Better performance ? Lewis against tua or aj v Ruiz jr ??

I remember watching the Tua vs Lewis fight with bunches of guys crowded around 14inch TVs, all of us guests of the queen.
the first couple of rounds there were cheers, and after that quiet realization that Lewis was just way better. I think that Tua would of smashed the Ruiz that rocked up to fight AJ this past weekend.

 

Douglas was very aggressive and utilised his jab in a way few others did, was uniquely motivated for that fight and, I agree, as a result found the big flaw. But in my view Tyson was already past his peak by then. Getting dropped in sparring by Page in the days prior to that fight lends weight to this view too.

I consider Tyson's peak to have been less than two years, partly due to his gradual mental disintegration, partly due to Don King. Sad really. But a peak Tyson would have decapitated Douglas in my opinion.

 

It would take about another year before Tyson was starting entering his peak. Saying Tyson was in his peak as a 19 year old fighter entering his 20th professional fight 14 months into his career against an experienced former contender is sort of a stretch.

But to respond to the OP:

There are clear parallels between the Joshua vs. Ruiz rematch and the Lewis vs Tua fight in terms of the tactics and the overall optics of fight. The clear differences here are the dynamics between both fighters; AJ and Ruiz had a history whereas Lewis's reputation for a glass jaw and Tua being a big "Tyson-like" puncher made the fight compelling.

I think the fundamental differences between the fights is that Lewis just looked more comfortable in his skin fighting a more defensive minded fight than Joshua did; Lewis looked poised and confident whereas Joshua looked more stiff, a bit nervous and it looked like he was constantly suppressing his own instincts to employ a style that just doesn't come naturally to him.

It would have been nice to see Joshua get his revenge the way Jones got his against Griffin, or Tarver got his against Jones or even how Lewis got his against Rahman. But a win a is a win and a decade from now the W will be the only thing that mattered.