Mike Tyson Vs. George Foreman

foreman by tko.........in 7 rds.///// bad style 4 tyson

 

"The type of opponent who gives Tyson at his peak the most trouble are the bigger sized sluggers like Sonny Liston and George Foreman, or an exceptional quick handed out-boxer like Muhammad Ali. Foreman, in particular, is a bad match up for Tyson. Foreman was at his best against short, stocky pressure fighters who came to him. Although Tyson had superior, speed and power as compared to Joe Frazier he would still be right in front of George and few men in history would be able to stand up to Foreman in a slugfest and hope to survive.

Writer Frank Lotierzo was told by Ronnie Lott that Tyson used to watch the film of Frazier-Foreman (I) with his mentor Cus D'Amato, who had no idea Foreman could one day be a Tyson opponent. Cus used to tell Tyson that no heavyweight who ever lived could beat Foreman by going to him, and swarmers like Dempsey, Marciano, and Frazier couldn't beat him in a million years. Tyson never forgot it and when the opportunity came for them to fight in 1991 Tyson was not interested. Liston matches up similarly to Tyson and Mike once said that the only great heavyweight he ever saw that would intimidate him is “Sonny Liston.” With the mental battle already won there is little doubt as to the outcome of a Tyson-Liston match up."


Source: Monte D. Cox (http://coxscorner.tripod.com/tyson.html)

 

I think a better question is could Foreman survive Tyson;s onslaught? I beleve that Tyson would win within the first 3 rounds. Foreman was an outstanding puncher but from the videos I have seen of him he lacks defence. I think the old man version of Foreman with his peekaboo style defence would last longer with Tyson at his best and might even hear the bell that ends round 12 but I still think Tyson would win. I think eaither verson of Foreman has a very good chance to beat a post prison Tyson.

 

I dont agree.

Frazier was faster and more active with his head movment if not as refined.

 

He also sliped punches faster than Roberto Duran and he was a heavyweight.

 

Compare the number of punches slipped per round between Frazier and Duran.

Frazier slipped an average of 23 per round in the FOTC.

Tyson and Durans best performences were at around 12 per round.

Dont underestimat Frazier.

 

Young George agains young Mike.
Forman too big and too strong.
Tyson eats Formans jabs till the end.
Forman also the harder hitter.
Tyson is no Muhammed Ali.

 

More a left tommy gun.

He actualy had a right hand as well.

 

Slipping punches better than Duran ????
Now you need an education.
Duran slipped, bopped, weaved, and rolled with punches effortlessly.
Very smooth.
He slipped and changed weight , making his opponent miss by hairs and inches.
Tyson would make his opponent with by a foot.
Not very efficient.
Tyson, although very quick, never did do it right.
Used way to much energy, very stiff, and way too exagerated.
Got away with it only because he was very quick and most of his opponents were very slow.

 

I was comparing Frazier to Duran.

Now I dont dispute that Durans technique was better but Frazier was more active at slipping and did it against some fast oponents.

 

Prime Tyson would shut out comeback Foreman with ease - he was far slower, lacked the killer instinct, and lacked the workrate to win rounds. 90s Tyson against 90s Foreman would be a good brawl, though. 86-88 Tyson is surely a live underdog vs. prime Foreman.

Tyson's defence, IMO, was far superior to Frazier's. Especially if we're talking about a fight with Big George.

Tyson has a better chin + more durability overall.

Tyson was a MUCH faster starter than Frazier - faster than Foreman, even.

Tyson has better two-fisted power (one could argue the left hook was better, but if we cede that), a better combination puncher, and faster of both hand and feet.

Tyson's stamina, in his prime, was above average. Talking rubbish about "Green and Smith taking him the distance" is just that...any big man who comes into a fight looking to hug and smother has a good chance of surviving. All of those men lost blowout UD's to Tyson when they fought to survive. You didn't beat Tyson by "drawing him into the late rounds", you beat him by manhandling him early (Douglas, Holyfield, Lewis). Stamina was most definately not his problem.

If Foreman wants to KO Tyson, he puts himself in danger of being KO'd himself (see Lyle).

 

If, as it seems, Tyson was scared of even old Foreman he would have lost for sure. Can't EVER see Tyson beating an opponent he was scared of. He himself relied on intimidation and often had a hard time against opponents who wasn't scared of him, so I don't think he would have handled that kind of fear very well himself.

I also have to say that I think it's strange that people say that Foreman's loss against Ali shows that his chin wasn't that great. It seems that people doesn't want to accept how devastating that combination (and especially the right hand that ended it) was. Maybe because they underestimate Ali's punching power. That Foreman almost beat the count after taking those punches at that stage in the fight says a lot about how great his chin was IMO.

 

Foreman's chin wasnt bad, but its not granite either. Its a solid chin. Personally I think Tyson has the better chin, he's taken a lot of flush shots in his losses. I would go as far as to say that Buster Douglas hit harder than Ali,Tyson took them flush, early and often. Ruddock, Bruno, Bonecrusher and Lewis at one point all landed pretty big punches on Tyson. With the exception of Lewis, Tyson was able to retaliate with his own punches and was able to dictate the pace of the fight. As long as he has the ability to do that he's not going to lose. Its really a matter of time before his opponent is broken down and knocked out. Foreman's inability to keep Tyson from landing is what will lose him the fight here. He doesnt have an elusive style but his size and strength will at the very least neutralize Tyson just enough that he lasts the distance in a one-sided points loss where Foreman lands a big shot sporadically ala the Ruddock fights. Should Foreman decide to trade, he will leave himself open and consequently make the job easier for Tyson.

At the top of thier game/absolute peak, Tyson relied on intimidation as much as Ali relied on pre-fight psychological warfare; it didnt matter if either tactic worked because they were good enough to get the job done without intimidation or psychological warfare. As for being afraid of George, fear does not matter. Foreman was afraid of Frazier and subsequently battered him in two one-sided rounds. Tyson also fought more big punchers than George and was proven against them.

 

I don't agree. Guys like Tucker and Douglas did well respectively very well, and P. Thomas reasonably well, against Tyson because they wasn't intimidated and stuck to their gameplan (well, Tucker more or less abandoned his gameplan for pure survival after busting his hand - but before that he looked aces to me). Of course, Tyson was by no means a walk-over for those who wasn't afraid of him, but he was more reliant on his intimidation than Ali was on his pre-fight psyche IMO, and I think their records bear this out.

Concerning how "frightened" Foreman was of Frazier, that's hard do say really. He seems to have a fondness nowadays to be magnimonuos to the guys he beat, but he evidently still have a hard time admitting Ali beat him fair and square (that re-occuring bit with him being drugged before the fight). I'm sure he was very tense and nervous before meeting Frazier, but I'm decidedly less convinced that he feared him as much as Tyson seemed to fear Foreman.

 

Excellent post! You make some very good and rationale observations, and I agree with you totally!

I agree that Buster Douglas probably hit harder than Ali, and I also agree that Tyson's chin was very good. Tyson never got stopped by one or two punches. Both his stoppages to Lewis and Douglas came after he absorbed a hellacious amount of punishment. And Holyfield stopped Tyson in their first fight after landing how many solid, unanswered shots? Tyson had a chin!

And the fear factor I think is being overblown by many just as you point out. I think that most fighters go into the ring fearful of their opponent. I think a guy would have to be made of stone not to feel fear or to be afraid. But for some reason if a fighter admits his fear or is afraid all of a sudden it's some big crime. Fear is a normal human emotion, and fighters aren't immune from it.