The Tyson who lost to Holyfield stops aging in 1997. His age remains frozen in his past-prime, but not shot, incarnation. Do you see any point (or points) from 1997 to 2022 where that Mike could seize the undisputed championship? How would you like his odds? And how long does he keep it?
Well, if he doesn't age, then that means he could regain his late 80s form. So he'll definitely be champ again, since he's the best ever at his best.
His reflexes are still going to be slower, and he lost some of that youthful quickness by 97 as well.
He'd have to get his desire to box back. From the time he got out of prison he let it be known that he did not want to box. He went through the motions, but it was obvious that boxing was just the best way for him to make money. If Tyson had the same desire to excel in boxing as he had in his early 20s, he'd have a good chance to win against anybody. IMO, Tyson was not physically "shot" post prison but he "didn't want to be there."
Here's a fun one. What if he DIDN'T get the desire back, but his age is frozen at 31 and he doesn't suffer injuries he cannot recover 100% from? It would still be the best way for him to make money. Assuming he doesn't end up with substance abuse or mental issues, he'd end up hanging around for a long time as a dangerous contender, getting alphabet belts here and there, losing them here and there, maybe getting some upset wins over better fighters due to lucky shots.
Do you think Immortal Punchclock Tyson would manage to unify at any point when the division is weak? Are there openings? One benefit he has is that even in OUR world, where he was aging, people kept believing that he had one more great fight in him. Some still do.
Going to be difficult because once Lewis goes away, you get the Klitschkos, and then you get into Fury. Individual belts, sure, he'd have a decent shot of taking out Ruiz, AJ, Wilder. Because every time he seemed totally done, he'd one-shot an opponent. Bites Holyfield and looks like he may never fight again, then one-shots Botha. Demolished by Lewis, then one-shots Etienne. That sort of thing.
If the 1997 version of Tyson remains preserved for 25 years as proposed then his ranking and status would fluctuate as the division became either stronger or weaker within that time. At most points during that duration he stays in the top ten and at times even top five. There were also a few single belt holders over the past three decades that he might have beaten at that stage. I do not however see him as ever being “ the best” while in that form. Especially as the heavyweights continued to get bigger things would become more problematic.
Not. I don’t see when that Tyson (1997) could become the undisputed champion for the reason that no one since 1999 and Lennox Lewis has been the undisputed champion. The second thing is whether he would become a champion (holder of one of 4 or 5 belts). I certainly think he would achieve that. if the champions could be Berman Stiverne, Charles Martin, and others it could be ’97. Mike Tyson.
