Prime for prime, best heavyweight ever - head to head

Prime Tyson

 

Didnt Buster completly out box and knock Tyson into next year. Your telling me Ali could not out box him.

 

Ali hands down.:deal

 

A prime Tyson at that...I see your point and I agree.

 

Size, strength, power, an ability to box or trade, a great jab, an ability to fight inside or outside, and mobility for such a big guy. What's there to exploit?

I don't agree with the chin issue either and I'm sure you don't. I mean at HW you expect guy's to be hurt. The McCall stoppage was probably a little premature and he got caught with a picture-perfect punch by Rahman after getting complacent.

He obviously took on a tonne of big-punchers. Tyson, Ruddock, Morrison, Klitschko, Rahman, Bruno, Tua, Briggs, Mercer etc. I agree with you, Lewis on his best day is a difficult, difficult match for anybody.

 

I agree. A recent analysis shows that Ali won those fights by a grand total of 3 rounds. Now, as good as Frazier was, he was Tyson 1.0. He wasn't half as fast, didn't hit nearly as hard, wasn't as strong, and he didn't move his head. He did his sloppy bee bop move. A prime Tyson would have murdered the 1970 version of Ali that Frazier met. The younger Cassius Clay, however, would have been the fight of the century.

 

Wasn't that after he'd had 11 successful title defenses, lost both his managers, and his trainer in the same year? That not an excuse...it's a fact. Even great fighters do lose in their prime. Louis got Kayoed by Max, the other Lewis got Kayoed twice...

 

He was also floored and basically saved by the bell against Henry Cooper who might have had some fearsome hooks but certainly not like Tysons, I'd say if Tyson would catch Ali with one of his best he wouldn't be coming up...

 

You pretty much touched up on everything.:yep

Thats what got me as well...I dont understand how people can say he has a questionable chin...True, he was stopped twice but what about all of the other fights his chin has kept him standing...One fight that really stands out to me is the Vitali fight...He ate some bombs and remained standing...I dont understand that for the life of me!

 

It's called an opinion on a hypothetical thread...really, your'e the one who's clueless.:rofl

 

To be fair, Tyson by this time had left Rooney, got involved with King and wasn't exactly primed. Physically he was, but he'd already started to abandon his defense a bit, he stopped moving his head as much and started looking for the one-big-punch a bit too much.

But still, Tyson in his prime was fantastic but not unbeatable. Ali had all the tools to give him all he could handle. He struggled at times with the reach and mobility of James Tillis - although he was never in any danger of losing that fight - so I don't think he'd find it easy at all to hunt down Ali and put combinations together.

 

Ali Prime 65-68 vs Tyson 88. Ali was like a WW those days,Tysons only chance would be early KO ,but Ali could take Mikes best.By the late rounds Tyson would be frustrated and Ali would score at will.Tyson did not have the heart to beat The Greatest of All Time.Lewis was great but weak jaw limits him IMO.Ali vs Holmes would be fantastic as well,2 great boxers.Holmes jab probably the best of any HW but I think Pre-suspended Ali would beat any Boxer ever...

 

There's such thing as an opinion, and then there's damn right idiocy. This guy seems to think that Ali did the 'rope-a-dope' his entire career.

 

Thats true with Tyson but I dont buy that as an excuse (thats just me though) Douglass mother passed prior to the Tyson fight and you saw how he perfomed...A performance for the ages...The point is how you deal with these hurdles...Some fighters deal with things differently.