Prime for Prime: Mike Tyson .Vs. Joe Louis

Good post.

It can be argued that Louis' greatest strength was his temprament. It is also quite possibly Tyson's biggest weakness.
Louis simply never got flustered, even when losing. He'd stoicly stalk his foe and catch him eventually. He never got wild or sloppy, never got over-excited, never got anxious...Louis was a stone-cold assassin. It's a remarkable trait actually and one that's all too rare among fighters. Will it make a difference? I don't know, but it's good to see Louis' 'unfazeability' being noted.

I'll not make predictions and all that, but suffice to say it's a tough match to call, provided Louis can survive Tyson's initial (and very formidable) early rounds assault.

 

It's tough to say though.

He took a pounding agsinst Ruddock in round 6 of the first fight (some of those shots were huge) but stopped him in the next round. He didn't seem at all discouraged at being hit hard.

Against the likes of Douglas and Lewis, Tyson took a shellacking and yes, didn't come back to win, but other factors played a stronger part in those defeats, imo.

Had Louis been on the end of those punches instead of Tyson, would he be able to turn the tide? In my mind it's doubtful. Very few fighters who absorb a steady pounding over the course of a fight come back to win it, unless it's by virtue of a sudden and dramatic knockout.

 

Mobility isn't necessarily going to make a difference with Tyson. Tyson could close the distance very well. Louis' defense wasn't exactly porous. He was fairly deliberate in his approach -some would say "static", but it wasn't like he was dropping his hands or leaning back. He had a tight formation but could get caught. Louis suffered flash knockdowns but was only stopped by Schmeling, who chopped him down over 12 rounds after putting Louis on a steady diet of counter rights, and of course, Marciano, who stopped in his last fight. Louis demonstrated both heart and resilience. He got off the canvas to win at least 4 times in his career. Tyson, who fought bigger punchers, never demonstrated much resilience and had undeniable heart problems. He was a front-runner.

Tyson experienced problems with strong guys -strong of body and will. Guys who would punch and punch him hard. Active counterpunchers. Louis could be counted on to land explosive short shots on Tyson and I believe that Louis had the kind of precision that would allow him to land on the bobbing and weaving Tyson. Tyson's shots will stun Joe, but I'm not so sure that Tyson will respond very well to Joe's shots. Tyson has more endurance, but Joe compensates for that with heart and resilience... and probably a superior corner as well. Blackburn was a genious. I think that he'd have Joe stepping in and throwing a hard jab to move Tyson back or at least off balance.

I can also see Tyson landing serious shots to the side and shooting uppercuts and hooks on Joe... and I'm not so sure that the 200 lb frame of Joe will hold up under a full-blown Tyson barrage.. if enough connect.

 

Stone-cold stoicism. Unfazeability. Apt descriptions for Joe Louis.

 

if conn had tysons power he would have knocked joe cold..
conn is no tyson.. the result speaks for itself imo

 

Well, Douglas certainly was no Louis. You can't use one fight like that.

 

He sure wasnt,He was taller,faster that night,placed his shots better..And also yeeeears more advanced..Buster would have beat 2 shades of **** out of any Louis that night also

 

I can see that we disagree somewhat (even if I agree that Douglas was great that night).

I also like to claim that boxing has evolved, but there's not much you can better with Louis in terms of technique. Perhaps his defence, and especially his head movement, but his punching is still unsurpassed I would say.

 

Preposterous.

Douglas was a second rater who put together one superior performence against an unfocused Tyson.

Who was the second best fighter Douglas ever beat?

 

If Conn had Tysons power hge would have beaten any heavyweight that ever lived including Tyson.

Laws of physics being what they are he didnt.

Of course if Conn had Tysons elusivness he wouldnt have made it out of the first half of the first round.

 

Remember Berbick and Spinks made Tyson look better than what he was. It took a Buster Douglas to show Tyson's flaws. Louis wouldn't be intimidated and he'd pull this one out.

 

I hate tyson Fanboys they just make themselves look stupid on countless occasions

 

not a huge tyson fan dumass..i hate oldhead fanboys who think there fighters always beat way more advanced boxers..the games changed,get over it..

 

Douglas placed his shots better than Louis...? And was yeeeears more advanced? This is crazy talk. Boxing has not evolved since the Golden Era. On the contrary, it has slowly been devolving. Less clubs, less fighters, skimpy records, less trainers, but more trainers who have only a basic knowledge of technique. Half of them haven't the faintest idea of how to execute the Fitzsimmons Shift.

 

You call us ohead fanboys as if to imply that we are somehow delusional, yet you are arguing that James Douglas changed from being a second rater to an all time great overnight, when he fought Tyson, and then back again overnight.

The game has changed and it is mainly for the worse.