Thread: Tyson Vs Ali. I know it's been beat to death, but I need help

I've been writing a piece lately on Tyson vs Ali. I know it's been discussed so much amongst boxing fans that it's probably more annoying now than fun, but I think I really got something here. I've google searched the topic and not one out of hundreds of posts have taken the angle I'm working. I just need a few opinions here first. If you can spare a minute and answer some of these I would greatly appreciate it. thanks


What do you consider Tyson's best performance in the ring?
What do you consider Ali's best performance in the ring?
Do you think Tyson could have beat Sonny Liston?
Which Tyson opponent do you think would have given Ali the most trouble, or possibly even beat him?

I know there was more I wanted to ask, but of course I'm drawing a blank now.

Originally Posted by drama2g

What do you consider Tyson's best performance in the ring?
What do you consider Ali's best performance in the ring?
Do you think Tyson could have beat Sonny Liston?
Which Tyson opponent do you think would have given Ali the most trouble, or possibly even beat him?

1. Mike Spinks. Turned a superfight into a massacre. Took a quality HW and beat him like he was a club fighter.

2. Sonny Liston. People thought Liston was an invincible killer and would be champ until he retired. Ali overcame his sledgehammer fists and some dirty tactics and made the Bear quit.

3. I think very highly of Liston, but there's no doubt in my mind that Tyson would have smashed him. Too quick, too much power.

4. I'm not sure which of Mike's opponents would have beaten Ali, but guys I think would have gave him big trouble are Tony Tucker, Mike Spinks, Holyfield and Lewis.

Ali, would beat Tyson by stoppage just like he did vs Liston & Patterson

Tyson's best performance IMO is vs Spinks

Ali's best vs Cleveland Williams

I think Liston could hang with Tyson, he had 0 trouble with Patterson who had the same style, granted Tyson was a lot more sturdy than Patterson but Liston just smashed Floyd to bits.

Tyson's opponents that would trouble Ali: Holyfield is like a Frazier/Norton hybrid strong and tons of stamina, Lennox Lewis just a giant in the ring powerful and a good boxer, Tony Tucker, Buster Douglas on that one night, and that's about it.

No way does Ali stop Tyson. I've seen it suggested a ton of times with the reasoning being "well he stopped Foreman and Liston." Liston suffered an injury in the first fight and the second fight is questionable. Foreman punched himself out like an idiot (something Tyson has never done). Outside of a freak cut/injury, there's no way Ali puts Tyson away.

Also, you can't compare Tyson to Patterson. Not even in the same league in terms of durability and power.

Originally Posted by Beanflicker

No way does Ali stop Tyson. I've seen it suggested a ton of times with the reasoning being "well he stopped Foreman and Liston." Liston suffered an injury in the first fight and the second fight is questionable. Foreman punched himself out like an idiot (something Tyson has never done). Outside of a freak cut/injury, there's no way Ali puts Tyson away.

Also, you can't compare Tyson to Patterson. Not even in the same league in terms of durability and power.

Mike Tyson 50 (44 KO)-6

Of those 6 losses, 1 is a DQ and 5 are stoppages....I'm merely playing the odds

Tyson's best performance in the ring was against Spinks but anyone from Berbick ti Williams (except Bruno)?
Ali's best performance in the ring was against Williams but his prime may have been cut off during the ban.
Tyson could have beaten Sonny Liston but he would have to get past that ram rod jab.
Tyson opponent that would have given Ali the most trouble would be Lewis or from the ones he beat Tucker.

Thanks guys. I'm surprised that the majority of you picked Spinks as Tyson's best performance. While it was impressive to watch Tyson get him out of there in 90 seconds, I hardly consider it his best "performance." You could tell all along that the Tyson fight was one the Spinks camp was never comfortable with, but it HAD to happen. I think intimidation played a large part in that one. I just don't think Spinks was %100 there that night. But thanks for all the input guys

Tyson in his prime is a beast.
Tyson should be in everyones top 3.

Compare small heavyweight fighters from any era like tyson..
Tyson is faster, best head movement ive ever seen and has ko power with thighs the size of an elephant.

And not forgetting at the age of 13-15 this kid was sparking out full grown men.

Tyson is a machine.

Ali is what floyd is today.
Beautiful boxing turned into an art.

Originally Posted by imp

Tyson in his prime is a beast.
Tyson should be in everyones top 3.

Compare small heavyweight fighters from any era like tyson..
Tyson is faster, best head movement ive ever seen and has ko power with thighs the size of an elephant.

And not forgetting at the age of 13-15 this kid was sparking out full grown men.

Tyson is a machine.

Ali is what floyd is today.
Beautiful boxing turned into an art.

Tyson isn't in my top 3, he might not make my top 10 to be quite honest. Of course Tyson is great but let's not get carried away here.

Originally Posted by El Kabong

Originally Posted by imp

Tyson in his prime is a beast.
Tyson should be in everyones top 3.

Compare small heavyweight fighters from any era like tyson..
Tyson is faster, best head movement ive ever seen and has ko power with thighs the size of an elephant.

And not forgetting at the age of 13-15 this kid was sparking out full grown men.

Tyson is a machine.

Ali is what floyd is today.
Beautiful boxing turned into an art.

Tyson isn't in my top 3, he might not make my top 10 to be quite honest. Of course Tyson is great but let's not get carried away here.

