Who would have beaten prime tyson?

The Klits dont belong in that list. Wlad would panick the instant Tyson landed something and would get hurt and floored, three fast knockdowns and its all over....Vitali would get caught by lightning fast heavy bombs, get hurt , cut and stopped in 3 rounds...these two dont belong in lists with greats like Lewis, Holyfield, Ali and Foreman....

 

wlad has no chance, koed early, and vits hasn't the skills to keep Tyson at bay with jabs and would get outpointed or stopped.

BUT... if you combined the genetic code of both vitali and wlad, to create a genetic hybrid of Wlad and Vitali in one single body and mind....you'd create... Watali K .. then perhaps....just perhaps,....

WATALI K..combines the abilities of both Wlad and Vitali!!


Yep -You'd create a fighter who liked to go to war, but without defense or chin, thus rushes in early n gets ktfo by mike in round 1.

 

I think Foreman was just too easy to hit with the right hand and Tyson was lightning fast when ever he lead with that hand. The way he came out at the start of round two and hit Berbick with a booming right hand that sent him tumbling for the first knockdown would have been a direct hit on George too in my opinion. I just think Tyson is fast enough and prime George did not have the defence, stamina or correct pace to last it out into round six where I feel prime Tyson was often almost normal after that point.

Agreed. An older Holyfeild still beat a good Mike Tyson. Earlier both are better but Holyfeild was always good enough to last beyond 6 rounds, a point Manny Stewart felt Tyson became less dangerous.

although a more complete fighter than Foreman with much better pace I still think like Foreman Sonnys gap in the armour was a weakness to right hands. Marshall broke his jaw and decked Sonny with a right hand. Foley, Ali and Whitehurst all had Liston do the chicken dance with right hands. ALI dropped Liston with a right hand. Martin knocked Sonny out cold with a right hand. Tyson had a better right hand than all of them. His fights with Douglas and Lewis proved Tyson at his worst as well as in beating Ruddock and Bruno all proved he took more chopping down than Liston did too.

Lewis? I think Tyson could be too fast. Lewis did not like to be rushed and was often clumsy when not allowed the time and space he required. It took a lot of his punches to take down a helpless Tyson but a raging fast prime Tyson won't be so helpless.

perhaps Johnson's ability to frustrate Tyson is greater than Bonecrusher Smith's.

Not sure vitali can knock outTyson, he's in with a chance but as game as he proved to be against Lewis Vitali was a bit slower and stiffer. He cut too.

I'm not sure, Bowe was too easy hit.

Holmes got caught with right hands but he got up from SHavers. Holmes was active, ready and game at his best. He would be Douglas all over again.

 

Muhammad Ali
Joe Frazier
Sonny Liston
Joe Louis
George Foreman
Larry Holmes (a good chance)
Vtali Klitschko
Lennox Lewis (7 or 8 out of 10)
Evander Hollyfield

And let's not forget James Buster Douglas.

 

Joe Louis
Foreman
Lewis
Vit Klit
Wlad Klit

 

Well, Douglas did beat a prime Tyson, so ... Douglas.

But if we're talking Tyson at his very best night (Spinks, Holmes), there are precious few that I'd make a favorite. I think Lewis and Vitaly both would have a good chance because of their size, strength and relative skill. I think Bowe would have a pretty good chance as well. It would be a war, though. And, yeah, Holyfield. And I suppose Ali. But there really aren't many.

 

tony tucker was not far off beating him. whilst he suffered a points loss similar to the spoiling, survival mode Smith, tucker noticeably lost momentum after his hand broke during the fight, before which it was neck and neck.

 

Ali
Foreman(50/50 if prime)
Greg Page
Larry Holmes
Jimmy Young(especially if the fight last the late rounds).
Michael Dokes
Leon Spinks of Ali I.

 

Vitali Klitschko?? Lets get real.

Just because a guy was never knocked out does not mean he to is impervious to a stoppage loss against a particular opponent.

Ottke was never stopped but does that mean a prime Jones, Benn or Jackson could not hand him a stoppage loss?

Vitali has shown throughout his career he is to stiff and awkward to land on moving targets.

Byrd- Terrible connect rate against a guy right in front of him.
Hyde- Swatting air most of the time before glass chined Hyde pulled a dive and tapped out.
Kevin Johnson- Couldn't land a clean shot on him all night long. Kingpin stayed on the ropes and made him look foolish.
Chisora- Dell boy couldn't miss his body. He battered those ribs like a heavy bag and had Vitali in retreat mode till the final bell.

These realistic factors don't give Vitali much of a chance against Tyson who brought to the table what those guys did combined times 10.

 

not saying he didn't.

 

Seldom.... But there was a point where it got out of control. And as I mentioned there were other factors as well.

 

in 1985 he had no problems with the law.

 

You guys picking the super heavyweights to be able to do the job, which version (what age or what couple years on their resume) are you imagining for Lennox Lewis, Vitali, and Wlad?

When matchups of greats is contemplated typically we think of a strategic application of their attributes or stylistic advantages/disadvantages. Generally the prime of both fighters is expected to be rather similar. But in the case of these fighters it might be vastly different.

If you take Lewis you could be looking at late '97 or maybe you lean toward early '00. Is he 32 or 35 or what? Couldn't there be - theoretically - a 6'5" 240 lb big man with skills that is 28 instead of 35? All things being equal the younger version might have the measure of the older due to greater energy/stamina/endurance (i.e., relative youth).

We know these superheavyweights are a handful for any great not solely but indeed importantly because of that size advantage. But did they ever face a powerful force that could offset their size with youth and energy? What examples would you bring up to show they passed that kind of test in their careers?

When Mike lost to Buster Douglas he was still 23 years old. There is a trade off that can come into play in athletics. If you are ten years older you may well be harder to unsettle and less likely or completely unlikely to be intimidated by another man based solely upon a mere reputation or persona. That seems the base case for those predicting prime Mike to lose to these three fighters. He can't intimidate them, he gets pushed back, and crumbles in the end.

Still, the flip side to being ten years older and without fear of any man, can be not fear of man, but discovery that there are advantages from youth which produces a different type of fear altogether: the fear of being unable to sustain the pace of battle.

So, the flip side can be physical and real in this odd comparative where the primes (to me) are so unusually mismatched. [Unlike a George Foreman/Mike Tyson matchup which could be a battle of two confident young killers] If you are facing a young tornado that is not intimidated by your size because he believes - rightfully so perhaps - that his own conditioning is unmatched at that time and that he can overwhelm anyone if he commits - then his higher COMPARATIVE energy level can become something that the older fighter finds difficult to contain or bottle - not because of skills or lack of skills - but because of relative youth.

Instead of the commonly expressed scenario in which Mike becomes frustrated and eventually "gives up", the counter-factual is that the older fighter takes punches to arms, elbows, shoulders, any and everywhere, from the bobbing and weaving young attacker of the mindset that he must press and get through, and wearies under repeated attacks. The irrepressible storm throws punches meant to destroy with either hand. Is the 23 year old (or younger) Tyson likely to run out of energy before the much older super heavyweight? Instead of a chess match in which length and height are applied from range, the energetic Tyson doesn't adhere to your script at all. You are given little respite, you lose a bit of concentration, you take a hard punch here and there and start succumbing to fears you never had entering the ring. The fear that if the bell doesn't ring for a break you might get caught clean with something big - and you are really only accustomed to being the one throwing the biggest punch not being the recipient.

 

Maybe Foreman, ALi, Bowe, but probably nobody. Too quick, strong, and tough.