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

getup · Aug 31, 2007

box03 said:

You make good points but tyson at that time would of dominated holyfields body, his stamina which is not very good would suffer. Tyson was a vicious body attacker probably the best, thats why I agree I do think it would end late probably 9th or 10th round. I see it being a competitive fight with tyson up till that point, tyson would unleash a barrage of unanswered punches that would leave the ref no choice but to stop it.
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HOLY ALWAYS WANTED TO FIGHT TYSON..,ALWAYS...,in 84 88 91 96 97 2012 2029 holy whips his ass everytime..,always has always will!!!!!

streetsaresafer · Sep 4, 2007

I actually think Holyfield at his best was 1990 (Douglas fight)
But the reason I put the poll based on the 93 Holyfield is that some feel that he needed the experience of losing to Bowe the 1st time in order to learn to box more rather than get into a war.

Question for those that voted for 88 Tyson to win - would you agree that a prime Holyfield would have been his toughest fight to date?

Either way, I think a 90 Holyfield or 93 Holyfield wins although it would be close. I just don't see Holyfield in his prime being stopped by a prime Tyson.

Holyfield was obsessed with Tyson, that was a big part of the reason he moved up to heavyweight. He tried to get the fight with Tyson several times, starting right after the Dokes fight Holy and his team are pleading for a fight with Tyson (winner take all). They finally signed the fight in 90, but then Tyson went out and lost to Douglas. And then of course it was signed again for Nov. 8, 1991, and Tyson gets an injured rib (Elijiah Tillery's fault) and the fight is called off.

I wonder how both men's career's would have changed had they met in 89,
90, or 91 instead of 96? Obviously if Holyfield won, he would have gotten credibility as a great fighter and legitimate heavyweight much sooner than he did.

And if Tyson won, his stature would be much higher because one would have to believe that even if Holyfield loses to Tyson, he would have probably made it Mike's toughest fight to date, and you'd have to think there would have been public clamor for a rematch. Holyfield also has shown throughout his career that he can come back from adversity so you would have to think he'd have been a major player in the heavyweight division, even with a loss to Tyson in 89-91.

I guess my point is that both fighters stock would be higher had they fought somewhere between 89-91, rather than the fight we got in 96 between two formidable, but clearly past their prime fighters. Also the heavyweight division as a whole would have been that much more credible in the early 90s instead of the perception that was actually there.

Ayatollah · Sep 4, 2007

Hollyfield beats the crap out of hyped Tyson 10 out 10 times.

dawnofthedead · Apr 6, 2016

After watching Holyfield destroy Tyson in 96/97' it would be very difficult to go against him regardless of when they had faced off. In 96' Holyfield had been stopped by Bowe and appeared in decline whereas Tyson had flattened Mathis, Bruno and Seldon and was in good form, almost back to his very best so for me as much as this pains me to say it, especially with me being a Tyson fan, i reckon Holyfield had his number and would have defeated him whether it had been in 92' or 96':good

BlizzyBlizz · Apr 6, 2016

streetsaresafer said: ↑

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 ****nal
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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Mike before jail would've tortured Holyfield.

Primal Pledge · Apr 6, 2016

Tyson would've mauled Evander The Roid Deal Holyfield back then.

panchman69 · Apr 6, 2016

holyfield has Tysons number. too much heart and will. something that Tyson lacked

Imperial1 · Apr 6, 2016

Tyson loses to Holyfield. And anyone who says Tyson Ko's Holyfield DKSAB. Look at the guys who took Tyson the distance in and around 88 Holyfield is better than all of the guys he fought and was a much more sound boxer with one iron chin !

Flexb · Apr 6, 2016

Its hard to say, there's a feeling that Holyfied just had Tyson's number but that tyson wasn't nearly the same either that holyfield beat.
Holyfield doesn't get intimidated, which alot of fighters vs Tyson did get and were defeated before even entering the ring. And Holyfield had a good chin. Would be a close fight and I think if they fought twice, both would have 1 win. But prime Tyson was such a monster and hard to bet against at his best.

dawnofthedead · May 16, 2017

streetsaresafer said: ↑

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

Holyfield 93 would have beaten any version of Tyson regardless of what camp or trainer Tyson was with.
Very similar scenario to their eventual match up in 96, Holyfield would have survived a torrid opener to slowly counter Tyson and stop him late on. The fight could go the distance but i would favour a Holyfield stoppage during the latter stages.

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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?
Click to expand...

Reinhardt · May 17, 2017

DanePugilist said: ↑

Prime Tyson would KO any version of Holyfield.
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Nope, Tyson was 30 when a 34 year old Evander beat the shitzz out of him, hardly over the hill. He was 24 when Buster Douglas knocked him out. The Evander that ko'ed Buster would do the same thing to Tyson. Tyson always had trouble with guys who didn't fold and fought back.

RacingBeat · May 17, 2017

Not getting this fight in 1991 is still the most painful coulda been since I've been watching boxing

heerko koois · May 17, 2017

MT

Staminakills · May 17, 2017

ChampionsForever said: ↑

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Holy was always way better than that myth of a "prime" Tyson. I guess tyson was a prime pro boxer from age 13 to 19 ? Then past it ?

SmackDaBum · May 17, 2017

Tyson

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