Prime Mike Tyson vs. Prime Vitali Klitschko

I think people are still underrating the Klitschko brothers.
I was probably very guilty of it until recently.

Vitali is the lesser of the two brothers, IMO - in resume and in boxing ability.
But he is big and he's tough and he's durable and he throws a lot of punches and leans away from punches.
He's no easy assignment for "peak Tyson", unless you think "peak Tyson" was some sort of invincible God.

Seriously, if Tyson fights him like he fought Pinklon Thomas or Tony Tucker he'd probably get beat.

 

I used Ribalta as an example only because he's tall.
Vitali is 6'6 at least, perhaps 6'8. Yet obviously he is much stronger and heavier and more aggressive than Ribalta.

I wouldn't assume Tyson could force Vitali into a slugfest like Lewis did. Lewis was physically huge.

Yes, it's to Ribalta's credit that he went the distance (he kind of did anyway). He showed heart. But he was really out-gunned.

 

Id say hes not very durable. He dislocated his shoulder against Byrd and quit. He took far less punishment compared to your Tyson example, Ribalta, and his face was shredded to pieces and the fight was stopped in 6. Maybe you could explain the last sentence?

 

Sanders was rangier than Tyson , a lefty , used his handspeed to land fast combinations , and then got out from exchanges .

Tyson was a very short heavyweight , a righty , used his elbows when his opponents head was reachable for his missed left hooks which were much more devastating than his actually landed hooks for that reason.

In addition , Vitali eventually stopped Sanders , so where does this lead to ?

Vitali never fought someone like Tyson and if you really want the closest things to Tyson he fought then they are Orlin Norris and Kirk Johnson.

 

He quit against Byrd with a dislocated shoulder, he also retired for 4 years, and cancelled several comeback attempts because of injury. He's obviously careful about preserving himself against injuries, and since he's still fighting at 39 maybe there's some method to his madness.
Anyway, okay, there's a chance he quits in any fight with an injury.

His face was shredded by Lewis. Another possibility for the Tyson fight, true. But maybe Vitali would smother Tyson's attacks more than he did against Lewis, because of Tyson's lack of size. Maybe Vitali could get in more punches as Tyson advances, because of Tyson's lack of size.

My last sentence was quite self-explanatory. Tyson has to fight better than he did against Thomas or Tucker, IMO.
With the jabs and one-twos a washed-up Thomas landed on Tyson, I would expect a primed Vitali to get in three or four of his straight punches. And if Tyson resorts to wading in flat-footed with one big punch strategy like he did for much of the Tucker fight, Vitali will drown him with punches and smother him like an octopus.
I'm sure Tyson could up his game a bit from that, and he would need to for sure - against a man of Vitali's attributes.

Vitali is an ugly, ponderous style of fighter - but it's time to face the truth, he was pretty damn good. And any fighter with a short reach and lack of height will not have an easy night with him.

 

Vitali has never even shown the ability to hold in the clinches or be savvy on the inside in my opinion

I think the fight against Lewis was pretty telling of how a fight with Tyson would go, it would be fast and furious. Both brothers are experts at boxing at distance, but Ive never seen either keep a good pressure fighter stuck at distance, and on the inside theyre both amatuers.

 

So you are saying Vitali would outland Tyson 158 : 100 punches in the first six rounds?

Cuts don't always determine who the better fighter was, they can be caused by thumbs, inside gloves and glancing blows. The Lewis fight was spectacular as it was inconclusive, each fighter could have KO'd the other. Besides, Lewis had the size and reach to brawl with Vitali, Tyson had neither and we willnever know how mentally strong a prime Tyson would have been with an opponent who would not be intimidated.

 

No I think Lennox is a far worse pressure fighter than Tyson, and Lewis still got it done in a fairly sloppy looking manner.

I dont think the results on Vitalis face were caused by thumbs or glancing blows, they were caused by hard connecting punches.

Disagree, I think Vitalis power is overated, and it allowed Lewis to be more aggressive and reckless with his offense. In my opinion, the fight wasnt inconclusive at all. Vitali was clearly breaking down, tiring and losing his spirit, thus allowing Lewis to get closer and land harder and cleaner.

Tyson wouldnt need reach to get close to Vitali, he was fast as hell.

Well there you have it Tyson would lose, because every opponent he ever faced was intimidated.

 

Not saying Sanders is the same as Tyson what im saying is, Sanders started very fast against VK and had him all over the place, it didnt look like a stumble to me. If that was Tyson it would be all over very quickly (If the round was just a little longer maybe Sanders may have pulled it off)

I totally agree with LeftHook.

Vitali hasnt got anything, that Tyson hasnt seen before.
Size? Tyson spent his whole career beating bigger guys. So whast VK got that Tyson hasnt seen?

Vk has never been in the ring with anyone as good as Mike Tyson. The closest thing was an old Lennox Lewis and we all know what happened there.

Vitalis chin is overated. His only claim to fame is taking an uppercut from a poor Lewis. Other than that whose he fought?

 

If Vitali gets past the early rds without getting hurt I like Vitali chances late by a stoppage. Mike also must be careful while Vitali is not the hardest puncher he has faced the Big Vitali is able to avoid a lot of Tyson's punches and keep the jab and a few other punches in Mikes face...Mike tires late in the fight and Vitali keeps his pace. I think Tyson could get dropped and at that point a matter of time before the RSC or a UD in favor of Vitali

 

Lots of fighters became clinchers against Tyson. Were Bonecrusher Smith and Mitch Green and Tony Tucker known for being savvy clinchers prior to fighting Tyson ?
Vitali tends to land more punches than those guys and he's taller and harder to reach, so he's going to frustrate Tyson and, yes, I believe he was a seasoned enough pro to be able to neutralise Tyson on the inside.
With his physical advantages, the plan for Vitali is quite simple.

I don't think Tyson possessed the strength, and obviously not the size, to bring to bare on Vitali what Lewis did.
But I don't think he necessarily beats Tyson. This could be a close fight, with Vitali outscoring Tyson in volume, but Tyson outscoring with heavier shots.

I think Wladimir is a master clincher.

 

Yes I think the fighters of the 80's were better schooled on handling themselves on the inside. Vitali has always looked lost on the inside even against the most limited of opposition. Your talking about fighters who were in survival mode too. Vitali may possibly be able to hold to a decision too. Do you think Vitali would do any better clinching Tyson for 12 rounds? That didnt score Tucker or Smith too many points. I dont think Vitali is much better than Tony Tucker either.

If Tyson landed on Vitali the way Lewis did, he certainly would do comparable damage.

 

Not God, but something similar.

 

Vitali is much bigger and therefore presumably stronger. He likes to push his opponents away when they get in close, so that he can land big hard and straight punches. I can remember Cus Damato using the example of Foreman and Frazier to show why Tyson's style is not a good one for Tyson to face. I think Vitali has a huge stylistic advantage. I also think tyson might recognise this and be very wary of the fight.

In saying this, I also dont think Vitali is quite on the same level as Tyson and i do think tht Tyson would knock him out simply because in his prime he has the speed and timing to do so, and is a higher class of fighter. It is not guaranteed though, and i think the fight would tell us an awful lot about Vitali as an all time great. Certainly i think that if he had fought Tyson back when he had fought Lewis, he would be the strong in hindsight favourite.

 

So what does that make Buster Douglas?

The Tyson ball licking is worse than the *******s and *****s combined :verysad

Vitali wouldnt be intimidated by Tyson and would gradually pummel him to a pulp, forcing him to surrender - whimpering - around the 8th