http://http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jjZDXErFo2M
Imagine if THIS EH was fighting now against the bums of today?:p
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http://http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jjZDXErFo2M
Imagine if THIS EH was fighting now against the bums of today?:p
Still one of my favourite most watched fights of all time.
I still remeber on sky they replayed the whole card to the tune of Brian Adams, never be another tonight which included Benn - Collins, Wright - Bingham etc . Great night of boxing
Holyfield was not getting beat that night and I think he was even better in the rematch .
Evander Holyfield counter punched Mike Tyson's head off simple as that, the first fight i ever watched i was 7 at the time great time in my life.
The amazing thing about this was that Evander was considered shot and was picked because he was supposed to be a real threat any longer ...I guess Evander didn't get the memo ;)
....impressive BUUUUUT how good was Tyson at that point in his career? Everyone THOUGHT Mike was still the best but honestly he couldn't have beaten Bowe or Lewis or maybe even Briggs or Morrison at that point in time.
That version of Evander Holyfield would STILL have trouble with Wladimir and Vitali. Their size and strength alone would give ANY fighters trouble. But had THAT Evander Holyfield fought Nicolay Valuev he would have stopped him earlier or at least won on the cards by a very large amount.
Couldn't of beat Tommy Morrison or Shannon Briggs are you kidding me ? Shannon Briggs got a gift decision against a 47 year old George Foreman. And was stopped in embarrassing fashion by Darroll Wilson in 3 rounds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyle
And Tommy Morrisn had such a weak chin im sure Mike Tyson would of found it, sooner or later. Lets remember Tommy Morrison was dropped like a sack 3 times against Michael Bentt, dropped 2 times against Carl Williams. Brutally stopped by Ray Mercer, and all these fighters have something in common there not exactly big punchers.
And lastly Mike Tyson was still a good fighter at this point, not as good as the 80's version obviously. But he will would of beaten most of the top Heavyweights of the 90s except Bowe, Lewis, and of course Holyfield.
Mike Tyson was NOTHING after prison! The only good fighter he was able to beat was Donovan Rudduck.
Hell Fran Botha was whipping Mike's ass until Mike tried to break his arm and then hit him with a hell of counter punch.
Post 1990 Mike Tyson was ripe for the taking, he didn't fight any truly tough fighters other than Rudduck after prison. To compare eras if you take post prison Mike Tyson and put him in the current heavyweight division, he'd be fighting for the WBA belt and nothing more. Tyson after prison was kind of like De la Hoya after the first loss to Shane Mosley...he was out for money and not really trying to prove anything
According to my family, I watched a lot of boxing since I was a young child in the 80s. But the only fighter I remember watching was Tyson. I used to be so scared of him but couldn't keep myself from watching. When Holyfield was dominating him, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like watching the school bully get beat up...Quote:
Originally Posted by Nonito Donaire
The other side of that was that yeah,Mike was off from peak but people were openly fearing for Holyfields life going in,Ring predicted a 1st round KO for Tyson.One defied the odds and one was mentally & physically hammered.I think if the original fight dates would have held up and Tyson not sustain a drubbing from Douglas,then a rib injury (?),the result would have been pretty similiar.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyle
Mike was beyond his prime but at this point in their careers Holyfield was considered shot...Holyfield was .500 for his previous 4 fights with only a tight decision win against Mercer and a less than impressive TKO of Bobby Cyz...Holyfield was supposed to be easy pickens for Tyson and obviously wasn't....
To comment on the other fighters mentioned I doubt Tyson would not have done well against Morrison or even Mercer for that matter. Styles make fights and Tyson never did well against fighters that moved him backward which Morrison, Mercer, Tua, Foreman would have done...An early version of Tyson would have been able to deal with these fighters (maybe) but the post prison version while still quick handed and powerful could not deal with other move forward styled hard punchers. If you doubt this statement as yourself why Mike never made a fight with Foreman or Morrison which would have easily been the highest grossing fights in history?
