Top 10 heavyweights of wlad's era...

[rjj tszyu]

Hmmmm, if Tua and Byrd are classed as his era, shouldn't Lennoz, Tyson and Evander at least get a mention? When Wlad first held the WBO, Lennox was the WBC and IBF (not to mention linear champ too) and Evander was WBA champ. I think that year 2000 Lennox would have all but killed any version of Wladimir. As for Tyson he'd just made Golota quit around about that time too and I think Tyson vs Wlad at that time would have been an interesting fight but one that Mike would end up KO winner in.

Now I know Wlad has improved a shit load since then and I'd actually pick Wlad to beat any version of Tyson NOW, I just think it's a horrible matchup for Tyson.

Very interesting that you've come to my side of thinking about Tyson vs Wlad. I just figure if Buster Douglas a very hit & miss inconsistent fighter could really hand Tyson a boxing lesson and given Tyson's struggles with Tony Tucker (who had a broken hand) & Lennox Lewis who just manhandled Mike, you've got to figure win or lose it's at the very least "not an easy fight for Tyson". The way Wlad fights on the outside ties up on the inside, uses height, reach, weight, and as athletic as he is, it's hard to see Tyson getting to him with more than one punch at a time which he would need to end the fight.


I would rate Lennox Lewis as the top heavyweight in Wlad's era (bar Wlad himself of course), it's a shame they never fought, but who knows how different things could have panned out. Who knows, if Lewis would have lost perhaps he would be like Evander and still be fighting on, trying to redeem himself.

I think Lamon Brewster should be rated higher. He was a very solid durable fighter and had solid power.

Looking at the fighters you've listed it really makes me think about the fights Wlad could have had: Golota, Ruiz, Liakhovich, Evander Holyfield, Oleg Maskaev, Luan Krasniqi, Nicolay Valuev. There could have been some good fights in that group for Wlad.

I've always questioned Tysons career as he fought no one in his so called invincible prime that really stood a chance IMO. The best 2 names are an almost 40 year old Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks who was no HW to be fair. Buster was too good on the night, would he have been in a rematch? Who knows? Buster was on it that night no doubt, had his mother just died? I'm sure it was something like that!

But as for PRIME Wlad vs Tyson, providing Wlad didn't turn up scared which I doubt, he's never fought anyone with a rep like Tysons so it's hard to be sure, BUT as long as he wasn't scared of Tyson I think he schools Tyson. After the first 3 rounds of Mike charging at him and being jabbed and grabbed, HE WOULD LOSE HEART. That was Tysons biggest enemy, he expected to blow people away and if it didn't happen he just imploded. Also the way Tyson fought wouldn't help him see too many rounds vs Wlad either. It's not like he would take Haye's way and move and stay out of Wlads reach all night. He'd be moving forward bobbing and weaving but Wlads jab is top class and I'd fancy it to gain Mikes respect fast.

On the flipside Wlads chin would give way IF Tyson could get to it CLEAN but that's no easy feat these days especially with someone giving up 8 inches in height and probably the same again in reach. Just a horrible matchup for Tyson IMO.

[El Kabong]

I've always questioned Tysons career as he fought no one in his so called invincible prime that really stood a chance IMO. The best 2 names are an almost 40 year old Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks who was no HW to be fair. Buster was too good on the night, would he have been in a rematch? Who knows? Buster was on it that night no doubt, had his mother just died? I'm sure it was something like that!

But as for PRIME Wlad vs Tyson, providing Wlad didn't turn up scared which I doubt, he's never fought anyone with a rep like Tysons so it's hard to be sure, BUT as long as he wasn't scared of Tyson I think he schools Tyson. After the first 3 rounds of Mike charging at him and being jabbed and grabbed, HE WOULD LOSE HEART. That was Tysons biggest enemy, he expected to blow people away and if it didn't happen he just imploded. Also the way Tyson fought wouldn't help him see too many rounds vs Wlad either. It's not like he would take Haye's way and move and stay out of Wlads reach all night. He'd be moving forward bobbing and weaving but Wlads jab is top class and I'd fancy it to gain Mikes respect fast.

On the flipside Wlads chin would give way IF Tyson could get to it CLEAN but that's no easy feat these days especially with someone giving up 8 inches in height and probably the same again in reach. Just a horrible matchup for Tyson IMO.

Yeah, once you take a good hard look at Tyson's career and the greats he fought and how he did against them you soon realize that though he's better than Bruno & Ruddock he never did that well vs Lewis & Holyfield. Certainly the points in his career in which he had those fights did not coincide with his infamous "Prime" but how long did that "Prime" last? A couple of years at the very most. Kevin Rooney himself said when Tyson stopped using him as a trainer in 1988 there were signs of him slipping up very soon after. Rooney trained Tyson from 85 to 88 and those are the years where Tyson was "unbeatable" but look who he fought. You want to talk about weak heavyweight era look no further than the post Holmes pre Holyfield heavyweight division.....completely devoid of talent. Looking at the history of fighters of Tyson's ilk (Floyd Patterson, Jose Torres, et al) one also notices that they burn out very quickly and also they have trouble with fighters who control distance and tie up on the inside. Prime v Prime Tyson would have at the most 5 rounds to stop Wlad, after 5 rounds the pace slows for Tyson and there's less and less chance of him winning. If Wlad survives the first 2 rounds and any round after (if) he scores a knockdown on Tyson then the fight is elementary, it's Wlad by TKO/KO late.

