on three occasions against Smith, Tucker, and Ruddock. He went 10 rounds at least 3 times against Tillis, Green and Ribalta. He won all of these fights. The Douglas loss was a result of a sustained beating over 10 rounds, and more or less a fight where Tyson was not fighting to win. You could make the argument that none of these men were of Frazier's calibur, but if we're going to start in on that, then we could also say the same thing in reverse about Oscar Bonavena who extended Frazier the distance twice and had him floored on two occasions.

3. It would be all well and good if Frazier could tie Tyson up and neutralize his attacks for most of the rounds. But, he'd still have to take a hell of a lot of hard shots, and ones that probably packed more velocity in a single punch than Foreman's did. We should also consider that Tyson was not clean when on the inside. He had the tendency to elbow, and do other things when he wasn't getting his way.

 

This would be a very easy fight for a Prime Mike Tyson. Tyson had Frazier beat in every department except stamina. Tyson put together his punches better, had more speed, threw more combos, had better head movement, and superior punching power.

This fight will end within 5 rounds, with Tyson knocking him out.

 

Buster Douglas found Tyson easy to hit and we all know Tyson didn't have the heart of a Joe Frazier. If it goes more than 5 rounds then Frazier wins. Tyson has to win early. That's possible but no way will Frazier easily fold like most of Tyson's 80s opponents.

 

Because if you survived more than 5 rounds against Tyson, you obviously have a very good chin and in the majority of those fights his opponents were fighting to survive. If you survived Tysons initial onslaught you were either very, very good or hanging on for dear life.