Tyson fought less then ten rounds leading up to his showdown with Evander Holyfield, while deadly he was a shade below what we were used to seeing of Iron Mike while still not at his peak (some will disagree) Tua just a year later would put on a better performance IMO then we would ever see of Tyson again. I think that just on the sheer collision of styles, Tysons reliance at this point on his power and demon speed would trap himself in a fire fight not for the better with a more durable, enduring fighter in David with his own potent power. Mikes shallow infighting and front runner style will work against him here. I honestly think Tua in about 96-97 had the stars aligned and they met he could have knocked out Mike by the tenth round. I think David in very specific match ups with good management and gym dedication could have had an outstanding career, he just did not have the science to apply his violence to anyone other then a certain cut of fighter. I know i might get a lot of hate for saying all this but we all have our quirky theories. David got overrated to high heavens, to the point it flipped his status upside down now its a joke to mention him in the breath of anyone with a boxing IQ or any ability at all.
I always wanted to see this fight, but I don't recall either side ever looking for it. Ever. Maybe it was because Tua never had a belt. Had he beaten Lewis, maybe we'd have seen it. But they both tended to stay clear of each other's orbit.
Malik Abdul Aziz 1996 was underrated in my opinion. Of course we were all comparing him to the 1986 version, but the 96 version was a solid fighter in his own right. I think in this fight it would be Tua who showed too much respect, much like he did against Lennox. When Tua did let his hands go, he would still be more on the receiving end like the Ibeabuchi fight. I pick Abdul Aziz by UD in a very entertaining but predictable fight
Lively first couple of rounds then Tua decides he doesn't want to take any more Tyson bombs after that a lot of clinching and mauling en route to a Tyson UD. Tyson of 1996 is very underrated he could have beaten all the other HW's of the time except Holyfield, huge mistake vacating the WBC title and choosing to fight the seemingly shot Evander rather than taking a much more winnable fight against a Lennox Lewis who hadn't recovered mentally from the McCall KO loss.
Although it's only sparring, see Tua wobble Holyfield made me think he'd spark Tyson around '96/ '97. Tua's fit with Ike is something that Mike wouldn't have withstood at that time, IMHO.
Tyson by tko. Tua had a great chin and a great left hook. He wasn’t Superman. Tyson beats Tua In every department except chin. More than likely Tyson would catch Tua at some point and open up a barrage on him which prompts the ref to stop the fight
