donovan ruddock of 1991 v mike tyson of 1996 ?

I think Tyson in 1996 loses to a handful of opponents he beat from 86-91, Ruddock being one of them. Tyson got rushed into title fights post prison and even though he collected 2 out of 3 belts he was rusty, static, off balance and developed bad habits behind his trainer Jay Bright.

He was still a good fighter, just past his prime date.

 

I have to agree with the previous posters and go with Ruddock. As time went on Tyson became easier and easier to hit while his level of punch resistance continued to diminish. This would be a problem against the same version of the man who gave him hell in his prime.

 

I thought Tyson looked almost as sloppy and straightforward in at least one of the Ruddock fights in '91 as he did in any fight of '96.
Commentators remarked on his lack of head movement and looking for the one punch back then too, they were already starting to dwell on Tyson's weaknesses and chart his "decline", but Tyson probably had those habits in any fight that went on a few rounds even in his absolute prime, to be fair. He could afford to have a few flaws.

Against Ruddock, he'd win, he was just so much better and even when he was being "one dimensional" he was multi-dimensional compared to Ruddock.
Ruddock's heart made him competitive but he's outgunned against Tyson. Tyson had too much skill. And post-jail Tyson went 11 rounds with Holyfield so I can't see him losing to Ruddock.
Ruddock just wouldn't have enough / do enough to win.

 

It would go the distance and tyson would win again, but barely and ruddock would catch him a lot more in this fight. If tyson could make it to 11while getting battered by holy then he would definitely see the final bell. Ruddock wouldn't be putting the pressure on tyson like holy did but would still be catching tyson with bombs. But tyson would still be dangerous and ruddock would no that.
It would be tyson doing the better work In there for at least the first 5 rounds then it would turn in to a u hit me, I hit you match. Neither man would get the upper hand in the last round s but tyson would be looking more and more to clinch. Tyson by a very small margin winner.

 

That's an interesting one, but easily answered. Tyson 96 would get knocked out. He wouldn't take the punches the same way he did in 91. The difference is in 91 Tyson was hurt but he had the confidence and will to keep coming. when even hit in 96 he got discouraged, he didn't have the same mentality. If they didn't fall post prison, Mike was in trouble.
That's not even taking the physical side into account, Tyson 96 had limited stamina and was easily hit, Holyfield wouldn't have got a TKO in 91, he might still have won but Tyson could take a lot more and had stamina to last a fight, as proven in the Ruddock fights when he was buzzed plenty, arguably more than he would have been against holy.

 

Ruddock, by KO.

Tyson was missing a lot of important ingredients in '96 which he had in '91.

Like will to win, desire, heart, his punch resistance had diminished and most importantly, his fuel tank.

 

Yup. tyson gets stopped.nHe didnt love the game anymore

 

If 1996 Tyson is as bad as people make out, I doubt I'd even rate that win among Holyfield's top 5 best wins. Maybe lower top 10.
I'll have to think about this.

I thought Tyson was out-fought completely against Holyfield and it is clear he wasn't as sharp as he'd been in 1988 but I'm not sure I see this drastic drop-off in stamina, punch resistance and willpower people are talking about. I thought Tyson proved very durable and fit whilst getting hit HARD more than he'd been hit before (barring perhaps v. Douglas).
Of course, I know Holyfield was rather washed-up by 1996 too, so that might explain how Tyson went the 11 rounds as he did. If Holyfield had been at his best maybe 1996 Tyson goes about half of that. I'll have to re-watch and re-think this.

As for Ruddock, I doubt I'll be overrating him any time soon.

 

He was still capable of beating everyone on pure intimidation and power except lewis and holyfield at that time but he was only maybe 75% of what he was in 1991 you know it i know it everyone knows it. It wouldnt be enough for the version of ruddock he fought. He would find less oportunites to land...especially counters, He would get hit more, it would bother him more, he would run out of gas and he would get stopped. Tyson still had all the power 90% of the speed and reflexes but he was not sharp, he had less tools and most importantly he did not love fighting

 

How about Bowe, Mercer, Witherspoon in 1996 ?
They were all impossible to intimidate and tough enough to get on and fight in the face of power ?

 

. Mercer I dont know but witherspoon in 96? come on. Then again stranger things have happened. But what i can tell you is that bowe would still need atleast 8-10 rounds to stop tyson and he would have to fight the perfect fight because One good overhand right from tyson and bowe would be gone either unable to beat the count or unable to survive the follow up, he was just too hittable. Notice how holyfield who had a much better chin than bowe, had very tight defense vs tyson and didnt take big risks until tyson was pretty much finished

 

Personally I think Tyson was a bit of a con job post prison. It was all aura and no substance. The beast returns, and how that scared the crap out of most fighters, except guys like Holyfield etc. How it captured the public as well, after that Bruno win it looked like business as usual. but the reality was take him past a few rounds and his doubts set in. you could see his discomfort in the Holyfield fight, he didn't look like a man determined, instead he looked like a man confused that wanted out of the fight. If 91 version of Ruddock hits this Tyson I don't rates Mikes chances of mentally getting into the fight.

I think the only significant thing about the 96 fight with Tyson and Holyfield is that Evander showed he would never have been afraid and would have tried to match Tyson punch for punch, and that is very significant. The mentalities of these two clashing in their prime would have been fascinating. Does Tyson's brute force make this a moot point or does Holyflieds will and fighting heart overcome these physical elements? In any case this is my top fantasy fight ever because I don't think the 96 hugfest did this match up justice at all, it was just a seasoned old pro exposing a rusty ex champ not equipped to fight a real fight after being mentally ruined in prison for 4 years.

 

I agree. But there was always some element of that with Tyson. From the Jacobs-Cayton days there was always the element of hype and building the image of a monster.

True, but again, that part of his character was always present. Even in winning fights they'd be doubts and frustrations evident when things went a bit longer. Against far lesser opponents than Holyfield.
Tyson was an emotion-driven fighter, a very emotional person generally, rather than an ice-cold cool destroyer. In ways it was his strength as well as a weakness.

Maybe, but Ruddock never capitalizes. He's one punch at a time, not much else. Tyson's a fighter by nature and even in 1996 it took a far superior fighter than Ruddock stringing together accurate punches to pick Tyson apart fully.

Yeah, they were both past it and still put on a fairly decent fight. I think styles and all-round abilities will always favour Holyfield here.

 

He was also durable as hell and unlike a lot of Tyson's victims could actually fight back while being hurt.