Because I think Tyson was still a force in 1999, and Byrd had just been stopped by Ibeabuchi in the same year. Byrd went on to beat Vitali before losing to Wlad the first time, Both were active in the division, and never fought. Byrd had a great performance neutralizing Tuas power, was wondering what other posters thought about Byrds chances against Tyson around that time.
Nobody is going to pick Byrd to beat peak Tyson or even 1996-97 Tyson, so I put the Version of Tyson that was still dangerous but not at his best anymore and who had similar style to Tua which he outboxed with relative ease.
Never thought of that fight in that timeframe. Very interesting to think about. Tyson was in declin, but he showed his best work from a technical standpoint (after prison I mean) at that period under Tommy Brooks' guidance. He was obviously stronger, hit harder and had a better chin than Byrd. But he never faced a southpaw, moreover one like Byrd who could make him silly and was quicker at that point. Maybe it would be a replica of the Botha fight, with Byrd potshotting and evading Tyson's attacks before being one-shotted.
I see it the same way as you, Byrd frustrating Tyson with his speed and movement piling up some early rounds, Then Bang Tyson catches him with something big the same way Ibeabuchi did.
But I do think Byrd would have a chance if he can follow his gameplan and frustrate Tyson enough to the point where Maybe Tyson would foul his way out of the fight. It's Maniac Tyson after all.
Yep. He tried to break Bothas arm after getting outboxed early on, so it's not out of the question he does something crazy during the Byrd fight.
Outside of a puncher's chance or Tyson going nuts, most likely result is Byrd UD. I agree it'd be similar to the Tua fight; perhaps even less competitive as we reach the late rounds as Tyson's stamina post Holyfield fights was pretty mediocre and his defense very leaky. Tyson was really a 4-5 round boxer by that point and only scary in short explosive bursts. The fancy head movement and vicious combinations were but a memory.
I would not be confident in making a pick. I tend to think Byrd should win on points or DQ, since frustration is one of Mike's biggest enemies in his comeback and Byrd lives to frustrate, to a degree. But I have a sneaking suspicion that Tyson's being closer to Byrd's dimensions actually would make this less a typical puncher vs defensive fighter type of affair and more a consistent defense beating an inconsistent offense without the exchanges being one-sided, as a rule. I don't know what I just said. It may not have made sense. English is not my first language.