I'd say Tyson would win by late TKO or a hard-fought decision. Bonavena is the most underrated heavyweight of that era. He would be the best Tyson beat.
Maybe the Holmes fight was a bit of payback for the classless way that Ali played and carried an injured Floyd Patterson just so that he could mercilessly punish him more both verbally and physically.
Bonavena would not see the last round,I doubt he gets to the tenth.He was dropped by much lesser,slower punchers than Tyson.Anything Oscar could do Tyson could do much better!Therefore there is no basis for anyone picking Oscar or suggesting that it would be a titanic struggle for Tyson.Tyson fought and dominated several men better than Bonavena let's not pretend otherwise!
Oscar was a different style to Tyson. It makes no sense to say anything he could do Tyson could do better. Tyson couldn't replicate the Bonavena style and I don't see why he'd want to. But let's not underestimate how effective Bonavena's style was. He'd crowd, smother and frustrate. He was rough and hurtful and strong. No, I can't see "several men better than Bonavena " on Tyson's win column. I pick Tyson to win. I don't give Bonavena much chance of winning at all. He's a very clear underdog. Tyson's a very strong favourite. But I'd expect a tough fight.
I see Tyson winning, but by god Oscar would put up helluva fight, Oscar would be expected to lose anyway, so he would have no pressure upon him, wheras if it got to 'fighting in the trenches' and Tyson was not getting best of the fight then maybe Tyson might start to unravel.
False Analogy http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/False_analogy False Premise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_premise
Remember Bonavena vs Ellis? Oscar didn't do very well because Jimmy was a sharpshooter. Ellis decked him twice and even had him on the run at times. Tyson was much faster and deadlier than Jimmy. Mike would stop Oscar late in the fight.
What did he have against Patterson? Was it something to do with not calling him Ali as that other boxer had done?
Tyson has quicker hands, quicker feet, a better chin, a bigger punch,better defence, better variety of punches,more all round skills. In which area is Bonavena superior to Tyson? Tucker,Bruno,Williams,Thomas,Ruddock were all better than Bonavena,I'd also pick Bonecrusher and Tubbs to beat him . What is Bonavena's best win? A 37 years old washed up Zora Folley or in and outer Karl Mildenberger who never beat a rated fighter? Tyson is a top ten all timer imo[9] . When Oscar stepped up in class he lost.
I can't imagine Bruno, Tubbs or Williams doing as well against Frazier and Ali as Bonavena did. It's become fashionable to overrate Tyson's opposition. I guess his resume needs it. Let's say Marvis Frazier beats Bonavena too. Why does Bonavena have to be superior in any area, mcvey? I'm not picking Oscar to win. I'm saying Bonavena would give Tyson a decent fight, that's all. It's hardly a flattering statement about a guy who already gave very tough fights to BETTER heavyweight ALL TIME GREATS. And that's reality.
