'73 George Foreman vs. '88 Mike Tyson

No chance Tyson beats the best Foreman. George had true ATG characteristics.. Chin, courage, will to win. He would intimidate Tyson before the bell rang and physically overwhelm him in the ring. Prime Foreman by third round tko.

 

Yes in terms of power Foreman hit harder...

Well to say Hamburger George gave a prime Holyfield a very stern test i reckon a prime Foreman would take him apart, especially the 96 version.

I'm sure a certain fighter left iron chinned Tyson crawling on the canvas like a baby looking for it's dummy, funnily enough he was no knockout artist either...

I'm sure Earnie Shavers was a ranked fighter when Lyle stopped him... Tell me who did Douglas knock out?

 

Truth...

 

Truth Again....

 

Great matchup

The key for Tyson will be to get through the first few rounds. 1988 Tyson had good defense, and he will need to use it wisely in this matchup. He has to find a way to get inside of the excellent Foreman jab. He must also try to avoid the uppercuts that will also await him if he gets past the jab. If he can do that, he can get inside George's reach and work the body and head with quick combinations.

My gut tells me Mike will slip George's punches better than Frazier did. However, I think at some point he gets caught with a big punch. I think prime Tyson had the chin to survive a few Foreman bombs. After some rocky moments, Tyson takes charge once George slows down. The fight gets rough and dirty as both guys get sloppy down the stretch. Tyson wins a close, competitive decision.

 

You're forgetting Foreman was a monster at man handling fighters and pushing them into position, Tyson was very easy to push backwards and would be wide open for shots once pushed back and squared up.

 

Foreman early. Foreman a terrible matchup style wise for Tyson, whereas Tyson a perfect style for Foreman.

 

From the great poster Ironchamp (circa 2011):

"1. To beat Tyson, you need to go after him very early, but you have to be elusive throughout the fight. Foreman can go after him but he won't keep him from landing. You don't outgun Tyson; you outmaneuver him. Tyson has never been frustrated in a fight where he's getting hit, only in fights where he can't respond.

Douglas kept him away with lateral movement, speed and long jab and right hand leads. He'd tie him up rinse and repeat. Douglas was never really flush throughout the fight but he did finally get tagged in the 8th round and down he went. Tyson was clearly spent at that time but better preparation would have meant that Tyson would have had the energy to close the show in the 9th round.

Holyfield fought him different but he essentially blocked, wrestled, used lateral movement and timed him in ways Foreman simply couldn't replicate. Everything Tyson threw was thrwarted, blocked or simply hit air. Tyson occasionally landed some pretty telling blows but not enough to neutralize Holyfield's planned. He was outworked, and out maneuvered but not outgunned.

Lewis fought a shell of Tyson but still maintained a very strict game plan, he went after Tyson early to get his respect. He kept his distance throughout the fight and dominated behind a purposeful jab throwing mammoth right hands that in all probability rival Foreman's power over and over again until Jim Lampley was just amazed at Tyson's durability. Then he dropped the boom when Tyson had nothing left.

None of those guys stayed in range for Tyson to get his shots in, and those guys were able to avoid Tyson's onslaught. Let me be clear. They didn't survive his onslaught, they avoided it and they did this using lateral movement, a competent jab and technical savvy. Foreman doesn't resemble this at all. His jab in his first career was competent but still very mundane. His power was top notch but his durability and stamina was even more questionable than Tyson's as the rounds progressed. He can be dropped by single hard shots early in fights (Lyle) and his stamina can sometimes let him down (Ali) and his focus, like Tyson sometimes wanders (Young). Tyson only loses to guys who get to him early and beat him over the course of the fight and need the later rounds to finish the job. He doesn't go down early and has had experience in 12 round fights. He's twice trained for 15 round fights (Tubbs/Biggs) and has maintain a steady punch output in the later rounds showing that he can go the rounds and still be dangerous. In effect, Tyson's shortcomings aren't going to be exploited by Foreman simply because the only way Foreman is going to win is by out-muscling him and out firing him.

2. Foreman lost to Muhammad Ali primarily because his inability to deal with Ali's hand speed. Tyson at 20-22 has faster hands than Ali at 32. Tyson's ability to rip off combinations made him pretty difficult to beat. I envision Tyson beating Foreman to the punch consistently and keeping George on the defensive in each encounter. Will Foreman land his own bombs? Yes. Will he land enough in succession? No, he'd be countered frequently enough with power that rivals his own that it won't be the ***** to wall fight that everyone thinks it would. It would be fought at a surprisingly measured pace. Both Foreman and Tyson would apply pressure but the fight would be a scenario where Tyson is stalking-not Foreman. Foreman would fight on the back foot occasionally pressing forward similar to the Lyle fight. He'll provide resistance with his aggression but he won't be able to elude Tyson's retaliation and or onslaught nor will he beat him to the punch.