Sure Holyfield was also considered on the downside of his career, he had 3 battles with Bowe, he had lost to Michael Moorer, and he had numerous health issues, heart problem, hepititus C, etc. .....but to be real about where Mike was in the sport psychologically and emotionally he was worse off than Holyfield but it takes hindsight to see that...Tyson was a circus act at that stage of his career, Holyfield was still a viable heavyweight fighter.
I still wonder how Tyson would have done vs Moorer, Bowe, Briggs, Morrison, Tua, Mercer, and McCall...and even Rahman to an extent, I really wanted to see that fight just to see how far gone Tyson was.
Holyfield is probaby one of the mentally toughest fighters to ever lace up. Mike would have never had a mental edge over Evander. I think with Mike would have had trouble with Evander even in his prime because he never liked getting bullied back and he would get frusterated and unravel like in all his loses.
I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spicoli surfs 'NawlinsThe other side of that was that yeah,Mike was off from peak but people were openly fearing for Holyfields life going in,Ring predicted a 1st round KO for Tyson.One defied the odds and one was mentally & physically hammered.I think if the original fight dates would have held up and Tyson not sustain a drubbing from Douglas,then a rib injury (?),the result would have been pretty similiar.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyle
Holyfield had Tysons number.
I think this was Holyfields heavy steroid days look at his body and his shoulders.
Even in Mike Tyson's prime he had some serious flaws and struggled, against much lesser fighters. For example yesterday i see him against Jose Ribelta and the same flaws which he had then, he had when he came out of prison.
For example i was seeing Mike Tyson getting easily tied up, losing his concentration and stop throwing combinations and looking for 1 big punch. And also getting lazy, and this was against a journeyman like Jose Ribelta. Imagine back then had Mike Tyson fought someone like Evander Holyfield, who could take his shots and give him just as much back ?
I think people just remember Mike Tyson's blow out wins against Michael Spinks, Trevor Berbick. And actually forget the flaws he had in his prime and the struggles he had against lesser fighters.
All you have to do is watch his fights against James Tillis, Tony Tucker. He wasn't that far away from losing to James Tillis. But the knockdown saved him, he was also getting outboxed by Tony Tucker until Tony Tucker broke his right hand after the 4th round and he went into retreat.
Rarely did Mike Tyson get a stoppage in the later rounds, an thats because he gets easily frustrated and stops setting things up and just looks for one big punch. And as i said earlier he also gets tied up very easily which was one of his biggest flaws.
Mike Tyson was some fighter in his prime but he is nowhere near as great, or unbeatable as people try to make him out to be. I see alot of flaws in his work even in his prime, and alot of those flaws he had when he got out of prison, except for the lack of head movement and ETC.
I agree that people get overboard on upsets, such as Pac and ODLH a recent exmple. Just highlighted one bit as I'm at a loss as which fighters 'pre Tyson passing prime' that fits that criteria?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyle
He'd have struggled (lost IMO) with Bowe/Lennox/Holy at any point in his career.
He'd struggle with Vit IMO due to the size and chin, but he'd get to Wlad. If he could take Bowe's sledghammer jab he'll walk through the mostly pawing jab of big Wlad.
Personally I think Holyfield would have always beaten Mike. I know that there are people who think Mike "in his prime" was unbeatable, pfft.
Holyfield was too much, Mike had some physical advantages, power, speed although Evander was pretty fast, but Evander was more skilled, the far more consistent fighter, the smarter fighter, physically tougher and insanely tougher mentally, he would have never been afraid of Mike.
Excuse me?!?!?! PAWING?!?!?!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bomp
#1 There's no proof that Tyson would have "walked through" Riddick Bowe's jab
#2 Wlad's jab is (I'll go out on a limb) the best in the history of the heavyweight division. It lands like a power punch, ask Lamon Brewster.
#3 Mike Tyson had trouble with Tucker's jab.....Wlad could "paw" him into submission.
Wlad would humiliate the post prison Tyson...no head movement, looking for one big shot....that's no different than Sam Peter.