Would a 88 Tyson have stopped the Foreman of the Young fight?

Hell yeah. Prime Tyson would have koed any version of Foreman and Foreman did not have a atg chin. Even Young managed to knock him down in the very fight that this thread is about and Tyson punched 10 times harder than Young.

 

I don't think so, the saying styles make fights rings true concerning these two IMO. Foreman proved throughout his career that he could handle fighters with a similar stature and style to Tyson quite easily. I'm not saying Tyson couldn't hurt Foreman and cause an upset but the smart money has got to go on Foreman, I believe he would take Tyson apart like no other.

 

A different Foreman would have shown up, knowing he was fighting a true puncher, and not so-called light hitting Young. Foreman in 5 brutal rounds.

 

Assuming Foreman comes out fighting like he did here then Tyson stops him. To beat Tyson his opponents had to fight back early to make him respect their power.

 

Tyson would make him fight back early to survive i reckon and we still have styles at play. Foreman could well get him out of there early.

 

Complete different styles, just about everybody whoever went after Foreman got destroyed.

 

I think 88 Tyson would have been too fast for George. Whoever landed first and more often would have been a vital factor in this matchup and Tyson around this period had amazingly fast hand speed and surprisingly elusive in defence.

 

Tyson's speed, accuracy and power would've overwhelmed Foreman at any stage of his career. Ron Lyle lacked Tyson's speed and accuracy, and he was able to land on Foreman many times. Mike would've obliterated Foreman, in my opinion.

 

A lot would depend on whether Foreman was still listening to Clancy and trying to be a boxer. If so, then he is nowhere near good enough a boxer to beat Tyson ca 1988.

If he forgets all he learns under Clancy and just comes out in destroyer mode to batter Tyson then that's a different story and I would favour George, although only just. Tyson in 1988 was a lot better than Frazier in 1973 or Norton at any point. George winged big wide punches and would have given Mike plenty of openings if Tyson doesn't freeze.

But that wasn't the Foreman who faced Young and that's what the thread is asking.

 

I don't think that Foreman ever had a crisis of confidence against anybody willing to go toe to toe with him.

Just saying!

 

I like Tyson's chances even better against the rusty, tentative Lyle version. Foreman's practice of "drying out " before a bout in his first career is a bit maddening.

 

Yes, but I don't think the question of which version of Foreman shows up is as important in these Foreman v. Tyson hypotheticals as which Tyson shows up. I see the performances of Foreman's first career as all being relatively close to each other, and every one of them poses a terrific danger to Mike Tyson. On the other hand, I think that Tyson would need to be at the level of his very best performances from within the 1986-88 window to beat any version of first career Foreman.

Put another way, it's not enough to speak of "prime" Tyson or even "1988 Tyson" but rather "Tyson at his absolute best" (as seen in certain instances 1986-88). That Tyson stands a strong chance against any version of Foreman, and in fact I pick Tyson under those conditions. Any other version of Tyson would be in trouble.

 

The thing is Tyson can't fight backing up. Not many people in history can back him up but George is certainly one of them. As long as George tries to come forward (or gives no ground) he's a great chance.