His shortcomings all favor Tyson and If I had to lay down a bet I'd pick Mike to stop him in 6 rounds with 1 knockdown to his credit while being ahead on cards at the time of stoppage.

Anyone who tells you different without taking into account what I've said, is someone who has already made up their minds, with other people's ideas."

 

In Tyson's 6 defeats 5 were by TKO.....and Foreman TKO'd once in a long career..... Tyson No chance against a Prime Foreman...He was a Monster and would eventually catch up with Tyson.!!!!

 

A well-argued post but way too optimistic stuff coming from a poster (like yourself) who'd probably pick 1988 Tyson to beat everyone ever.

The point about hand speed is good. But the idea that 1973-'74 Foreman would ever actually resort to fighting "on the back foot" because Tyson would "be stalking" Foreman is just way off.
Foreman was like a brick wall moving towards you, or a bulldozer.

Foreman would do what Foreman does, push, punch, manhandle, punch, push and roughouse.
Of course Tyson would attempt to do to Foreman what he did to Berbick, but when Foreman connects Tyson would be lost out there in no man's land.

Tyson was a nice little fighter, a ferocious one in his own right, but he'd be out-bruted by the likes of Foreman and Liston.

 

Foreman would fight on the back foot after sampling Tyson's power and getting hurt, not dissimilar to what occurred in his actual fight with Lyle. Tyson finishes what Lyle couldn't (asterisk that statement, because the bell actually saved Foreman in round 3).

I never liked the Foreman "push" argument. It would leave him susceptible to a countering Tyson who was very underrated in that department. The best bet to stop Tyson's onslaught would be to tie him up and not leave yourself open like Berbick did. Bad move, even for a brute like George Foreman.

I think the key to this fight is speed. I will back that to the day I die. I think Foreman has too many open gaps to be exploited by someone like Tyson: a two-handed combination puncher with blazing speed. Foreman gets hit before he can react, and like Zaire, it befuddles him. He's also vulnerable to right hands, and Tyson has a dandy that can connect way out of range.

And like I stated earlier Foreman has huge power but will only land single bombs because of his slowness to deliver. They'll rattle Tyson but won't put him away because of Tyson's tremendous chin. He won't wander out there in no man's land. :rofl I actually like that statement, but who's to say Foreman won't be stumbling around with his pimp limp after Tyson lands some telling blows!?

 

I just can't picture Tyson beating Foreman like that.
Even if he stuns, rocks, or floors Foreman, I can't see him winning with his style and physical dimensions.
Tyson stood way too square on too, so I definitely think he's getting pushed back and battered. Foreman had deceptive punching too, he landed short and long punches that like pawing ones but packed loads of power and were direct and way harder to avoid than it appeared. His jab was serious too.
There's about 3 or 4 men I'd pick to beat Foreman in whole of history, and 2 or 3 of them I'd be uncertain. Tyson doesn't fit in the category, not for me anyway.
:good

 

Hmmmm. I understand.

Do you mean the part about fighting off the back foot?

How do you feel about Foreman's first career opposition? Who did he fight with punching power to test his chin in that era? Also, I'm curious which fighters you pick over Foreman? I'm guessing Liston and maybe Louis. WHo else?

 

Yeah, and the idea that Tyson's skill and speed could keep this a clean technical fight to his advantage, with him weaving his way inside and countering Foreman's pushing and rough brute tactics. Of course, to even imagine that you have to imagine Foreman moving back often enough to create that neat space for Tyson. I just don't see it.

His chin was solid enough.
Tyson hit some less durable fighters plenty of combinations to finish some of his fights, Bruno and Ribalta for example. Foreman was the kind of fighter you could batter with a combination or knock to the floor even and he'd be on you killing you the next minute. His heart is unquestionable.

 

Sure, but like Tyson he's a human being. Saved by the bell against Lyle and getting shook by Ali's lead rights. Tremendous chin but like I said before, Tyson's speed and better technique will prevail. I'm not saying Tyson bulldozes him. Hell no. Tyson will bring a measured offensive ****nal and his defensive torso movement would keep him from getting blipped often, unlike Frazier who left his chin out in the open. Foreman goes for broke and his stamina is a deciding factor as well. Does he pace himself which I feel takes away from his strength? Or does he swing for the fences and hope to connect enough to get Tyson out of there early?