Nothing being carried anywhere.
Tyson was the youngest heavyweight off all time and was smaller than 99% of all his opponents.
Tyson was a great fighter and if it wasnt for the prison and mr.king who knows how many more he would have won.
Got to respect what he has achieved.

Plus, prime tyson beats liston at any era.
I love lennox but he caught tyson waaaaaay out of prime.

Originally Posted by imp

Tyson in his prime is a beast.
Tyson should be in everyones top 3.

Compare small heavyweight fighters from any era like tyson..
Tyson is faster, best head movement ive ever seen and has ko power with thighs the size of an elephant.

And not forgetting at the age of 13-15 this kid was sparking out full grown men.

Tyson is a machine.

Ali is what floyd is today.
Beautiful boxing turned into an art.

The prime, young Tyson was like no other heavyweight I've ever seen and I've no doubt that he would have given Ali plenty of trouble. There is absolutely no way Lewis would have beaten the young Tyson either. Whether he could have actually beaten Ali is a different matter though.

His power and hand speed were insane and for someone who stood right in front of you, right in your face, he was almost impossible to hit. The Reggie Gross defensive performance and KO is absolutely unbelievable! Show me another heavyweight who could do that!

You're right, he's definitely in my top three. It's just a shame that his peak was so short and he went off the rails like he did. Having said that, even when was the unbeaten undisputed champ, anyone who knew anything about Tyson was saying he would self destruct and that's exactly what he did.

I don't think the Spinks fight was his best performance. His most conclusive and devastating given the scale of the fight at the time, but not his best.

Tyson fought better but wiped out what some considered a very serious contender.

Originally Posted by tysonesque

Originally Posted by imp

Tyson in his prime is a beast.
Tyson should be in everyones top 3.

Compare small heavyweight fighters from any era like tyson..
Tyson is faster, best head movement ive ever seen and has ko power with thighs the size of an elephant.

And not forgetting at the age of 13-15 this kid was sparking out full grown men.

Tyson is a machine.

Ali is what floyd is today.
Beautiful boxing turned into an art.

The prime, young Tyson was like no other heavyweight I've ever seen and I've no doubt that he would have given Ali plenty of trouble. There is absolutely no way Lewis would have beaten the young Tyson either. Whether he could have actually beaten Ali is a different matter though.

His power and hand speed were insane and for someone who stood right in front of you, right in your face, he was almost impossible to hit. The Reggie Gross defensive performance and KO is absolutely unbelievable! Show me another heavyweight who could do that!

You're right, he's definitely in my top three. It's just a shame that his peak was so short and he went off the rails like he did. Having said that, even when was the unbeaten undisputed champ, anyone who knew anything about Tyson was saying he would self destruct and that's exactly what he did.

I don't think the Spinks fight was his best performance. His most conclusive and devastating given the scale of the fight at the time, but not his best.

It was impressive. But it was still only Reggie Gross

Originally Posted by drama2g

I've been writing a piece lately on Tyson vs Ali. I know it's been discussed so much amongst boxing fans that it's probably more annoying now than fun, but I think I really got something here. I've google searched the topic and not one out of hundreds of posts have taken the angle I'm working. I just need a few opinions here first. If you can spare a minute and answer some of these I would greatly appreciate it. thanks


What do you consider Tyson's best performance in the ring?
What do you consider Ali's best performance in the ring?
Do you think Tyson could have beat Sonny Liston?
Which Tyson opponent do you think would have given Ali the most trouble, or possibly even beat him?

I know there was more I wanted to ask, but of course I'm drawing a blank now.

Each to their own but for me its the second fight with Razor.

For Ali its a toss up. The first fight with Frazier is a stand out even though he lost. He was coming off close to a 3 1/2 yr forced retirement and it was his third fight in just over 4 months. The other is the Lyle fight. Ali was down on the cards going into the 11th round and put it all together and finished him.

I do think Tyson gets to Liston and stops him.

I think Razor and Lennox give Ali the most issues.

As far as a fight between the two goes, I used to almost auto default to picking Ali but as the years go by and one revisits the record and watches them both through their prime I really believe its a pickum fight. All the things Ali was susceptible to Tyson possessed. His hooks were sharper, shorter, faster and will much more power then Frazier. Best head movement of any hev I have ever seen. Odd considering he barely had a neck. Those attributes along with above average footwork made Mike also a master at getting underneath the jab. And lets be honest here Ali's was sloppy at times and he was an open glove flicker. Great range finder for plodders but...

Originally Posted by IamInuit

As far as a fight between the two goes, I used to almost auto default to picking Ali but as the years go by and one revisits the record and watches them both through their prime I really believe its a pickum fight. All the things Ali was susceptible to Tyson possessed. His hooks were sharper, shorter, faster and will much more power then Frazier. Best head movement of any hev I have ever seen. Odd considering he barely had a neck. Those attributes along with above average footwork made Mike also a master at getting underneath the jab. And lets be honest here Ali's was sloppy at times and he was an open glove flicker. Great range finder for plodders but...

Agreed, for years I picked Ali just because he was Ali, but prime Tyson is a tough test for any HW that ever lived. Ali never fought anyone with anything close to the combination of brute strength, explosive speed and defensive tactics that Tyson had.

When people say it's a cakewalk for Ali, or that Ali would actually KO Tyson, I just gotta shake my head.