What if Rahman would have defended against Tyson instead of the Lewis rematch?

Well, he didn't come in much lighter for Lewis.
I wouldn't count on him being able to get into shape for Rahman.

 

Not really all these guys were winning and losing to the same level of opposition. It was never clear one of these contenders was clearly heads above the rest.

 

He didnt want to fight Lewis he knew he couldnt beat him. He bit him on the leg, was photographed smoking weed in Hawaii and having sex with 50 year old WalMart workers. He did everything he could to sabotage the fight. Thats probably why they shipped him off to Hawaii and put a security line in the ring.

I think with Rahman he felt he could win and it was a way he could avoid Lewis and fight for the title.

 

Lewis ALSO had a easier time with Tyrell "Snowman" Biggs, Holyfield And Tony "Snowman" Tucker.

Tyson Only did better VS Frankie Bruno.

It PROVES Lewis is better then tyson.


*When I say 'Snowman' i ain't taking about their race - But their naughty habit.

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Tyson was still dominating those "level" of guys. Thats what I meant. Throw out the Botha fight where he was a rusty nail, and KOing a guy in 2 instead of 1 is pretty comparable. At least Golota tried a little harder against Tyson. Either way this group of contenders were pretty bad. Etienne Briggs and Botha all pretty much drew with each other. I had Botha beating Briggs. Golota was outclassing Grant before getting caught. Rahman was knocked out by Maskaev twice. Maskaev was knocked out by Kirk Johnson and Lance Whitalker. It was pretty clear all these guys were pretty much on the same level, a shitty one.

 

I agree.
But I think Rahman in 2001 was a slight notch above that level.
So was Holyfield, and Ruiz. And both Klitschkos. And Byrd. And Tua maybe still too.

 

Slight probably wasnt going to be good enough but Lewis was leagues better than them so Rahman was certainly more inspiring for Tyson who was looking for the easiest possible paydays around this time.

 

I like Tyson even at that stage in his career, but I wouldn't bet money on the outcome. Hasim wasn't supposed to beat Lewis or Sanders, yet he did. And Mike couldn't be relyed upon to show up in ideal form.

 

Tyson getting overrated, again.

He wasn't ANYTHING special at this stage in his career. A puncher with a bad gas tank and a fragile psyche. Little more.

Rahman was, at his best, a very good big man. He had a hard, long jab, knockout power in his right, he controlled range well, and he was very strong.

Against a pre-prison Tyson, he's outmatched. Against a post-prison Tyson, he'd probably be overpowered. Against a post-Holyfield Tyson?

I can't favor this version of Mike over a champion heavyweight. Rahman WAS a titlist, and a capable fighter, who himself easily did away with the level of heavyweights Tyson was beating at this time. Peak Hasim could deal with some big punches, and he flashed very good skills.

Just had more than enough for a Tyson with barely anything in the tank.

 

That's the way I see it too.

Tyson was finished at this stage of his career.

 

That's a very good possibility.

 

You wonder if people have eyes.

All Tyson did after 1999 was move forward, pivot, and throw a bomb or a power jab.

Predictable, and slower. Every opponent he fought who gave him back punishment, from here on, would beat him decisively.

Rahman wasn't an ATG, by any stretch near it, but he was VERY capable at his peak, very strong. If he could give a less shot Holyfield a very tough fight, he could give enough to Mike to make him give up.

 

The one punch stalker Tyson? Not sure if he could beat Rahman.
Tyson was actually sad to watch in his later fights. No head movement and standing way too straight up. The whole point of that crouch was so the opponents would shoot their shots down at a moving target and he would just pop up into their chins with bombs but he didnt do it anymore.

 

Yeah, i don't get it.
Some of same people who insist the Lewis-Tyson one-sided beating doesn't mean anything (and I agree with that) reckon Tyson still had enough left the beat the other guys.
In spite of everything we knew was going on in his mind (at its lowest point in all his fighting years, IMO), and then LOOKING AT his performances inside the ring, they would still pick him to beat one of the strongest, most primed fighters of that time.

Say what you will about Rahman, he's not going to be intimidated or looking to quit at all in this fight.
He endured hard fights against Tua and Sanders, and soaked up some serious shots against Lewis before KOing him.
He was KO'd by Maskaev in the 8th round, ahead on points. And he was a better fighter coming off his win over Lewis. I'm not sure Tyson could even fight a good 8 rounds at this stage of his career. Against someone as strong and hungry as Rahman ? ..Nah.

All of those guys - Byrd, Tua, Rahman, Holyfield (obviously !), Ruiz .... would have jumped at a chance to get Tyson before Lewis did. He was nothing to fear at that stage of his career for a top-flight heavyweight, and he seemed behave in a way that belied the fact that he KNEW he was no longer anything to fear.

It was almost as if Tyson's career was being kept alive (against his will) simply because Lennox Lewis, (and the TV corporations), wanted the payday.
Tyson was like a bad guy character from WWE at this point, and a walking catastrophe, that's all he had left.

I thought it was quite sad the way they rolled him out to take a beating against Lewis. In a way it reminded me of Ali against Holmes.
I'll admit it, it upset me watching that ****.

 

8 rounds? You'd be lucky, and I do mean lucky, to see 3 quality rounds from Tyson at this stage. He had HORRID conditioning, and when he wasn't immediately smashingly successful in a fight, he just plodded and looked content to punch and be punched.

People forget that it wasn't just money that every top heavyweight wanted a piece of this Mike. All the guys you mentioned. Talk about a homreun- An easy win, a big payday, and the name Mike Tyson in your win column. Tyson, around the time he fought Lewis, was prey in the heavyweight division. It just depended which predator got there first.

It was Lewis, and he showed who the alpha was. Williams and McBride then fed off the scraps.