Would Anthony Joshua beat Mike Tyson in he's prime?

Tyson went 12 rounds with Bonecrusher Smith and Razor Ruddock. Both tall guys with mediocre skills. I find it interesting that some people argue an early KO win for prime Tyson is a done deal. The longer it goes the higher the chance AJ lands a couple big bombs and we know Tyson can't take big punches after he gasses out.

 

Sports science has come along way, but the outcome of the fight is going to bebased on how they match up stylistically.

Whilst nobody can say for certainty what would have happened, you'd have to give Mike a huge shot looking at how he could have gotten inside Anthony's reach.

Look at some of the shots that he got hit with on Saturday. Look at Povetkin's style and his game plan. Look at his early success. Then swap him for a motivated, ferocious and fast version of Mike from the mid 80's.

 

Smith fought to survive.

Ruddock gave Mike a great fight, but he'd already slipped by then.

Anthony would have fought Mike hard. He's got a lot of courage. But he's also got stamina issues.

 

And AJ took Wlad's best punches. We need to stop with the notion in this thread that AJ would fold like a lawn-chair once Iron Mike lands his first punch.

 

You've just provided your own 'SUBJECTIVE' interpretations of the definitions of some of the terms used in boxing.

You're under the assumption, that two 'shot' fighters are going to equally be the same or as bad as each other. That's false! If we have two 'shot' fighters, one of them can still be better than the other 'shot' fighter. Maybe because, one of them is more intelligent and skilled whilst the other isn't.

If someone was GENUINELY skilled and intelligent in terms of ring IQ and tactics, then unless they become totally disabled, they would always be effective, even if they are 'shot'.

The reason why Alexander Povetkin, despite being 'shot', performed much better against Anthony Joshua than a 'shot' Mike Tyson performed against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride, was because, unlike Mike Tyson, Povetkin had far better GENUINE boxing skills and tactical intelligence that he could fall back to, when his athletic qualities such as speed declined. Whilst Mike Tyson (when he was successful), ALWAYS relied on speed and athleticism, along with the tactics of one of the greatest boxing trainers in history in Cus'DAmato. When he became old, he lost his speed. Add to that, he also changed trainers. Due to those reasons, Mike Tyson became a bum after reaching his late 30's because he didn't have his own tactical intelligence and high level boxing skills to fall back to, when his speed betrayed him / left him and his early trainers weren't around any longer.

None of this changes the FACT that Povetkin was a 'shot' fighter against Joshua. His durability and stamina were totally 'shot', and this isn't even up for debate. Povetkin could fight at the same intensity that he fought at against Joshua, for 12 rounds if he was still in his prime, rather than only 6 rounds, as he did against Joshua whilst shot.

And the same punches that stopped Povetkin in the 6th round, wouldn't have stopped him if he was younger / when he was more durable.

The reason why Povetkin was competitive in the early rounds before his stamina / durability faded, was because of his high level boxing skills and ring craft. If that doesn't show you just how skilled a heavyweight Povetkin is / has always been, then nothing will ever convince you.

As for 'ring age', Povetkin's ring age is every bit as old as his actual age. You do realize, Povetkin has been participating in combat sports (not just boxing) from the age of 13. In total, we're looking at over 500 rounds of kickboxing + amateur boxing + boxing that Povetkin has been in. And we're talking about a guy who has been hit, over hundreds, if not over thousand more times than any of the current top 10 heavyweight. And the guy is currently 39 years old. Plus, he is the smallest heavyweight from the top 10 today and therefore uses the most physically taxing boxing style out of any other top 10 heavyweight today. that, is the exact definition of being a grandpa in terms of even ring age.

The reason why I'd favor Anthony Joshua over any version of Mike Tyson (and maybe even Povetkin) is because of Joshua's physical strength advantages. If he decides to make the most of them, then there's not an awful lot small heavyweights like Tyson or Povetkin can do.

 

Wlad never hit Joshua with his 'best punches'. His timing was 'shot' against Joshua. But Tyson is going to severely struggle to land his own 'best punches' on a much taller Joshua.

 

No Anthony Joshua would lose to tyson, lewis, holy, bowe, wlad, vitali, ikeabuchi, tua

 

Tyson is much to highly regarded. His best wins are over fringe contender or B level Heavyweights, Bruno twice, & 2 faded ATG's Holmes who came out of a 2 year retirement, and Spinks who was a ATG LHW was ready to retire when they fought. Whenever he fought other great fighters in Holyfield twice & Lennox he got beat convincingly. I'd put it at 50-50, if AJ catches Tyson with a big shot trying to get inside it's over, but if Joshua can't figure out how to keep Mike on the end of his jab quick I don't like his chances either.

 

True, the left hook never landed I think. He threw it dozens of times.

 

Interesting to read Povetkin being matched up to the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson. Prime Tyson knocks out a prime Povetkin IMO.

No-one fights like Mike Tyson and thats the major factor that so many are missing. No heavyweight has that movement, its a lost art, so it's hard to see how todays heavyweights would deal with that type of pressure.

 

prime Tyson would destroy AJ inside 3 rounds

 

Tyson did have a brilliant chin. He was never dropped by just one big punch out of nowhere like Lewis and Wlad were.

It took constant big hits to put him down. Lewis was much 'ahead' in his career when he fought Tyson but still required several rounds to knock him out.

You really had to completely out box Tyson and hit him consistently with good shots to finish him off.

Could Joshua do that for 8+rounds without getting tagged with something big in return from Tyson?

 

No.