Tyson in his prime vs Holyfield?

Well said!

 

I still don’t know who I’d pick. It’s true that Evander beat Tyson in the 90s but they were both past prime by that point. Could the same thing happen if they were both peak ? Perhaps. It would be bloody brawl.

 

Tyson does better in his prime, but still loses via UD.

 

To me Holy peaked with his fight against Bowe I, and that Holy would have given Mike trouble early on, only to unleash the Warrior and ultimately get outgunned.

Holy would make it 9 rounds, as Mike was both a better puncher and finisher than Bowe. I see Mike's right to the body, right uppercut to the head being the beginning of the end.

 

When they fought, Tyson was very different than he was before he was cut badly sparring. He had slowed down after prison, but, after he got that bad cut, he started to spar wearing headgear that came down low over his brows to try and prevent further cuts. As a result he began to fight standing straight up- sparring with that type of headgear it is harder to see if you are fighting low.
Once he stood up straight, the style that Cus taught him - with the hips and shoulders square to the opponent, became a liability. When you are square like that it is easy to push you back and easy to tie you up inside. Do you see how that works? With your shoulders square I can push you back and you go back- you cannot turn with it and use it against me. With your shoulders square I can grab you when you get close and you are wrapped up, you can't turn within my hold to break it. All I have to do is hold on and you have to wrestle to break free.
The man that trained Holyfield for this fight- the man in the corner that night spent 2 weeks in the gym with Holyfield and the trainer to learn the fight plan- recognized these things. His whole fight plan was based on pushing Tyson back. That would have been more difficult years before.
Tyson always had a tendency to accept clinches. His whole game was to make you miss, counter you coming in, and then work. If he didn't get the opening he wanted, he was willing to walk in, accept a clinch and start over. At that point in time, that best way to fight him was the way Holmes tried- put the jab out to get him to slip it and try to time him coming and, if it didn't work go into the mutually agreed upon clinch. Larry was too rusty to pull it off.
The Tyson that fought low would hit Evander in the body and hurt him there- Tyson hurt him to the body in the 5th round of their first fight, Lewis hurt Holyfield to the body as did Toney. And Tyson was faster than Evander and threw shorter punches.

 

Rewatched Tyson Holyfield 1 not long ago. What struck me was how much bigger Holyfield looked compared to Tyson. If the fight had of taken place during Tysons prime I think Holyfield would have been around 205 pounds. Plus Tyson would have been faster and more sharp.

 

My vote goes to Tyson. Holyfield was a major roid machine by time they fought. The fact he was able to push Tyson back in the clinch and push him back and make him reset time and again was huge difference. 1980s Mike was much faster with better stamina and Holyfield was weaker in strength and punch although his stamina was better. I think Mike hurts him and wins on points. With Holy doing well down the stretch late. 8-4 Tyson

 

For what it’s worth, James Quick Tillis was a 10-1 underdog also. Read: he too was assumed to be an easy KO victim.

Mike had a few opponents who well defied their forecasted doom. Mike’s history in that regard is often ignored in the fantasy realm.

To be fair, even though both Tyson and Holyfield were past prime when they actually fought, Tyson’s less rounded style rendered him that much less effective by comparison.

Head movement aside. Mike’s truly best “defence” was his offence. With his offensive success impaired/nullified, Mike’s physical limitations (height/reach) were notably peeled back and highlighted as major disadvantages.

Unfortunately for Tyson, if he wasn’t getting his own punches home, there was no ability to coast or play express D otherwise. Instead, he was somewhat of a sitting duck.

 

I have never read that Tyson admitted juicing, including in the many threads here where we have discussed this.
Please show me where Tyson said he used not recreational drugs, but steroids or any PEDs.

 

Great observations, I never knew that about why his style changed-I thought it was mainly complacency, head hunting & laziness.
I too think at their respective peaks Tyson would win.
Without any PEDs I believe it is a definite win.

 

Tyson will say anything to save face, by claiming you were a crack head and still winning title fights it elevates your legend, you don't have to be a brain surgeon to understand how the human mind works.

 

Spot on Rob!

Hope your doing well mate!

 

You don’t think a guy who would chain smoke joints, hoover coke and binge drink would refuse to take drugs that would actually enhance his performance while allowing him to keep cutting corners in training and continue his hedonistic lifestyle??

Of course he juiced. They all did.

 

Any version of Mike Tyson gets the ‘rented mule’ beating at the hands of Holyfield.

Evander owned him mentally and physically.

 

Doing very good my pal! Hope all is well with you also!