As a kid my brother and I used to argue about this all the time. I took Tyson, but I've flipped on it over the years, and he has too. A lot of nostalgia
Louis wouldn't have gassed for sure. He'd have had George out in 8 or 9. Liston...it might go 7. Wlad would have had him out in 11. Ali of course. Quite possibly Iron Mike, but I don't think I'd bet on that. I'm sure Mike could have floored him, but not confident what he would have done if George kept getting up and coming back with big shots. Very unsure on that one, I lean toward Foreman because of the jab and uppercut, though he really didn't use the jab too well against Ron. Had it been a few years earlier I'd pick George in 3 at the latest. Tough call. 1980 Holmes would have stopped him in 10, but some of that would have been due to George still having trouble pacing himself, plus psychological trauma from Ali. Bowe and Lewis are also tough for me to call. Unpopular pick: FOTC Frazier in 11.
Nah,Tyson is a stylistic nightmare for Foreman. Speed kills an the far greater hand speed along with the angles an 2 handed attack will be too much for the slower lumbering though powerful Foreman. Ali didn’t called Foreman the mummy for no reason.
Maybe the Lyle Foreman. As far as prime Foreman and Tyson...Mike only knew one way in, like Frazier. And pre-Ali Foreman LOVED guys like that. It's like stealing candy from a baby. Even Ali knew better than to come straight at Foreman.
Foreman could show some speed; Ali basically admitted he was wrong when he adjusted his strategy, knowing he would tire on a ring that was small-but also slow, bad for movers. He said Foreman was faster than he thought-his ring cutting abilities part of it. Foreman varied in his speed & how well he deployed it in footwork & with the jab. Old Foreman said he did not want to get leaner because he never had any speed anyway... But Foreman was completely unreliable re: his being gracious & exagerating everything in his second career.
Is this like who beats the Louis of the Conn fight? In terms of action/reaction, fights are as unique as a fingerprint. Not as simple as “subbing” in another fighter and still expect to see the same actions/reactions. This could be interpreted as “Who else could jump in and finish the job?” Remember, it was Ron Lyle who started the job - and despite hitting Foreman with bombs - and they were huge hits, Ronnie couldn’t finish the job - such was Foreman’s physical and mental resilience and return fire. Even that version of Foreman might not find himself in similar dire straits vs Tyson. If one defers to stylistic advantage, see Foreman vs Frazier in the rematch - George might not have been that much better or so different from the Lyle fight - even though more patient and better metered, it was more or less rinse repeat against poor Joe. Ron took it to George and patience/meter eventually went out the window - though George did manage to avoid mindlessly punching away when he had Lyle on the ropes. The specific goal for Foreman when he fought Lyle was to beat Lyle, and that he did and no one rolled him in his second coming either.
If we're only talking about the one who fought Lyle Confident picks: -Prime Holmes stops him late. -Steward trained Lewis (if he fights smart) Possible but unsure: -Liston (questionable heart at times) -Holyfield (often too brave for his own good, but might be able to drag Foreman into deep waters late). -Prime Bowe (might go either way, but Bowes leaky defense bothers me).
I actually think Ali hurt him at least as much toward the end (if I remember correctly he got Ron dead on the chin). Both time Ron was definitely exhausted. I could be wrong.
