88 TYSON v. 93 HOLYFIELD - Who Wins? - 15 rounds

Mike Tyson (88 Spinks fight) v. Evander Holyfield (93 Bowe fight)

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Who Wins? 15 round fight

For the record, my last poll between these two was a fight between them in 1991. On the General Boxing Forum, Tyson won that poll by 1 vote, 57-56. On the Classic Forum, Holyfield won the poll by 6 votes, 30 to 24. So had they fought in 91 it appears it would have been a pick em' fight.

Now who takes a fight between the Holyfield of the 2nd Bowe fight and the Tyson of the Spinks fight?

My take

Owning and having watched nearly every heavyweight fight these 2 fighters have been in leads me to the conclusion that I can't say with any real certainty what would happen. Both were truly great in their primes.

TYSON

Strengths
Incredible combination of speed and power
Devastating combination puncher
Defensively was well schooled via Cus D'Amato's peek a boo
style most notably seen with Tyson bobbing and weaving
Deadly at mid range
Great chin
Had no problem going the distance
Kevin Rooney in the corner meant Tyson was well prepared to
deliver punches with bad intentions

Weaknesses
Clinches - Tyson even in his prime let too many fighters clinch
him and was typically not aggressive in punching his way out of a
clinch
Was still somewhat open to getting hit when coming in
What happens if he has to fight backwards?
Mental fortitude? - How does a prime Tyson deal with the
pressure fighting an ATG like the Real Deal who was not intimidated

HOLYFIELD

Strengths
Offensively as gifted a fighter as there was in many ways
He had every punch - great left hook (which was arguably even
better to the body), effective jab, good right hand,
uppercuts came naturally, you name the punch and Holyfield had it
in his arsenal
Combination Puncher - Evander was one of the best
Counter Punching - One of the best counter punchers in the
history of the division, Tyson himself called Holyfield the best one
he'd seen
Granite Chin - Took blows from Foreman, Bowe, Mercer, 96 Tyson,
Lewis, and more - Commander Vander could take a punch
Conditioning - Evander was almost always in top shape, and had
no problems going 12 rounds (he went 15 with Qawi)
Experience? - Had gone through the 1st Bowe fight and thus was
more prepared to box and execute a gameplan rather than slug it
out (not sure I agree with this one but some do think so)

Weaknesses
Power - Holy did not possess big punching power like a Tyson or
Lewis, if Holyfield knocked someone out it was typically through
attrition - overall Holyfiled's punching power was respectable
though (KO'd Tyson and Dokes, knocked down Mercer and Bowe)
Tendency to War - Holyfield could be pulled into a war (though I
think this is overstated some as I think a prime Holyfield could box
and execute a gameplan - see how he 'boxed' Douglas, Foreman,
and Bowe the 2nd time)
Bert Cooper - Holyfield was knocked down by Cooper so while Holy
had one of the best chins ever, he could be knocked down,
and thus a fighter as talented as Iron Mike certainly had the tools
to stop the Real Deal
Can be hit - Evander was no Ali in there avoiding punishment
Size - Evander was not blessed with great size

Prediction - Holyfield 15th round KO

This would be an amazing fight. Tyson would be fairly dominant in the opening rounds landing early and often, staggering Holyfield by the 3rd round. Tyson's right hands and body work in particular score the most. Despite this, Holyfield would weather the first 5 rounds, and eventually start to take control of the fight with his counter punching. Evander would also frustrate Mike some by pushing him back at times and at other times tying him up. Tyson would bob and weave significantly less once the fight goes past the 5th round and thus Iron Mike would get easier to hit. Holyfield also starts to time Tyson more and hits him with greater regularity. The fight is still close by the championship rounds. By the 15th, Tyson is exhausted from the Real Deal's continual pressure and counterpunching. Tyson can't seem to break Holyfield's will. Finally, halfway into the 15th and final round a blistering combination from Holyfield punctuated by a picture perfect left hook puts Tyson on the canvas and out.

Thoughts? Who do you think would take this bout?

I suspect Tyson will win 2/3 of the vote on the General Forum, and 55 percent of the vote on the Classic Forum (based on the fact that the voting in the 91 fight was almost dead even)

Who wins between 88 Tyson and 93 Holyfield?

 

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