Mike Tyson Vs. George Foreman

lol

 

It never occurred to D'Amato that Tyson might one day be challenged by Foreman. George knew that Mike was as terrified of him as George claimed to be by Joe Frazier before dethroning him. (Tyson: "There's no way I'm getting into the ring with that animal!")

Foreman is a hell of a lot stronger than Bonecrusher Smith, who completely strangled Tyson into total impotence in the clinches. With George's shoving of Tyson, he'd make Mike look like a welterweight. Tyson had an even shorter reach than Frazier, and might not even lay a glove on George, if Foreman chose to keep Mike at arms length.

At some point though, Mike's handspeed might allow him to land the hardest punch he can ever connect, just like Cooney did. As happened with Hearns against Hagler, the impact of Tyson's most perfect right will break his hand, and make George mad, as he tears in after Mike in retaliation.

If George loses his sense of mercy and human compassion, then a coroner will be needed at ringside for Mike, not a physician. (How many seconds would Tyson's heart remain beating if he bit off Foreman's ear? Ten seconds, five seconds, or two seconds?) George still talks about making another match, if he gets his weight under 225. If Tyson agrees to be his opponent, we'll know he's suicidal, and has decided to end his life quickly before a large audience.

 

Damn right, MDWC.

We got these guest appearance -make that "trespasses" by young guys from the GF who think Tyson was the best ever, or Jones was the best ever. Most of them never saw Gavilan or Monzon and never heard of Billy Conn.

I don't know about Moneypunch but I'd assume he's under 22 years old just by the name.

It's a metaphysical fact that they don't bother reading the previous posts.

 

I know, it's funny when a Tyson thread appears, lots of new names crop up in this section. I say 'fine, how about sticking around here, see what else you know'. But they seldom do. :roll:

 

Foreman beats Tyson any day of the week. If Mike Tyson believed he could beat George as easily as some of you guys think then old Iron Mike would have have jumped into the ring with the old guy some time between 1990 and 1997 when Foreman was active. How did we miss out on a Foreman v Tyson clash for the linear title between 1994 and 1997? Maybe George was too scared! I just don't understand why Mike Tyson "the greatest heavyweight puncher in history" didn't seize the chance of a mega bucks match with the Fighting Fossil. Can any of you Tyson fans explain it, because from what I read you guys seem to think Mike would flatten a peak George in no time.

 

I don't think Tyson ever broke his hand in the ring (or not that I recall). And he landed some of his best punches too. I particularly think of the opening FIVE SECONDS against Holyfield I - where he lands a monster right hand from a great distance with such great speed. A single one of those punches can potentially change the tides of the fight - as Foreman himself was vulnerable to getting shaken by FAST PUNCHES and young Tyson's handspeed was comparable to Ali's (not quite as fast but still). The speed of the punch would wobble Foreman - but Foreman's chin is even better than Tyson's.

My money (and yes, I'll put money) goes to Foreman, but Tyson's chances are better than Fraziers. I will even say that Tyson wins round 1. Don't know about 2 and 3. I think Foreman stops him in 3 rounds by TKO but Tyson wins round 1 and he is an even faster starter than Foreman and will land some wicked punches.

 

#1 I agree with your general thought. I do believe that Mike Tyson was strongly against the idea of fighting ANY version of Foreman. The reason is this: Tyson had very little gain at that time - but the risk was very high. Reward/Risk ratio is too small as he knew that Foreman was dangerous (and we look back see what Foreman did and realize that Tyson was very shrewd!) and so the natural decision is to avoid such a fight.

#2 Even if Tyson was afraid of OLD Foreman (as Foreman was afraid of Frazier before the fight in Jamaica) - and I do think it is true - it still does not mean that Tyson would not beat an OLD Foreman. I think he'd destroy OLD Foreman (forget styles. common sense says that a 42 year old man with slowed reflexes and work rate isn't in a good position against a great, fast, durable puncher like Tyson). Young Foreman is a completely different story.

 

Fantastic post. Eddie Futch himself said if Tyson can't come forward he loses effectiveness. Not many in history are coming forward vs peak Big Daddy.

 

It was all over the place. I read it in one of the top boxing mags and have since seen it brought up by various people. I think it surfaced around the time Foreman was sniffing for a title shot in the second phase due to the obvious irony.

 

This article has it mentioned for one


http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing-news/lotierzo1609.php

 

... just read the article referenced by JT.

It sounds alot like Cus and it is not a horribly sweeping statement -it is based on a premise that rings with truth: Styles make fights.

Where I doubt the veracity of the article is where Tyson is quoted as saying that he was afraid of Foreman because Foreman's "a ****ing animal".

"****ing animal"?! This will sound ridiculous to some but over here on the east coast of the US, black men don't say 'he's a ****ing animal' -white guys who drink alot of beer do. Like the author. I smell hyperbole.

Tyson was probably not enthusiastic about fighting Foreman, but was he quaking in his boots in public? I just can't see it. Thugs don't show/talk about their fear, even though they are often riddled with it.

 

Fair point, though I don't think he'd get drawn into an out-and-out brawl. I think Mikey (respectful of Foremans power) would bide his time, stay on the outside and stop Foreman lat on after he gases out.

 

Prime Tyson stops prime Foreman inside of 3 rounds. George was too predictable and easy to hit.

 

For me, it's 50/50.

We all know that Foreman was devasting against Frazier, but he looked less great against Lyle who almost knocked him cold.
In a wild shootout (which this could very well become) I always pull for the guy with the faster hands. In this case, much faster hands.

Foreman will get his bombs off, but how many will connect? He tended to miss an awful lot with those huge haymakers. Factor in Tyson's razor sharp reflexes and excellent counter-attacking skills (due in part to his phenomenal hand speed) and I'd say you have in Foreman a guy who will provide plenty of opportunities for Tyson to hit him.

I can mentally picture the sort of fight many envisage - Foreman lumbers forward and keeps Tyson off-balance with that telephone pole jab and perhaps by pushing him backward. He then starts landing the big rights and lefts against a befuddled Tyson. Fair enough.

However, first we must assume that the referee will actually allow the pushing (which technically is illegal) and we must then assume that this somehow impacts negatively on Tyson.
We all know that inside, Tyson was nothing special. However, if he had room to punch, he was deadly. Pushing Tyson away could actually be counter-productive for Foreman because Tyson was no Frazier who put his head on your chest and slammed punches in close. Joe had to be in close, Tyson did not. In fact, in close is where Tyson does not want to be.

Foreman's jab was a key weapon for him, but what was Tyson if not the master of slipping a good jab and countering with a hard shot? He made a habitual habit out of it during his career.

Foreman was not a combination puncher. Not really. He threw a ton of punches at you sure, but they weren't canned combo's. if you will. He threw whatever came to mind. By contrast, Tyson was a true combination puncher in every sense of the word, and he could let rip with a three punch combo often before the other fellow could react.

The only reason I make this 50/50 is because I'm not sure how Tyson reacts if Foreman starts to reach him. Does he mentally start to cower? Does he fight back like he did vs. Ruddock? Who knows for sure?

Physically, Tyson is on another planet but he had that mental frailty which makes this an interesting fight.