Tyson v Lewis, twelve years earlier - Different outcome?

What, Lewis vs Tyson in 1990?

Well hell yeah Tyson wins, Lewis only had a year's worth of pro experience under his belt.

Might as well say something like Larry Holmes vs Tyson in 1983 or something.

 

Prime v Prime I still pick Lewis. Lewis had all the tools to beat Tyson. Styles make fights and I just think Lewis could control tyson.

 

I would go with Tyson.

Lewis was quite cautious even against completely shot Tyson and he more or less gave away the 1st round. I do not want to go into details here and discuss how many of Tyson shots missed, or that LL landed some good shots himself - it is true, and in fact Tyson won this round more on agresiveness than anything else, but it is not the point. Using similar style against prime Tyson would be playing into his hands - fortunately for LL Tyson was shot and most of the time he was just few inches too slow to land something or to avoid getting hit.

Do you think LL would be less cautious against prime Tyson? I doubt it, and the problem is that prime Tyson would be able to keep this kind of pressure for 5-6 rounds at least. With some luck, he knocks down LL in this time. Otherwise, he would be still the one eading on scorecards, and LL would need to win every round after 6th to lose the decision. I am not counting LL out completely, but I still think this would be the most probable scenarios.

 

I'm pretty sure in that new Tyson documentary, he said he never had good stamina because he had asthma. But I could be wrong, guess I'll have to take another look. But I like Tyson in this matchup, but it's basically a pick em for me.

 

Did you even watch the fight?

Tyson was rocked by Lewis' uppercuts in the first round and went back to the corner and told them he was hurt. Lewis then took over the 2nd round and the fight, partly by manhandling him.


If anyone isn't going to last in that type of fight, It's going to be Tyson, he can't take round after round of Lewis's uppercuts and keep coming, nobody can.

Now if he were able to avoid these uppercuts, get in and unlease combo's then we have a real fight on our hands. Having said that Lewis manhandled him and basically made him pay dearly for even trying to get on the inside, with jabs and connecting with that over hand right, over and over.

What happened in the first round of that fight, is Tyson technically won it, but Lewis laid the blueprint down about how to go about winning the fight, which to be is a hell of a lot more important than winning a close round.

I don't mind people picking Tyson to win, but I don't understand using the first round of their fight as support, if anything it supports exactly how Lewis would win because it forms the blueprint of what happened later in that fight and what would likely happen if they bought fought in their primes. Lewis showed how to negate Tyson's inside game, how to use his size to manhandle him and how to punish him for trying to get inside. Textbook performance.

 

Prime for Prime, id go with Tyson.

 

of course there would be a different outcome. even a 1999/2000 tyson would've put up a much better fight. tyson vs lewis was arguably the worst version of tyson ever to show up (close with the mcbride version)

 

In 1997, Tyson was still a force but not what he used to be especially after the loss to Evander. It's 50/50 for me.

 

I saw more or less the same things. I said Tyson won 1st round rather on agressiveness than anything else, but if you favour Lewis uppercuts to Tyson's (mostly missed) hooks I have no problem with it. I used the 1st round not as the example of Tyson dominance over Lewis (he won it barely), just as the indication how the real "prime for prime" fight could look alike, and I'd still make some adjustments in favour of Tyson, who was completely shot at this time.

I agree even prime Tyson wouldn't last Lewis uppercuts too long. However, with his head movement I doubt Lewis would land them at will as he did in 2002. You say Lewis made a blueprint for what happened later, the thing is that in prime he could be KO'd before that point - or otherwise lose too many rounds to win decision anyway.

 

I honestly don't think Tyson was completely shot at that time when he fought Lewis. If Tyson was completely shot then he should have lost to Nielson the way Tyson lost to both Williams and Mcbride by ko. Yea Tyson didn't use his headmovement vs Nielson but Tyson weigh in at 239 pounds but that don't mean he was completely shot cause he still won it easily anyway and won it by tko. People seem to forget that Lewis wasn't in his prime when he fought Tyson so don't act like Tyson was the only one that wasn't close to his prime in that fight.

 

Tyson would have been able to sustain the efforts in the 1st round against Lewis throughout the fight.
I.E. picture Tyson's first round over 12.

 

In his prime, all of Tysons losses become much more competitive fights. In the D'amto and Rooney days, he was a hungry fighter who actually wanted to fight. In his interviews Tyson even admits he stopped loving to fight and was only fighting for paychecks after the late 80's.

 

:good

 

To have a chance against a prime Tyson you have to have good footwork and be able to use the ring well. You also have to cirlce him, have a good jab, and be able to pcik off shots well with your gloves. Your chin has to be good too. Lewis had none of the above, accept a decent Jab, but a Jab is not enough to keep Tyson atg bay, you have to be able to have all the above and he simply doesn't. Lewis never fought anyone with the intensity and great headmovement and speed Tyson would present to him. NEVER. Only fighter that he had problems with that put pressure on him was Ray Mercer and he simply didn't have Tyson's skills or speed. And many people thought Lewis loss that fight.

If Tyson looked like he did against Lewis, against the heavys he fought in the 80's, he would of got destroyed just as bad. He was completely washed up when they fought. I see this fight looking like either the Holmes fight or Bonecrusher, with lewis trying to survive from the frustation of the pressure Tyson would put on him by him not be able to control from a distance. Either way Tyson wins this fight and he does it easy. Most of the fighters Tyson fought in the 80's had about the same size and reach as Lewis but more speed and atlethicism than him and they couldn't deal with his pressure because of the speed he did it with.

 

Lewis was pretty damn green in 1990 to be taking on a fighter like Tyson.

Not everyone can be like Ray Robinson or Mike Tyson and ready to fight champions that soon.