1996 Mike Tyson vs prime Jim Braddock

Tyson turns prime Braddock into prime rib

 

Forum Braddock wins in like a round

 

ol jimmy gives him the ol 1-2 and a bolo punch

 

Poor old Jimmy.

 

Tyson stoppage, Braddock was relatively durable, so he may last until the mid rounds and get stopped on his feet or something.

 

Braddock is too durable for Tyson. Tyson can't beat greats he can't quickly overpower and Braddock is one of those. Braddock was really only truly stopped by prime Joe Louis. The other stop came from a cut Braddock sustained in a prior fight. All his other losses were decisions and boxrec only notes Braddock going down 2 other times. Braddock won both those fights. Braddock weighed 170 and 180 pounds during those fights. Prime Braddock the H2H monster is a Cruiser if not a small Bridger. 170 to 180 is actually Tysons natural weight lets see him try and knock out HWs that weight.

Louis needed to come off the canvas and 8 rounds to beat Braddock. Mike Tyson is not Joe Louis. Louis is the real version of what Tyson fans imagine Tyson to have been. Tyson needs the early momentum to win and hes unlikely to get it with Braddock. Louis is the best HW ever at coming back. Tyson is the worst. If Braddock wins round 1 against Tyson thats the fight. Braddock big problem was winning decisions as a power puncher 30 pounds underweight while 10-8s didn't exist. A guy whose done if things don't go his way is a dream matchup for Braddock.

Buster Douglas was a great boxer but he was a much softer target then Braddock and Tyson couldn't get him though he came close. Holyfield shows what happens when Tyson exits the early rounds trailing against someone he can't really hurt. Holyfields overrated and Tysons a greater fighter then him in most ways except H2H but Holyfield presented a scenario Tyson had no way of dealing with. And Braddock would do the same.

 

Well one thing is Braddock would have a shortened nickname after this fight. He wouldn’t be the ‘Cinderella’ Man anymore he d be just ‘Cinders’ cause that’s all that would be left of him after Tyson blasts him out.

 

With all love and respect to Braddock he was a very tough and courageous fighter. This is just a terrible match for him to be in. But that’s no shame

 

Wow, this is quite a post. So much to go at, but let's settle for just 3:

1. 170-180lbs is Tyson's natural weight - how old do you think Tyson was the last time he weighed under 180lbs?

2. Braddock is a small Bridgerweight? How many contests did Braddock weigh above 200lbs?

3. Braddock's big problem as a power puncher was winning decisions was 10-8s didn't exist - ok, how many of Braddock's 22 x decision losses would have gone to him on the 10-point must scoring system?

 

1)Tyson was 5'10. He needed to be the weight he was to fight the way he did and could never have been Mike Tyson fighting light. Tyson always being heavy doesn't change the fact he was heavy. Tyson was often heavier then guys much taller then him. Braddock was often lighter then guys much shorter then him.

2)None. He only had 4 fights over 185 and 3 over 190. Which were the Baer, Louis and Farr fights. He was mismanaged. But thats the weight he should have been. Braddock was the other extreme then Tyson. Unlike a Fitz or Wilder who had otherwordly power and could knock out people while being stick figures that wasn't Braddock.

3)I said "Braddock big problem was winning decisions as a power puncher 30 pounds underweight while 10-8s didn't exist." Was combining the 3 things really. He had to win decisions because he was unlikely to knock the opponent out. The 10-8s meant that wouldn't be weighted at all.

Boxrec doesn't have the details for a lot of Braddocks fights but the ones that stand out are Lomski and Stillman. On the flipside the only ones that are defined as not being close are Gainer, Tom Patrick and Cavalier.

Besides Loughran all of Braddocks decision losses were 10 rounds with the Shucco fight being 8. A 10-8 would have swung quite a few. Of the 8 UD/MD/SD decisions he lost only 3 were UD. And 2 of those were ones he got knockdowns.

The fact Bradock was fighting 10 rounds was yet another thing that worked against him as a power fighter as those would have served as an extra 2 rounders to wear down his opponent. It is much harder to consistently get decisions in 10 round fights then 12 or 15. For non champions fighting championship level opponent htis makes losing more likely then if they'd be champion. This is something I've brought up with a Jimmy Young.

 

1. As I've explained to you before, body composition, as well as height, determines natural weight. Despite being 4" shorter, Tyson was naturally heavier than Braddock.

2. Exactly, Braddock wasn't "a small Bridgerweight" by modern standards.

3. So, if 10-8 rounds had been part of the scoring criteria at the time, Braddock's 22 decision losses may have improved to 20 x decision losses and 2 x draws. I won't bother to verify your claim, such is its irrelevance.

It would also be remiss of me if I didn’t challenge your assertion that Braddock, who had a 31% stoppage ratio, was a "power puncher". He wasn't.