Prime Lewis vs. Prime Tyson

A young hungry motivated tyson (I am so sick of Tyson fans!) never fought some one like lewis...this is not razor ruddock here...c'mon...tyson's record against the best of his day is (0-3) that speaks volumes! Tyson Very good against against mediocre comp..but mediocre against very good comp...comes up short yet again!

 

I dunno but I reckon in their prime Tyson would have beat Lewis Tyson had one round against Lewis the first after the first round Lewis was teeing off on Tyson and hitting tyson at will and with big shots every round yet it took Lewis another 7 rounds to put a shot Tyson who wasnt even hitting back on the canvas and when Tyson went down he wasnt knocked out just battered and exhausted

 

Tyson early or Lewis late/possibly decision. 50/50 in my book.

 

Tyson had very little left in the tank from his lifestyle and style. Lewis was still a great fighter.

 

Sorry but Lewis chin is a no thanks for me in this fight. I honestly think that the motivated Buster Douglas that Tyson fought was close to as good as Lewis and the way out of it Tyson of that fight still tested his chin. Lewis's chin would get tested make not mistake about that, and it would fail.

 

its such a interestging match up,

i think this is a rare occasion in fight histroy when two genuinely great fights each of a styl tailor made to beat the other.

lewis style is tailor made to get to tyson, which is size and reach. i can see a prime tyson getting slown down and weakening in the last 4 rounds or so. if lewis won i would bet money that i would be jab outside, one big right uppurcut clinch all 240lbs on tyson and then weight untill round 9 or so to start relying on the big right hand... just like how he fought tyson past his prime.

but tysons style is tailor made to beat lewis by his own weaknesses, his chin and being first. if there is anyone that could do what mccall did but faster more accurate it would be tyson. i also think he could play a pretty good mercer too. tyson could be lewis stylistic nightmare and he had a chin and endourance to do it for possibly the whole fight.


i think tyson comming out first (and his mental state) and landing the right hand would make the absolute difference in the fight.

if he can do that the i think he wins by knock out, if lewis breaks tyson will then i unless tyson hits lewis with a wild haymaker then lewis maybe the only other person beside buster douglas to stop tyson.

 

I gotta go with Mike on this one by decision. Against punchers and dangerous threats Lewis usually comes out with the intention of getting his respect early. Against Tyson, I believe he will be overwhelmed in the first two rounds trying to adjust and not take any unneccessary chances. I think the momemtum will be a very strong one for Tyson during the opening stanzas as Lewis backpedals and holds uncomfortably on the backfoot only to subside in the middle rounds as Lewis begins to adjust and find his ground. I don't believe Lewis will open up enough to give Mike many chances after Tyson tags him clean early on but he'll use his size to lean on and smother Tyson's attack, push him off and keep the fight on the outside. Tyson's stamina, timing and speed will give him the upper hand even as Lewis's strategy changes in the fight as Mike would consistently land the flashier punches even as the the punch stat numbers begin to even up. In the end Tyson wins a hard fought decision against a game challenger who looked like he was ready to go early on.

 

I understand that, it's called a difference in longivity. However, that aside Lewis is older than Tyson so one can't fault Lewis for being chronologically older and certain both of them being in their mid 30's would make both past prime. Kudo's, rather than criticsm, should go to Lewis for looking after himself and focusing on his career.

 

Its ridiculous Tyson apologists claiming that Tyson was past his prime!!

Lewis was way past his prime. He only had one more fight after the Tyson fight. whereas Tyson carried on longer than Lewis. In Tysons next fight after Lewis he KO'd Clifford Ettienne in one round, which is as good as he was doing in the 80s when faced with sub par opposition!

 

Very good post!:good

 

Lewis was still much better off than Tyson. And for the record, Tyson was in shape for the Etienne fight. He was not for Lewis.:good

 

For the record Tyson's a highly paid professional fighter who's job is to be in shape when he enters the ring. I would call not being in shape an extremely pathetic excuss for lossing a fight, or not looking good in one.

 

remember that in a prime for prime fight, tyson would be younger, more fit, and healthier (as would lennox) - so he could recover from a punch much quicker than he did in 2002. i think lewis hit tyson the cleanest / hardest in entire career - but ruddock landed some powerful shots and often young tyson came right back with a counter or was occasionally stunned for a few seconds (only then to come right back). so the question is: lewis commits to a monster shot (surely ruddock's punches were monstrous too) but tyson has the durability to take it and the fitness to recover quickly to counter his own. i don't know if tyson can do that - if he does - he wins with a counter - if he doesn't - most likely lewis wins.

lewis has to use his power to gain tyson's respect and to keep tyson off of him or slowed down. problem is - when lewis does that - it can easily become a slugfest (favor of tyson). if lennox makes it a boxing match with his ramrod jab - he is likely to win.

as you see - no conclusions are made here - only ifs - because this is a tough fight to choose. even if in retrospect it looks obvious - that is an illusion. people look at the 2002 fight and say it was predictable (and maybe with conventional wisdom with a look at tyson's record in past 5 yrs and lewis' record it was) but lewis doesn't get enough credit for having diffused a bomb in 8 rounds. sure after diffusing a bomb you think it offered no resistance - but each of those moments prior you could have been destroyed. snake vs mongoose - mongoose makes it look easy but he's always in dangerous and it is competitive until it is over.

 

Tyson took the Lewis fight just for the money. He was 10lbs overweight and was not ready at all.

 

Hate to tell you this, but when someone just takes the money and doesn't train to win a fight and doesn't give it his best, it affects his legacy, because the results are the results.