Worst fighter who would give Prime Tyson trouble

I'm thinking maybe Oscar Bonavena

 

I can see a prime, motivated Greg Page giving Tyson hell.

 

Funny you ask this because I rewatched Tyson vs McBride last night and remember thinking "McBride may have been a handful even for young Tyson"

Obviously, Tyson was much slower than he used to be, but he still had his power, and he actually teed off on McBride multiple times over the middle rounds, but McBride was able to absorb it well. Those shots would have still dropped a lot of other HWs.

McBride was also superb at smothering Tyson, especially along the ropes, and was actually the superior infighter, which was a surprise because he had the longer arms. But he landed jarring uppercuts in the clinches throughout the whole fight.

On the flip side, McBride did appear to be fading in the last round but he kept fighting till the end and it ended up being Tyson who didn't want to continue

 

Good question! I think Jimmy Young would be an interesting matchup for Prime Tyson.

 

A few years ago..."Ring" Magazine gave it's list of the best Heavyweight Champions of all time! Ali was #1...then Joe Louis at #2...Jack Johnson at #3...Rocky Marciano at #4...Larry Holmes at #5...Jack Dempsey at #6...Foreman at #7...Frazier at #8...Tyson #9...and Liston at #10.This is what they said about Tyson. "Mike Tyson is looked at now as a bully who folded up when things got tough. He was the best 6 round champion of all time. If he couldn't get his opponent out in 6 rounds...he'd fall apart! When Tyson got discouraged...he wasn't the same fighter! Joe Louis would discourage Mike Tyson really quickly! Lots of the champions on this list would discourage Tyson very fast!"

 

Vitali Klitschko. I don't think Tyson gets through often and when he does, he pays a heavy toll to get there. I don't think he would KO Vitali but may knock him down and win if his boxing is on point--hard matchup for Tyson.

 

Buster Mathis Sr, . Earnie Terrell, the Kleichkos Brothers, maybe Primo Canera with the right fight plan.

 

This is kinda true for the old tyson. Young Tyson had pretty good stamina and determination for the sport. Even after all his private incidents happen he managed to overcomer some seriuos trouble vs Ruddock. So what you said there's a bit of truth to it. But it is a little exaggerated.

Problematic guys for prime Tyson: Young, Lyle, Witherspoon. They all have the ability to give him an awkward fight. They can take a punch and sneak in some rather dangerous counters. Guys like Bonavena and Ruiz would holding and "wrestling" a lot. I see a similar fight like Bonecrusher '87. But in the end a safe but ugly UD for Tyson.

 

C'mon now. Jimmy was very defensively sound but looked like he hated throwing punches and had the power of Bea Arthur. Tyson would beat Young handily.

 

Tyson would dismantle Young a light hitting defensive boxer vs a swarmer with dynamite in both hands is a horrible style match up for Young.

 

He didn't get discouraged going 12 hard rounds with Razor Ruddock.

 

Earnie Shavers possibly.

 

Peded out, 320 pound Jarrell Miller. He might actually push Tyson back and totally drain his energy if he survived the early rounds.

 

The Jimmy Young who gave a psychologically boo-boo'd Foreman might be a bit too tricky at times for Mike.

That said, both Holyfield and Douglas had more firepower. Young had a very average punch, so it's hard for me to imagine him keeping prime Mike off him for long. I don't think Jimmy could have dragged him into deeper waters.