What if in 1991 Tyson and Holyfield switched opponents?

Here.

That's basically saying fighting George is a circus act, bull****.

Well I do buy it, it's been in circulation for years and I've never heard any of the sources named come out and say it's nonsence considering the magnitude of the statement. I believe it to be true and hold the belief that if you've got a guy mentally crushed, a la Bowe-Lewis, regardless of the tools at your disposal, you're beaten.

Tyson's stamina/work rate (post peak) were never as good heading into the later rounds (appart from Holy), when that happens George senses it and capatalizes.

 

Completely agree with you and that doesnt happen too often :good

 

I dont buy the Tyson being scared of Foreman theory, mainly because comeback George wasnt that good a fighter. And even if Tyson was scared, so what?Its natural to be scared before you have a fight and it sometimes improves your performance

 

Well I would say the fight was considered on the same level as maybe Tyson fighting Holmes, although George was more active, but against lower tiered opposition. I think George showed a lot of courage in the Holyfield fight, and I think Holyfield made him look good in spots, by trying to stop him.

Well your entitled to your opinion, but I disagree. The media is very good at making up crap, and a lot of fights that didnt happen are often times spun into one fighter ducking another, but its not always the case. I mean these are and were dominant championship level fighters, and looking at Foreman in his comeback its hard to believe Tyson avoided him, especially considering he was willing to fight Ruddock twice.

What about Ruddock UD12? Would Foreman have had the stamina and workrate to fight Tyson in the later rounds if he was in that fight?

 

I don't believe Lotierzo would release a statement that:
A) Could be challenged by Duva, Goodman or Benton.
B) Would damage his long standing relationship with Benton.

Everything else about fighting Ruddock or facing Tyson in the later rounds falls into wether you believe the statement or not.

Also imo Ruddock gets WAY too much credit. Lewis crushed him, hell even Morrison (who people give Big George grief about) sparked him whilst he was still in reasonable shape, (though Lewis might have taken the mans heart).

 

Lewis took his heart or Tyson did? Tyson did a number on Ruddock in the second fight. There is no denying Ruddock fought courageously and punched very hard in those two fights with Tyson.
I dont know about Morrison sparking him either, that fight was fairly even with both guys getting knocked around a bit, and in my opinion Ruddock was done at that time.

 

Here's the thing;

Mike Tyson had a $30 million guarantee against Evander Holyfield in addition to revenue split so you can imagine $15 million doesn't really cut the mustard. Tyson made money fighting anyone.

The article is also faulty, Tyson was a draw he would never concede to splitting the revenue equally with anyone unless they were the champion. Tyson's interest was regaining the title from Evander Holyfield. George Foreman was not a priority. In fact I find it convenient that you never found the rankings for 1991 because George was not really a ranked fighter. Before he fought Holyfield he was a novelty. Simple as that, there were far more deserving fighters for the title, Holyfield was not a draw back then and he was simply looking to cash in on a big money fight so he took on George.

Bottom line, If Tyson fought Foreman instead of Ruddock, people would have said that he was ducking Ruddock a fight that should have happened before Douglas. So he fought Ruddock because Razor was ranked #2 right behind him and was considered a threat to the division. Then after the 1st fight controversy, he rematched him and took care of business. Given the monetary success of both Ruddock fights Don King tried to get him fight Ruddock a third time in which Tyson flatly refused. He wanted Holyfield and that was all. And if you're trying to tell me that Foreman would have been a more credible fight than Holyfield then you don't know boxing that well especially since the Holyfield fight would have been the bigger fight in every aspect.

If I made it seem like George was a circus act that's because initially he was just that. He was not taken as a serious contender and there was a curiosity factor in seeing him fight. His fight with Holyfield changed that. He was taken a little more seriously after that but by that time it was Tyson who was trying to fight Holyfield.

Now Tillis, Green, Ribalta, Smith, Tucker and finally Douglas.

First off he KO'd Ribalta.
He lost to Douglas (who fights nothing like Foreman by the way)
And Green, Smith and Tucker went on their bicycle and lost 1 sided fights in the process.

As for Tillis, find me any HW in history that would have KO'd Tillis at the age of 19. You can include Foreman by the way.

Foreman may have been stopped once in 81 fights it doesn't mean that Tyson couldn't stop him. Look at Larry Holmes, never been stopped before or After Mike Tyson but it took a special fighter in Tyson to stop him. If Ron Lyle was any better he would have stopped George. Look, George Foreman was only stopped once because he prevented people from stopping him not because his chin was unstoppable. His chin was sturdy, but rest assured anyone can be stopped.

And to address another point, Tyson's stamina was always better than Foreman's stamina any point in their careers. He went the distance with a few fighters who you seem to have pointed out earlier.

As for Ruddock being all hype, well after going 19 rounds with prime Tyson I assert that he was not the same fighter anymore. He was finished goods when Lewis met him. Finished.

 

Never truer words spoken except that Ruddock was damaged goods when he met Lewis, Lewis's power and class were beginning to show through and Ruddock was the type of fighter that suited his style.

 

Exactly! That's why the Holyfield/Foreman fight was so one-sided: Foreman's lack of speed. Foreman's edge in power was negated by Holyfield's vast edge in speed. Tyson was just as quick as Holyfield, but he brought a lot more firepower. George would have taken a lot of punishment if he had fought Tyson on the night he fought Holyfield. But GEorge wanted the money, so he was willing to sacrifice himself to become a rich man again.

 

Foreman's ranking was joke! He miraculously moved up into the number 2 and 3 spots in some publications right before he fought Holyfield. He blasts out an unranked, past it, inactive Cooney and a fragile, fringe contender (that had just been Ko'd by Holyfield) in Adilson Rodrigues and he gets rated that high? come on!!!!