Lewis vs Tyson

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TysonBomb

Both at their absolute best .... Who wins?

---

Lewis.

Tyson would beat Lewis prime for prime. Lewis was cautious by nature and he would have fought on the back foot and ensured that he survived to the last bell but with Tyson winning a unanimous decision.

There's a lot to factor in. Both at their primes:
- Lewis was still about 20-25-lbs heavier and knew how to use his weight (it had him getting winded and take a middle round off here or there)
- Tyson was in top condition and had better balance and stamina.
- Tyson moved his head not his just hands; he was hard to hit and when he was hit, he took it well.
- Lewis had already learned his lesson about throwing with guys and was cautious which kept him from getting careless, so he could cut you up as long as he was able to lead at a slow and steady pace.
- Tyson's mind was still in boxing at that point (before the women, drugs, and the leeches got to him)
- Lewis had Steward which negates the Ko loss to Mcall (who was trained by Steward) but not the KO loss to Rachman (Poor training?)
- Tyson had Rooney, Jacobs and other support to keep his head straight.Tyson had less reason to be afraid--he was always mentally insecure but in the right settings (trainer, polished skills, no distractions) he was a machine.
- Is the ref going to allow Lewis to clinch/ hold/lean like he did with Evander to sap away his opponents legs?
- Will the ref allow intimidation tactics from tyson (no arm bars in his prime but definitely forearms).
- Height/Reach would have been an advantage for Lewis; Tyson was no sitting duck like Tua (Who was also 30-35lbs over his prime weight)

There's a lot of stuff to be taken to into account. The more I take into account, the more I lean towards tyson. No annihilation or obliteration. Lewis was good at playing chess when he was given time and space. He knew to pick apart the brawlers and bum rush the guys with the jitters. It just seems that with the prime stipulation, Tyson's stock seems to rise more than Lewis'. Most people don't remember tyson being a student of the game and boxing because all they remember are the one punch knockouts and scared opponents taking a beating, then folding. Make no mistake, many of those guys knew they stood to gain more by beating tyson than losing to them. Don't think they didn't train, try or plot to. Tyson in his prime needed a less specific set of circumstances in order to be successful. He went about his work the same way no matter what the opponent brought. Tyson would have less issues about fighting a Prime Lewis with a height and weight advantage than Lewis would have trying to negate the pressure from a Prime Tyson. Just My opinion.

People dissmiss Mikes win over Holmes but look at this way.

If Larry had not have fought Mike and but had the rest of his career as it happened, beating an undefeated olympic gold medalist, pushing Holyfield, pushing McCall etc.

If someone brought up now, how Mike would have done against Holmes. All the Tyson eevisionists would say, "if am older Holmes can stand up to Mercer, Holyfield and McCall being moe than competative, with his jab, movement and chin, the younger Holmes stands up to the bully and frustrates him to take it to points".

Fact of the matter is, what Mike did to Holmes, I doubt very much that any other fighter EVER could have done but twats chose to dismiss it and forget that Holmes was still a very capable fighter when even older! When he took the fight with Mike, he was only 18 months removed from his second fight with Spinks (Mayweather was retired longer when he came back to beat Marquez). When Holmes came back to show up the nineties heavies, he had been retired nearly 3 years!

Lewis would have struggled with the same Holmes that Holyfield fought. The Tyson that fought Holmes was a vastly different fighter to that, that even fought Rudduck, let alone when he came out of prison having not fought for 4 years or when he finally faced Holyfield and Lewis. They werent better fighters. Holyfield could never hope to have the same kind of result against a younger Holmes.