Prime H2H Tyson vs. Lewis

lewis wins. clear and simple. by late round stoppage or ud

 

Tyson by K.O late

 

Tyson by KO

You should have did a public poll, much better.

 

This is a tough one. Could have gone either way. Tyson was the faster puncher,and if he'd have landd a blazing combo early on,Lennox would be stopped. However,if Lewis had shown Tyson that he was n't going anywhere,the Tyson would get discouraged,and end up being knocked out himself.

 

Got to go with Lewis. Tyson is overrated for me never proved himself able to deal with adversity possible the best 'on' top fighter of all time.

 

I always thought the deciding factor would be that Lewis already had figured Tyson out. Tyson was always the same fighter stylewise. He didn´t change much throughout his career, his basic style was always the same. When Lewis and Tyson sparred back in the day when they where kids it was Lewis who got the better of Tyson at the end of the week. Tyson beat him up in the beginning of the week - or to put it with Lewis "I thought we would sparr nicely and he came out trying to kill me" or something like that - but over the course of the week Lewis adjusted and turned it around.
Of course Tyson improved. But his style, the principle he fought after stayed the same. Lewis had figured him out already and that would be a huge advantage for him. I expect Tyson to win the early rounds with perhaps one or two scary moments for Lewis but at round four Lewis will turn up the heat and take commando of the fight. He will be the one dictating the ebb and flow and by the 6th/7th round Tyson starts to feel discouraged due to Lewis getting stronger and stronger. By the 10th Tyson´s face is bloodied. Tyson exhausted and Lewis will finish it right then and knock him out.
The fight would be so great that an immediate rematch will be made in which Lewis repeats the feat. Just faster.

 

Tysons speed and elusiveness at his best would catch Lewis reaching in and Tyson would lower the boom. If a completely shot Tyson could absorb the punishment he did in their fight, a prime and focused Tyson would easily find the opening and knockout Lewis. Lewis could be starched with one punch, Tyson could not.
The Tyson that beat Ruddock beats any version of Lewis. The Tyson of the late 80's does it easier.

 

Tyson early KO. When in shape and mentally focused he was difficult to hit cleanly and consistently and has very under rated defense. Tyson can and would get to Lewis as he showed not only past his prime but being completely and absolutely shot.

As great as Lewis was I personally feel that his best wins were against opposition that were showing more than just a few signs of slowing down, even then he struggled in some. While Tyson may have been a small HW he wasn't flat footed like Tua and there to be picked apart by jabs and lead right hands.

 

WHEN THEY FOUGHT THE CAT WAS OUT OF THE BAG AS FAR AS Tyson WAS CONCERNED, so I think Lewis had the edge in more than one way. Had they fought at a time when Tyson was considered unbeatable (Spinks) prior to Douglas and Holyfield it may have a different story. However I do feel they both had the qualities to beat one another but timing is the key

 

Tough to say. One guy matured fairly late, while the other one matured very early and had abandoned what made him successful in the first place by the time they did fight. I don't know if their encounter gave us a hell of a lot of insight. At the time Tyson was at his own best, I say Tyson does beat Lewis, but that wasn't in Lewis' prime. Tyson's speed might be the key prime for prime but I think like Bummy, it could have played out different ways because both had the tools to beat the other.

 

I'm going with Mike in an early kayo over Lennox.

 

Like a previous poster stated: Both men were past their respective primes but Tyson more so... Tyson of 2002 was basically shot expect for the fact that he still had a huge punch and a terrific chin... Lewis' legs looked a little shakey in this fight but Tyson could not put much pressure on him - except for the first round. If both men were at their best we'll say the Tyson of 1988 vs the Lewis of 1992 who blew out Ruddock I'll go with Tyson because I think his head and upper body movement would allow him to get inside and do damage.... If Tyson had stayed with Rooney and kept improving he was really a singular talent and could have become the greatest heavyweight of alltime....

1988 Tyson KO 5 1992 Lewis

 

I don't think he could have been the greatest HW of all time. Great, he was, greater, he could have been, the greatest? I don't believe it. He was a machine. He was a beast. But he wasn't psychologically strong enough or stable enough and he wasn't creative enough to be greater than an Ali. He never would've been the best no matter how long he stayed in form.

 

I think Lewis' cautious fighting style/mentality is an often unmentioned factor in this commonly brought up matchup. I see a prime, technically sound Tyson taking advantage of it and getting past Lewis' defense.

I also think Tyson has the chin to take the shots to get at Lewis' chin, if need be. Yes, there are the commonly cited Rahman and McCall KO's, but Lewis also got very shakey against Bruno and Vitali. A prime Tyson was one of the best finishers ever--he had that killer instinct that you can't teach, and I don't see a Lewis-in-trouble escaping like he did against those other guys.