Mike Tyson 87 vs Muhammad Ali 64

side to side movement lets compare the so-called greats on this skill.

 

Teddy picked Ali at his best but the 64 version was NOT Ali at gis best, That version was far closer to the guy that barely squeezed by Jones and was almost flattened by Cooper.

 

ronney picked ali64(liston1) to beat peak tyson..

 

That's all fine but keep in mind that Rooney and Atlas both had major issues with Tyson and are likely personalizing their opinions. I doubt the Ali who barely squeezed by Jones and Cooper defeats the prime and far more experienced Tyson. Two years later it's a different fight but still extremely tough. The prime Tyson would have been a lightning fast Chuvalo with Listons power. No easy match up for anyone.

 

That past-prime & under-trained Liston was slow as Molasses in January.

 

In the last 2 years Liston had fought 3 fights, each being a 1st round blowout...

Rusty Liston hadn't even met any resistance since Machen in 1960.

 

It was possibly a great win, but tainted by the dodgey dealings...

I hate the way Liston only tried to fight properly in round 5, he should've put effort in every round.

 

It would be like Tyson-Spinks. Ali would last longer than Spinks, but Tyson would steamroll him in the later rounds or just win a lopsided decision.

Let's remember that a prime Joe Frazier (who was nowhere near as good as prime Tyson) won almost every round when he fought Ali (who was 29 and close enough to his prime). It was a near shut-out. The judges showed a lot of respect for the undefeated former champ Ali, but if you watch the fight, it was one-sided.

 

A couple of points to make:

1. Ali was nowhere near his best in 1964. (but still very good)
2. using Ali-frazier I as a reference to a tyson win is ridiculous because Ali had taken 3 years off. (not meant as a insult to tyson supporters) Thats like using the tyson that fought mcnealey as a reference to argue against tyson.
3. Both fighters were extremely talented at the time Ali in64, Tyson 87.
The biggest issue is this: we are asking one of the most mentally frail heavyweight champions to fight one of the most mentally tough athletes in history. A fighter that can be broken down mentally against the best at breaking fighters down mentally.
Also consider that Ali was NEVER koed by ANYONE and he has proven to have one of the greatest chins in history. If (and in my opinion when) Tyson doesn't get him early, the fight will be over as Ali's brains, toughness, trickery and mental toughness make the fight easier as the rounds go.

Consider the upercut landed on tyson v tucker in round two where tucker had tysons balanced compromised but did not attack. Ali would have had the courage to take the risk of capitalizing on that. When tyson hit his oponents in his early days, they were not taking too many risks in fighting him back without simply throwing one punch and/or holding. Ali would take chances and completely frustrate Tyson. I do not think it is "crazy" for one to think Tyson could beat a 64 version of ali (no way any tyson beats ali from 66-74) the other side has merit but realistically Ali wins this one fairly clear.

 

I like Tyson 87 a lot but Clay 64 i think could pull off an UD over mike. Tyson was great opening up when he had it his own way. Clay would not allow him to have his own way. Ali 66/67 takes the head clean off Tyson 87 by 7 rounds