I watched this fight today and it was interesting that Buster was able to smother Tyson and force him backwards. Tyson was forced to step back and counter, something he doesn't usually do. Do you think he would have had issues with other swarmers during his peak in the 80s?
A short fight like Frazier or Tua would have been eaten up as they came forward against Tyson, imo. He was so much quicker than either fighter and combined with is power and decent chin I think he would make short work of Frazier 2-5 rounds and would rip uppercuts underneath of Frazier cross-arm defense. While I rank Frazier higher ATG I think it's a bad match up for Frazier overall. An extremely quick hard hitting fight with great movement would eat Frazier up ala Foreman just in a different manner. As for Tua I think Tyson would probably get a TKO stoppage. Tua was slow but had a monster of a chin and did hit like a ton of bricks. He could possibly catch Tyson getting wild but I think 8/10 fights prime Tyson would get to him. He was much quicker than Ike Ibeabuchi so would probaby catch Tua with a shot he didn't see coming and didn't have a chance to get ready for. I see a mid round stoppage for Tyson after punishing the slow Tua in an extremely action filled fight.
It's interesting because Tyson missed a lot of punches against Mathis but it was because Mathis actually showed good head movement. If Mathis had more skill and power, Mike would have been in for a hell of a night.
Yeah, Mike did miss ALOT in this fight, but even when he did it was scary lol its like seeing a homerun hitter strike out, they didnt connect but you know if they did it'd be right out of the park. I dont think Tyson was used to anyone getting lower than him
Second fight out of prison. He didn't even get a round in against McNeeley prior to this one. Was good to work out the kinks though because Bruno in March '96 was probably his best post-prison performance by far, unfortunately.
Exactly! Despite his timing being off it seemed like Tyson had that aura, a certain presence about him post prison. He didn't look right but you knew it was only a matter of time before Mathis would get hurt. The same happened with Bruno. And it was certainly most evident against Golota. Tyson wasn't as fluid but he might have possessed more one punch power. McNeeley was able to back Tyson up too. Holyfield was probably licking his chops after watching that clown push Tyson around. Mike did not look ready for his shot at Bruno only a couple months away.
mainly due to ring rust but when Tyson adjusted, he adjusted big time, mathis was a bit of a slippery customer
