1996: Tyson vs Mercer

Tyson likely wins a hard bout on points. I don't think 96 Tyson stops Ray, but he's going to do most of the scoring.
Mercer didn't quite do enough to win in some of his biggest fights, but he was tough and makes it a distance fight, where Mike has to work for the win.

 

No way would Tysons people let him near Mercer.Way to dangerous .They had to keep the gravy train going. The fight if it happened would be a brutal affair Mercer was a nutcase and would have no fear of Tyson.Would be like two trucks smashing into each other.great to watch but not so great for mike I think he gets stopped late

 

So now Tommy Morrison isnt even a decent fighter? Every trailor park in America felt that.
Moment of Silence.

 

Mercer would have won, Tyson was a short burning fuse by 96' and any contender worthy of note would have stood a good chance of beating him.
Mercer had stamina, grit, a rock chin and no fear which would have been more than enough metal to overcome Tyson by 95/96, who was no longer a threat it must be said.

 

I'm going with Tyson by a hard fought decision in an entertaining bout.

 

Plus, Mercer had the power to compete w/ Tyson. I think it boils down to chin. Mercer has won/ fared extremely well in extremely rough contests and Tyson hasn't. It's hard to imagine Tyson outslugging Ray Mercer. But maybe Tyson would use discretion and box Mercer; he might beat him that way.

 

Tyson beat far better fighters than Mercer. The 42 years old Holmes (38 years old version was destroyed by Tyson)
or the shot Ferguson (another Tyson victim) could beat Mercer. I can't imagine a Mercer win against Tyson and a
Mercer win wasn't important for Tyson's legacy (Mercer wasn't tall,fast and highly skilled fighter etc.)

 

But it would be a highly billable fight. Mercer was very difficult to floor, and that would have been a point of intrigue to this fight.

 

This is a good bout for Tyson in '96. Mercer could push the elite and give them a hard fight but wasn't dominant enough in any aspect himself to win. Mercer is the perfect tune up fight who can make you work for 12 rounds without being particularly dangerous

 

This would have been a good one. I think Ray might have beaten Mike, but it would be by a UD or SD. Ray had a great punch, but I'm not sure Mike's style would be conducive to a stoppage by him.

 

I suggested that Tyson might be able to outbox Mercer to victory, but I rethought it, and there is no way that Tyson could outbox Mercer to the kind of victory that Holmes and Holyfield both won from boxing him.

 

Unstoppable Force meets Immovable Object

 

I think in this case Mercer would outlast him, and I just don't see Mercer getting dramatically rocked by Mike. I mean, sure he'd take some heavy shots, but not enough to keep Mercer from his own forward movement. Might be a lot of clinching starting past the halfway point.

More I think about it yeah, Mercer could have beaten Mike that year.

 

Mercer because Tyson’s main attributes were not what they one were, his feet were not as fast, he wasn’t utilising head movement and his timing was not the same and Mercer would take advantage of that

 

Mercer from the Lewis fight beats post prison Tyson.