Tyson vs. Rahman in 2001

how good would that have been for Tyson had he beaten Rahman to become heavyweight champ again which no doubt lennox would of taken back of tyson. Im glad lennox got the next match as it would of been an injustice if someone else had beaten Rahman before lennox got he's revenge , i can also remember there was talk of rahman defending vs David Izon a nice easy defence for him that would of been. back to the question I edge tyson for a late stoppage

 

Tyson

 

I like Tyson by mid to late stoppage.

 

Very interesting match indeed. I remember considering this match-up at the time, and I would not have hesitated to pick Tyson by KO.

My reasoning? Rahman is the type of guy that, one way or another, can always be stopped. I swore blind that this was the case, and that he was too "accident prone", and this all proved to be true. And at that point Tyson simply did not look that bad. He had solid wins over Saverese and Francis (Williams caliber fighter) and Golota.

Now however, I am forced to consider more carefully.

 

That fight would have been a lot more entertaining than watching a motivated Lennox Lewis pound the living **** out of Rahman. I think it would have been a much much better career move for Rahman. If he used his jab and fought smart he would have had a good chance of stopping Tyson late. However, Rahman is shorter than Lewis and probably just as chinny. Tyson would have a much better shot at pulling the upset with him than he ever did with Lewis.

The course of the heavyweight division would have been a lot different if this happened. Tyson v. Lewis probably never happens for one thing.

 

Intresting:good
I think Mike would have knocked him out. Rahman was alway a good puncher, but he always had a bad chin. Mike would have been the undisputed champ again.

 

Rahman would have been right there to be hit. Tyson wanted the fight, Lennox Lewis had the rematch clause, and threatened to sue.

 

Wow, I forgot that this would be for the Undisputed Title!
Ok, I'll stick with Tyson. He would surely be up for a fight of that magnitude and he had not truly accepted a boxing life of second tier status.

He would go at it with Rahman and Rahman, one way or another, would probably fail in such a hard-hitting encounter. He matched up well with Tua twice, but Tyson takes far more risks and I doubt he would make an exception when fighting to be champion again.

A better question follows:

How would this have affected Mike's Legacy? Even if he had lost the plot after such a fight, I think that this is good wank material for a lot of fans.

:smoke

 

No I think he had already relinquished the WBA title because he was avoiding the dangerous John Ruiz. :hey

 

OK...

The Lineal, Legitimate and Universally Recognized, Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World.

 

Nah if you recall how the Botha fight happened, Tyson was suspended and inactive and it was also the first fight under Tommy Brooks (I'm pretty sure). Tyson looked plodding and just pretty bad in the Botha fight because of inactivity, excess weight (a lot of it muscle), and trying different things in the ring. Tyson actually showed better form after that fight with Botha. BTW tyson was only 32/33 in 99 and with the layoff his capacity was fine at that point - he just had ****ed himself through suspensions, laziness, and other activities.

Tyson was in decent form in 2000/2001 beating golota, savaresse, and the danish pastry around that time. Tyson was active and gaining confidence. (This all went to **** when Tyson waited around trying to get the huge payday w/ Lewis in 02). I'd say that Tyson KO's Rock in mid/late rounds (possibly earlier if Rock doesn't try and box from whatever distance he can). Tyson's got the power advantage, a huge chin advantage, and again he was in decent form and shape so he probably had the speed and skill advantage also.

 

I cant remember what Rahman looked like in the Lewis rematch. I thought I remember him coming in out of shape and pudgy but then I looked at the weights on boxrec and he was 2 pounds lighter than the first fight:huh Maybe I am getting him mixed up with buster douglas that got super fat after the tyson fight:huh

I thought Rahman did a lot of partying after the Lewis fight and didnt prepare well for the rematch. If that is the case then Tyson has the chance to stop him and regain the linear championship.

 

ESPN made a very good doc on rahman, after he won the belt. It showed his bad preparation for the rematch. Try and search for that !!

 

He fought better than I expected in the rematch.

 

The Tyson that fought Golota would've beat the **** out of Rahman, but the Tyson that fought Nielson the following fight would likely lose, its amazing too see how far he declined from Golota to Nielson.