Ray Mercer vs. 90's Mike Tyson

I’d have to think about it.

But I don’t rate Etienne at all.


The point is:

He had to fight guys like Etienne, Williams and McBride after Lennox, because he had to drop several levels, as he was no longer an elite level fighter.

Again, before Lennox, he had to fight the right fights, against the right guys.

He couldn’t fight anyone really top level.

He couldn’t fight anybody with a tricky style.

He was spoon fed B and C level guys who were easy stylistic match ups for him.


Mercer was never a great fighter, but he had a lot of ability, a great chin, and he had heart. Even though he blew hot and cold, he could beat top level guys and cause huge issues for a guy like Lennox. And he didn’t one shot Lennox like Rahman did. He did it over 10 rounds, where he traded and boxed with him.

Now whilst Rahman got the win in spectacular fashion, that was from one great shot, which can happen at any weight. Any HW can cause an upset, as any HW is really capable of knocking out anybody at the weight.

So Mercer being able to hang with Lennox for 10 rounds, shows that he was a top level guy on his day. And if that version had fought Mike, where he could have taken Mike’s early onslaught and gotten him past 4 or 5 rounds, then a late 90’s diminished version of Mike would have been in trouble.

A fit and motivated Ray Mercer, irrespective of his resume, was better and more of a threat than Norris, Botha and Francis etc.

 

If they met in 1991, I would choose Mike. I think he would have won the full distance without any controversy, by a high margin. If it had been 1995-1996 I would have had a problem and I think I would have given the edge to Ray Mercer. If it was 1999 and later, in my opinion Mercer beats Tyson quite easily and it wouldn't have lasted the entire distance. The two were scheduled to meet in early 2002, but Lewis blocked the fight.

 

No, you’re basically assigning a special set of circumstances to Tyson. It’s common for heavyweights to to fight lesser opponents while waiting for a title shot. Look at Hrgovic post Zhang or someone like Povetkin in the few fights before Joshua or Wlad. Tyson showed he was viable for a title shot after destroying Golota and took a few paydays before Lewis was ready. He also tried to get a title shot against Rahman, but Lewis blocked it.

 

No, I’m not.

I was there.

I grew up watching Mike.

I was a huge fan.

I lived through the era.

Mike was PROTECTED.

Lennox was swerved for Evander. And I had no real issue with that, because I understood the logic from King. He wanted an Evander fight for huge PPV, and a Lennox fight could derail that. So they got Lennox out of the way with the step-aside. King dangled him along, but then dropped the belt so they didn’t have to fight him afterwards. Typical boxing politics by King, in order to protect his most prized possession.

Then came Evander, and King was very confident of 2 wins over him, for huge PPV money. Mike then lost, so they had a rematch. He was then banned due to his outrageous DQ.

It was then clearly evident that Mike’s tank was running low.

He was then given easy fights, against low level guys who were good stylistic match ups for him.

Yes, it’s common knowledge for opponents to fight lesser guys whilst waiting for a title shot. But this was Mike coming towards the end of his career, where he only had a little left.

They had to be very careful with him, whilst ever there was a chance of finally meeting Lennox. And after that, he was completely finished.

He was protected for that one last cash out against Lennox.

I watched all of the fights.

I knew why he was fighting Brian Neilson and Francois Botha.

I was fully aware of what was happening.

 

So Lou Savarese had gone the distance w Foreman and Grant, almost beating Foreman, and had only been stopped once in his career by Izon, to summarize all of his loses. He’d also beaten Goofi, Douglas, and Buster Mathis Jr.

Do you think Tyson’s team brought him in to get knocked out in 30 seconds?

 

He went the distance with a 48 year old Foreman?

He beat Douglas during his comeback, after a 6 year absence?

I don’t want to disrespect any fighters.

I would never do that.

However, Savarese was a low level HW who was seen as a safe fight for Mike at that point.

You’re just being argumentative now.

It was great business and PR.

I remember when Mike fought Julius Francis.

Tyson mania swept the U.K.

It was huge, huge news. Even non sporting news.

It was brilliant.

Take Mike to Britain, to fight a low level guy who he’ll look great against.

Great promotion.

But like Savarese, Francis was the RIGHT opponent.

It got Mike looking good again, for a fight against Lennox down the road.

 

Francis was a money grab and only got the call because he was the best British guy available.

Savarese was brought in to make Mike log rounds, against a guy with Lewis’ dimensions no less, in preparation for Lewis. The fight lasted 30 seconds.

 

They were the RIGHT opponents.

Nothing you say will change that.