If Mike Tyson was coming into his prime at the start of the 1970s

It would be interesting to see Tyson against Young in the late 70's. Tyson is the favourite, of course, but Young might be a live underdog.

 

He would have done very well. If Ali fought him by 1972 he might have beaten Tyson in his prime beyond that I'd take a prime Tyson over Ali 1973 and on. He'd over power Frazier. Foreman could catch him coming in but I think he'd be to fast. I also dobut that Cus D'Mattio would have placed in Tyson the idea that he could not beat Foreman if that story is true.

 

I give Tyson a few years at the top. Like in real life, he will crash, perhaps around 74.

 

Cus D'mato doubted Tyson could beat Foreman. My thought is: "he who goes backwards loses."

Ali might turn Tyson into a "head case" by fight-time. Ali would come up with some
demeaning nickname for Tyson and Tyson fits the bill for a lot of names.

 

******* being one of them.....

 

tyson loses to any version of ali before 1976 and foreman.

after tyson gets destroyed by these two, there's a chance he won't be the same fighter again. not the same confidence or focus or style. can't say for sure. but my point is that how tyson fares against the others like frazier depends on how tyson deals with his losses to ali & foreman.

ali would absolutely toy with tyson. sure he'd get tagged several times but ali could take a punch. ali's timing, handspeed, reach, and jab would be too much for tyson. ali would keep tying him up.

i definitely pick a young foreman to beat tyson. off topic but several of you talked about it so we'll do it: yes, tyson was afraid of old foreman. not afraid in the ordinary sense. this isn't to say tyson would lose to old foreman but remember that to tyson foreman was an icon. tyson & cus used to watch foreman fight. can't ignore that. much like the way foreman feared frazier in the fight fight despite literally looking down at joe. joe was an icon to foreman, a man that had won fotc.

you guys are understimating the speed, combinations, and insane power of even an "old" foreman. in fact, truth be told, 41 isn't that old for foreman's style & strengths especially when he took rest for 10 years. people overlook that aspect. i still think young tyson had good reflexes to dodge and counter old george. tyson's handspeed would stagger foreman. just my opinion.

yes, tyson gives bonavena a beating in competitive hard fougth battle. tyson wins by ud no question. tyson was a much more proven fighter than bonavena.

 

frankly, i feel insincere expecting boxers to be priests. we cheer them on to smash people's faces and then expect them to hug and kiss after 45 minutes of brutality? in the ideal world that may be swell and that's what we want to see but in the real, human world, no matter how much anyone tries to fool himself, it isn't so. yes tyson could be an ******* and i'm glad. it's honest. we cheered him to be. boxing ain't pretty. no way is this to justify tyson's behavior but it is the ugly truth.

 

Hmm. I would definitely favor Tyson over the 1970s Ali.

He would batter Frazier early and stop him. It'd be worse than Foreman in 1973, IMO.

Foreman-Tyson would be a very interesting fight but I think Tyson's superior defense would get him out of the early rounds and his pinpoint combos would finish Foreman inside of 6.

Quarry, Bonavena, Lyle, Chuvalo etc. are just a class below Tyson and none of them pose any major stylistic problems for him.

Shavers MIGHT floor Tyson early (big question mark) but Tyson will stop him inside of 2. Throwing one big bomb at a time does not beat Tyson, and neither does a glass jaw and poor defense.

Tyson-Young in the late 1970s, if Tyson has been on top for a few years and started to decline, would be a very fun fight to watch.

1970s Patterson is stopped early. All wrong for the Rabbit.

Norton would be shattered within 2. Probably in the first round. All wrong for Ken.

His toughest fights would be Ali and then Foreman. I would make a peak Tyson a heavy favorite over any of the others.

However, the odds are stacked against him running the deck, especially if he makes it into the late 1970s.

I do think Tyson would lose to Holmes by the time he came onto the scene, but only because Tyson would be fairly old by then. If he won the title in 1970 or 1971, for example, he would be pushing 30 by the time he fought Holmes. I think Tyson has Holmes' number prime for prime but an aging Tyson would lose to a prime Holmes more often than not.