Prime Tyson vs Prime Lewis

tyson takes this fight for me wears down lewis and stops him late

 

Maybe you choose to believe Lewis avoided Tyson, but Tyson was the one who dropped his WBC heavyweight championship title belt to avoid having to fight his mandatory (Lewis). And that is a fact, not an opinion or a believe.

Suggesting that Lewis didn't turn pro yet because of Tyson's success there is flat-out ridiculous. By the time he made that decision, which was in 1984, where was Tyson? He did not even qualify for the olympics because he couldn't get past Henry Tillman (on two occasions).

Now don't get me wrong, Tyson was not a bad amatuer boxer at all, but he wasn't even olympic champion or in that tournament and it's not like everyone was expecting him to become the destroyer and dominant champion that he would, in 1984.

Lewis never went out of the way for anyone who was a threat and Tyson wasn't in that category either. It was the other way around in fact.

You talk all this about Tyson being old, but don't mention that Lewis was in fact one year older than Tyson! Now i know that a guy with Tyson's style (as well as life style) burns quick, but fact remains that Lewis would retire a mere one fight later. I don't think Tyson did THAT good during the first round, by the way. He got hit by a few terrific uppercuts that caused him to say "i'm hurt" in the corner between rounds. I also noticed you conviniently ignored the 2nd and 3rd rounds which were dominated by Lewis. Tyson was old, but he could still fight hard for at least 3 rounds (he scored a few 6+ round stoppages around that period, in fact) but he lost the majority of those, too.

Now i don't want to base the outcome of this matchup on their actual fight, but i think your reasoning here is a bit one-sided.

 

I agree completely. That other poster's claim that Lewis remained an amateur on the basis of avoiding Tyson is pure crap. Lewis as you say was a proven olympian, while Tyson was maybe 17 years old and didn't even make it past the trials. Not to mention, I doubt Lewis would pass up a lucrative opportunity as a pro heavyweight just to avoid running into Tyson, who many did not even ordain to be champion.

Such nonsense.

 

I agree with some of Prime's post. Pontius as always makes some cogent points.

Here's my 2 cents (shillings?): Tyson was less effective with large patient men. Quick Tillis was only 6'1 but was the first man to last the distance due to his experience and skill -though it wasn't exactly crowd-pleasing. Then Mitch Green went 10. He was 6'5. Bonehugger Smith, 6'4, Tony Tucker, 6'5. They lost and at times lost big, but they lasted and what's more they gave us hints about how to deal with the dynamo that he was... how to survive and even neutralize him.

Then came Buster at 6'4.

Lewis would in all likelihood try to take Tyson into the late rounds and so would be cautious. That is the more sensible strategy for Lewis -given history and given his physical assets. I don't believe that Lewis was ever as skilled as Douglas was in Tokyo, but he understood the importance of a strong and disruptive jab. This would help keep Tyson at bay. He understood the importance of clinching inside (Holyfield did too), and he understood that his weight and strength sap the strength of smaller men.

I believe that Tyson would have a stylistic problem with Lewis who is the biggest and perhaps the strongest guy of all of them that took him the distance faced during his prime.

However.... Tyson's overhands and his overall aggression are disconcerting. And he just missed landing some fight-ending shots in round 1 of that fight with Lewis by inches. Inches!

If forced to choose... I think that it is slightly more likely that a young, aggressive, highly-trained Tyson would land something that would ruin Lennox before round 5. Almost as likely is that Lennox smothers him, withstands some scary moments, and keeps him at bay with the jab. Then takes a close decision.

 

Sounds about right. Not far off my prediction. I've always felt that Holmes would do better than Lewis, mainly based on his sharper mobility around the ring. Holmes wasn't quite as physically strong as Lewis, but he was better inside, not that either would be well served choosing to go there with Tyson. However, each would probably have to fire back or tie Tyson up when he had success at closing the distance.

Holmes would do better at firing inside with Tyson, with Lewis' weight and strength making life easier for him when tieing up and pushing Tyson back.

Holmes' also has the edge in durability.

 

I think that prerequisites in dealing with Tyson is size, strength, and the kind of experience that makes one calm while under heavy fire. Holmes has the last one, but I am not sure that he has the size or strength. He also fought ...somewhat lankily. His shots were often thrown from a bit of a distance and he liked his hooks. His punches weren't tight and neither was his defense. Tyson would get close and he would do so evasively. I see him delivering short shots up and down and Holmes would be forced back. Holmes, a warrior, would fire back, and that would be when he'd get caught. Tyson may finish even a prime Holmes.

Something tells me that Holmes would have always preferred to avoid Tyson... and he would not be unwise in doing so. Tyson is far more dangerous than Shavers or Norton.

 

I would say tyson. Because lewis had problem with big punchers such as macall and rahman. Tyson could punch with both hands!

 

I agree with this. I still think that a prime Holmes would have at least a chance at beating a peak Tyson, but I probably wouldn't favor him to do it. Tyson was very good at penetrating the comfort zones of a lot of boxers, and landing with much ferocity. Holmes had the tendency to get sloppy and careless at times, as seen in the Snipes and Weaver fights. Should such an occurance take place, the mistakes against Tyson would not be as forgiving. Holmes would have to fight the best fight of his career to beat Tyson, and even so would be in jeopardy for most of the fight. If he made any mistakes or got careless, Tyson would make him pay big time.

 

Lewis is the most overrated boxer on this board and has been for years. Tyson KO 4.

 

Heres them talking about sparring together in 1984 which was sure closer to Tysons prime than Lewis`s!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-qwtodQ_XE

 

If you look up "overrated" in the dictionary you will see a small picture of Tyson beside the word.

 

:think

 

Journeyman. Douglas, Williams, and McBride.

 

I Think Lewis was a real great boxer, but Tyson was something special! On his day and at the very peak of his game he could have probably beat (or was in with a very good chance) any boxer that ever lived. The same Im afraid can`t be said of Lewis.

 

I agree a slight shade to Lewis,but a toss up really,explosive power and great hand speed ,with good head movement and punch variety,against a solid jab,great strength,cool boxing skills ,and a dangerous right cross.