Could Roy Jones JR ever have beaten Mike Tyson?

Nope, Mike still had some speed to get to him and enough power to get him out of there. You have to have size to frustrate mike and be able to take his power at some stage

I'd heavily favour even a shot tyson to finish him within 2 rounds

 

Yes, I think so. I don't think any version of him could beat Prime (pre-Buster) Tyson, and probably not post-prison mid 90s Tyson, but Roy (particularly the Heavyweight version of Roy who fought Ruiz) could surely outpoint Tyson around that time. 2000s Tyson was pretty bad and someone as skillful as Roy would I think have an easy time dealing with Mike at that stage.

I would say 2003 HW Roy vs mid to late 90s Tyson would be harder to predict, Tyson still had the speed at that stage to possibly hurt Roy but of course Roy had incredible speed and conditioning.

 

In 2003 maybe, But I'd have favored Tyson.

 

There's a reason Jones pulled out of negotiations at the 11th hour against Holyfield in 2003. James Toney then stepped up to the plate.

 

Do you remember how bad Tyson looked against Lewis and in the fights that followed? Tyson was out of shape, unmotiviated, lethargic. You really think Mike at that stage could beat someone as skilled as Roy?

Lets not forget RJJ vs Lewis was being talked about after RJJ beat Ruiz. Lewis decided to retire but had he not that was the fight to be made. Now if RJJ vs Lewis happened I think we would all agree that it would have been far more competitive than Lewis vs Tyson was. Tyson was a shell of his former self in the early to mid-2000s. Tyson would have struggled to beat anyone at that time let alone RJJ.

 

Yeah, if Roy was so confident at HW he would have took the Holyfield fight. Most people don't know that Toney wasn't supposed to be the Original opponent, Roy pulled out at the last minute.

 

He should have stayed at HW beacuse we know what happened when he dropped back down to LHW. He was never the same fighter. I'm sure Toney wanted the rematch and that would have been interesting to see HW Roy vs HW Toney. Holyfield would have been interesting as well but no fight was bigger than Lewis which I think was what Roy wanted, as Lewis had beaten Tyson pretty easily then Vitali and was seen as the best HW before he retired. I think Roy vs Lewis would have been a classic, I wish we saw it. Frankly Roy vs Toney or Holyfield wouldn't be as big or as exciting as Roy vs Lewis.

 

Not with all the roids in the world no.

 

I don't think Roy was as serious about fighting Lennox as he was Tyson, but he proved that he wanted no part of HW by choosing to cut 30 pounds to fight Tarver, rather than stake his claim as the best at HW and fight Holyfield.

 

Hard to argue with that but I think it had more to do with the fact that he promised to defend his LHW Title against Tarver, at least that's what Roy said and I think there's some truth to that. It was obviously a huge mistake the way he did it, given the toll it took on his body. I think he could have carved out a successful Heavyweight run had he stayed at Heavyweight, but of course beating Lewis would have been far more difficult than beating Ruiz, obviously, or Holyfield, Toney, and perhaps Tyson to a lesser extent but I think it was pretty clear that 2000s Tyson was pretty much done and easier to beat then Holyfield or Toney around that time.

 

What's funny too is that Tarver would have followed Roy upto HW if the oppurtunity presented itself but instead Roy thought he was Superman and cut all that weight, lost muscle mass in the process and still won a disputable decision against Tarver. He should have fought Holyfield and campaigned as a HW after he beat Ruiz, he would have had more longevity at the top level IMO.

 

I don't even think he could've beaten the Tyson that lost to Danny Williams (who only lost because of his leg)

 

In 2004 yes.

 

In 2003-2004 had RJJ stayed at Heavyweight he could've beaten a shot Tyson yeah but RJJ would still have to be very wary in the first 4 rounds as Tyson was still dangerous in the early rounds.

But if RJJ can survive the early rounds he should win the fight.