Reverse a loss: Tyson

Let's imagine that Tyson beat everyone he ever faced.

He'd be 56-0 and with two wins over Holy, a win over Douglas and Lewis, and easy wins over a couple of bums just before he retires. The only thing that interrupted his reign 1986-2004 was prison and layoffs where he got bored of boxing.

Where would he rank ?

 

Surprised to see the Lewis choice get a few votes.

I can it from a certain point of view...if Mike was able to come back from the Holyfield losses, the ban and the 'boxing wilderness' to knock out the #1 guy and reign as champion again, that would've been a massive boost to his legacy and standing. Top Ten would've been signed & sealed, rather than debated.

But if he doesn't lose to Douglas, even if the rest of his career went exactly the same way, he can point back to being unbeaten in his best years from '86-'91 and therefore the REAL Mike Tyson beats both Holyfield and Lewis.

You get that argument anyway, but it would be much stronger without Douglas dominating him.

 

If Tyson had beaten Lewis it would have been viewed as a great result and a great upset but Lewis's stock would plummett. The same Lewis would have lost by KO two of his three last fights, and he'd be hardly rated at all today, and the few remaining fans he has would say he grew OLD overnight.
I'd still rate Holyfield above Tyson if Tyson had beaten Lewis.
In fact, as things stand, I have trouble believing Lewis should rate above Tyson, and I rate Holyfield above both. So, for me at least, Tyson beating Lewis would not have changed the order of those three.

 

Well, if that's the way you feel, then you at least have to appreciate that you're coming at it from a minority point of view.
Not many people rank both Holyfield AND Tyson above Lewis, usually it's either one or neither.

 

Logically, if it can be either one of them (non-specified) then there's no reason why BOTH should cause a problem.

I know Lewis is VERY highly rated on the all-time heavyweight lists here on ESB forums, but I dont know whether that's representative of EVERYONE who has an opinion on all-time heavyweights.

 

I think eliminating Buster Douglas would have cleaned up his resume a bit. It seems as though everytime Tyson is compared to an all time great, this loss is mentioned, presumably because it came during his prime. Sure, it would have done him wonders to beat Holyfield and Lewis, but losing to them isn't nearly as damaging. Plus his later defeats to guys like Mcbride can easily be written off as being past prime, holding no great significance.

 

If Tyson had beaten Douglas and then gone to prison undefeated it'd be like Ali before his exile. People would look back and say "wow, he was unbeatable". I think not losing in his prime would give his legacy a big boost.

 

Of course, he was already scheduled to fight a peak Holyfield 4 months later in that year. The outcome would have been interesting had Tyson gotten by Douglas.