Prime Tyson v. Prime Holmes

If Larry can take Mike into the latter stages by outboxing him,he either takes a UD or stops his man. Always a chance that Tyson halts him,though. If Shavers,Snipes and Weaver can deck him with a right hand then Tyson will easily be able to follow that up. Would take him longer than their actual fight obviously.

I'll go with Holmes. 60/40 shot.

 

If Tyson doesn't KO Holmes early , by say round 5 ,he will be sitting on a whipped azz in his corner. Holmes will drag him into the deep waters of rounds 13-15 and Mikey will get beat up

 

To be able to deal with Tyson, you have to be able to, if not beat him on the inside, at least be able to neutralise him, because he is going to close the distance.
His best strength actually wasn’t fighting on the inside, while he could do that, his thing was to close the distance fast and land a punch as he closes the distance, and force their defensive errors as he closes the distance, Holyfield just skipped the middle man and just allowed him in, and was defensively responsible on the way in so Tyson couldn’t time anything, he then outfought Tyson on the inside since he had more skills there, he could use grappling to get punches off and tie up to stop Tyson work off, he didn’t box on the outside much because he knew Tyson was gonna close the distance anyway which could’ve allowed for Tyson to time something on the way in, Holyfield was actually safer on the inside.
Holmes wouldn’t have been able to deal with Tyson on the inside, if he could jab and then tie Tyson up every time he comes in, then he’d have a chance, but Tyson is the much stronger man and could easily shrug him off.
I see Tyson closing the distance often and there’s not much Holmes can do once Tyson has closed that distance.
I actually pick Holmes to beat Holyfield prime for prime due to the styles matchups. Holyfield is more of an all rounder and isn’t as much of a specialist at closing distance as Tyson is, he can do it to a very good level, but notice Tyson, so I don’t think he’d get inside enough. That would be on the outside too often for Holyfield to get enough work off.

 

Holmes can win, really does need to be at his very focused tho.

 

1978-1982 Larry Holmes stops Tyson in 11.

Holmes was an expert at certain things that gave Tyson trouble: tying up on the inside, straights (jab, cross), staying off center, framing with the lead hand, super durable etc....

 

What a shell Holmes did for about 20 seconds with the Ali's "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" at round 4 against Mike is exactly how the fight would look like.
Holmes was lured out of a 2 years retirement by Don King and had only few weeks to train and cut his extra weight, but still managed to survive 4 rounds with prime Mike until he gassed out.
Mike Tyson always had trouble against a mover with a decent jab and was an inch away from losing to the bum called James Tillis in his prime and Larry Holmes is infinitely better and more complete.
I think even the version of Holmes against Holyfield and Ray would have had a much better fight against Mike, so a peak Holmes could outbox, outsmart and outwork Tyson all night. Perhaps even stop him

 

This was just done few weeks ago

 

why do you think Holmes had a few weeks to train?
what were the chances of stopping Tyson who had a much better defense and jaw than Carl Williams, Trevor Berbick or Michael Spinks? Holmes probably could have tormented the unprepared Tyson from Douglas or Holyfield, but he probably couldn't torment the one he faced, and I think that's what Mike had in mind as the author of this topic

 

100% on board with this statement. Tyson HAS to get him early. I think Holmes would be cagey and slick enough with his considerable ring IQ to withstand an early Tyson onslaught and ultimately go on to a later round TKO--roughly round 11-12.

 

Just one fight, I go with Holmes on points but Tyson would win his share in a multi-fight series and I will repeat my mantra, absolute peak Tyson on the right given night could take any heavyweight who ever lived.

 

I could see it going either way. My only beef is with people who think Tyson would win because they think their actual fight was even close to conclusive.

 

Holmes was a great boxer with exceptional skills, but he had a tendency to lose focus at times and get caught by opponents who were neither as fast nor as powerful as Tyson. That makes it plausible for Tyson to find an opening, he only needs one moment to connect, and he’s one of the best finishers in boxing history. However, Holmes was incredibly resilient, as he showed in surviving Shavers’ power. While I can see Holmes surviving and eventually grinding out a decision win, the key question is whether he can withstand Tyson’s explosiveness when he gets caught and I'm almost certain he will get caught at least once.

 

Undeniable, but one can also bring up Tyson's performances against Tillis and Douglas. And I'm definitely betting on 38 year old Holmes against 38 year old Tyson. Prime for prime seems to me a wide open question.

 

Larry was a great fighter who I thought highly of, but I don't think he would ever beat Mike Tyson.

The only way Holmes has a chance is if he has the distracted, out of shape version of Tyson in front of him.