Heavyweight Tournament with a Twist: Semi Finals (Tyson/Dempsey)

I voted Tyson

 

a fascinating contest, two natural born fighters. i'm sure that these two have the instincts to adapt to any set of rules.

i think that tyson would impose his brawn on dempsey, and this would wear dempsey down as the bout progresses. tyson also had some decent success as a headhunter (later in his career), and had more one-punch power than dempsey, not to mention greater accuracy. even though tyson was explosive, he wasn't wild like dempsey, so i think he'd adapt to the need for judicious punching better. both could take beatings, but i think tyson could take a bigger one (maybe only ali could take a straight-up beating like tyson), and he'd still retain decent power despite being on his last legs.

dempsey wouldn't keep a motivated tyson down for a whole minute, but he'd hurt him badly at times. tyson's supreme stamina and chin would keep him in it, and dempsey would quit first.