Tyson Vs Holyfield - December 1989?

I would pick Tyson

I think he would take Holyfield more seriously than he did Douglas .

Evander would be coming off the war with comebacking Dokes where he got hit a lot and the easy Rodriguez win where he picked the easiest guy in the too 10. In real life Evander would have a very tough fight with a then largely unknown Alex Stewart in Nov. 89.

 

Placed well in context. And I agree.

 

I agree with some of your points. But Holyfield absolutely schooled Stewart in that first fight. It was only in the fifth round when Alex landed some nice barrages but that was Evander showboating that he could take the punches. Lou Duva scolded him for that between rounds and after that it was pretty much over for the destroyer

 

At the time I would pick Tyson inside six.


But clearly with over thirty years of hindsight, if I could go back and the fight happened, I would put every penny I had on Holyfield. And I suspect I would win and what is more, get odds of at least twenty to one.

 

https://100vampirenovels.net/pdf-novels/undisputed-truth-my-autobiography-by-tyson-mike-free

 

I'm going Mike by a tko in the 10th in a very tough bout

 

Did i read somewhere that they sparred in the 80s after the 84 Olympics? From what I remember Holy got the better of him? Anyone know this story? thanks

 

Holyfield don’t seem like the showboating type. He looked more like he was out of gas and took the round off

 

Could be. Lots of boxers seems to get the better of Tyson in sparring or so they say anyway. Lewis, Bruno, McCrory, page, Williams and maybe more.

 

In 89 Tyson had had plenty of desire and will left.......and you can bet your azz that he would not "train" in a ***** house before fight night....

At that time Tyson does not need Rooney in his corner...

Holyfield would be 208 max, still the brawler without clinching, head butting, still not fully roided up and last but not least he would not meet a shell that spend 4 years in the can while fighting less than a dozen rounds upon release....he would fight a fighter who could go 12 no [problem, was not off balance, still fired combos to the head and body while still being lightning fast including wanting to be a fighter...

Green Holyfield would fight a completely different animal all together.............ghe would get into a major fire fight and stopped.

For reference, around that time frame he struggled with cannon fodder Alex Stewart who Tyson waxed in one round.....won against a balloon named Douglas who trained at Pizza hut who several in the top ten would have waxed too at the kind of shape he was in.....was almost ko'ed by crack head Cooper..........went 24 uninspiring rounds with fossils Foreman/Holmes...........and was beaten from pillar to post by the first upper level talent he met, a green Riddick Bowe.

Tyson stops Holyfield in 89.

 

Williams actually hit Tyson on the face with his Jab before Tyson knocked him down with his left hook. With Rooney Tyson very rarely got hit with jabs, he has very fast, accurate and unpredictable with his head movement

 

I saw what I saw and heard what I heard from duva who said “ quit being a hero and taking shots Goddamnit, and get in there and punch!! “. Either way Stewart was out of his league

 

My first impulse is to pick Tyson, reasoning that Holyfield was not yet ready, but I remember feeling the same way when he was matched with Qawi and being surprised to learn that he won. And he won their second fight more impressively. So my feeling now is that Holyfield would have risen to the challenge and out-gamed Mike for the win. But if he didn't win, he would have given Tyson a handful and been his toughest opponent to date.

 

Minus all the excuses that will pollute this site, I think that Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson would certainly make for an interesting super fight. Evander physically had the strength on his side, while Tyson had the punching power. But realistically by 1989, Mike's heart was not in it any more, psychologically, as was his desire in boxing. Mike had several distractions, namely with his spur of the moment marriage to Robyn Givens, and having to put up with her mother Ruth Roper. Kevin Rooney saw the handwriting on the wall, it spelled soon to be failure. Many fighters in the past have gone thru failed marriages, but these mature men dealt with it. Tyson lacked the maturity, he was a mental robot, always following commands from others, never having to change strategy on his own. Holyfield, a very mature thinking fighter had had tough bouts, who can forget that classic in June 1986 against Dwight Muhammad Qwai. The hungrier mature fighter wins this like how he prevailed in Nov 1996, Evander by TKO 11.