It's a shame this fight didn't happen, it would have been a fun one. Was Tyson past it enough for Tua to win?
Tua at that point would have brutally destroyed Tyson IMO, bigger puncher, better chin, more stamina, bigger & stronger.
I wanted this to take place in Aukland. It would have helped the sport a bunch & opened up a big big venue. And we would have seen Team Tyson trying to cope with a going into the lions den type of fight. He never did and I do not think he handles it well and at the same time, increases the Tuaman's game. So a Tyson with his B game against Tua on his A+ game = another bad ko loss for Tyson. And like 80,000 fans going nuts.
In 1997, Tyson was pretty much finished after a few rounds, so he probably loses this. But, Tua historically fought much more timidly against good punchers, so it might go the distance. Prime for Prime, Tyson knocks Tua out. Much faster and more skilled.
Because of fighting strong in the later rounds, Tua is a horrible matchup for each Tyson, including the prime version. In 97, Tyson didn´t have enough left to win this. Either Tua by stoppage after 8-9 rounds or wins a UD. The same for Ibeabuchi. In Tysons prime, both Ibeabuchi and Tua would be bad matchups for Tyson, which would be obvious for every Manager/Trainer. Tyson would collide into a power*chin-level that is even rare for HWs. Before the fight starts, he had to be ready to win this on points, without getting tagged by serious power himself. Not the easiest task....