I do wonder how Wlad would have done vs Evander Holyfield just after Holyfield beat Ruiz & Wlad beat Byrd for the first time in 2000. I think it would have been a very special fight. Nobody knows now or back then if Holyfield could have taken the punches from Wlad or if Wlad was patient enough or durable enough to handle Holyfield at that time. Would have been a real bust up IMO!

[Master]

Peak Tyson beats Wlad, who will not be able to hold off the ferocity of Tyson’s combination punching, speed, accuracy and power. Wlad will try and hold, paw with his jab, panic and get knocked out in 5-6 rounds. Other than that Wlad does OK against Tyson.

[El Kabong]

Peak Tyson beats Wlad, who will not be able to hold off the ferocity of Tyson’s combination punching, speed, accuracy and power. Wlad will try and hold, paw with his jab, panic and get knocked out in 5-6 rounds. Other than that Wlad does OK against Tyson.

Wlad 6'6....Mike Tyson 5'10
Wlad's reach 81".....Tyson's 71"
Weight Wlad 244...Tyson 218

Sure he's quick and fast and all, but I just don't see Tyson beating Wlad at Wlad's peak.

[rjj tszyu]

Peak Tyson beats Wlad, who will not be able to hold off the ferocity of Tyson’s combination punching, speed, accuracy and power. Wlad will try and hold, paw with his jab, panic and get knocked out in 5-6 rounds. Other than that Wlad does OK against Tyson.

Wlad 6'6....Mike Tyson 5'10
Wlad's reach 81".....Tyson's 71"
Weight Wlad 244...Tyson 218

Sure he's quick and fast and all, but I just don't see Tyson beating Wlad at Wlad's peak.

Tyson only ever fought one person who was in the Premier League and was similar sizewise to Wlad and he got schooled.

As for all this prime Tyson shit, I don't buy it. Tyson fought Bruno in '89 and got hurt but when he came out of prison and fought him again in '96 he beat the shit out of Bruno and Bruno had improved in that time too. I just find that Tyson fans like to fall back on him being past it, I on the other hand prefer to look at WHO he fought in this time and in his PRIME he fought no one after it he fought Lennox and Evander got schooled and then Tyson fans just claim he's past it.

He was still blowing bums away though just like in his prime

[Master]

Bruno style was made to order for Tyson which was why he beat him convincingly the second time. The first time he had a fight with Mitch Green, broke his hand, marriage problems and was not ready mentally.

Tucker hurt his hand on Tyson with the uppercut and he had no problems with him, so stop making up Tyson had issues.

Tyson destroyed his opponents, as bad as you may want to make them out to be, he obliterated them like a great fighter that he was.

Wlads holding would only stall the inevitable, which is being beaten by Tyson.

[Hulk]

Bruno style was made to order for Tyson which was why he beat him convincingly the second time. The first time he had a fight with Mitch Green, broke his hand, marriage problems and was not ready mentally.

Tucker hurt his hand on Tyson with the uppercut and he had no problems with him, so stop making up Tyson had issues.

Tyson destroyed his opponents, as bad as you may want to make them out to be, he obliterated them like a great fighter that he was.

Wlads holding would only stall the inevitable, which is being beaten by Tyson.

Master how long you reckon it would have taken Tyson to stop Tony Thompson ?

Or Sultan Ibragimov ?

[El Kabong]

Tyson only ever fought one person who was in the Premier League and was similar sizewise to Wlad and he got schooled.

As for all this prime Tyson shit, I don't buy it. Tyson fought Bruno in '89 and got hurt but when he came out of prison and fought him again in '96 he beat the shit out of Bruno and Bruno had improved in that time too. I just find that Tyson fans like to fall back on him being past it, I on the other hand prefer to look at WHO he fought in this time and in his PRIME he fought no one after it he fought Lennox and Evander got schooled and then Tyson fans just claim he's past it.

He was still blowing bums away though just like in his prime

People don't like to be realistic about their favorites. I'm certain I view Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, George Foreman, and The Klitschko brothers that way, but I don't think it's any more or less ridiculous as the Tyson and Ali assumptions that they were the 2 single best fighters ever in the history of the sport. These athletes are men, they aren't perfect and they all had their issues with certain styles at certain points in time in their careers.

I like to see what matchups would cause a fighter the most trouble and ponder the results of that hypothetical match. For example the Wlad-Holyfield in 2000 match. This is the post Purrity but pre Sanders & more importantly pre Brewster Wlad who fought in a crouch and went in to fight both guns a blazin' vs the post Lewis rematch Holyfield who just barely eeked by John Ruiz. To give some background, in 2002 Wladimir demolished Ray Mercer in 6 rounds becoming the first ever fighter to stop him. Now I concede Wlad's chin is suspect, his defense at this time was horrible, he was a 1 dimensional fighter and Holyfield was as durable as the day is long until the James Toney fight where he tore his rotator cuff. That being said, Holyfield's lack of punching power and ever so slightly diminished punching output could have allowed Wladimir to really bust him up for 5-6 rounds, the problems would come later and either Wlad wears down or wears down Evander and to me that's a great question in hindsight.


For Mike Tyson, the matches I think would have really boosted his legacy (not that it needed it) would have been post prison matches vs Riddick Bowe & Shannon Briggs, maybe Michael Moorer or George Foreman as well. Now I am 100% certain Foreman would manhandle Tyson at damn near any point in his career. As much of a monster as Tyson was, Foreman was bigger...meaner...and scarier. Riddick Bowe & Michael Moorer both beat Evander Holyfield who was Tyson's main nemisis. Moorer had speed and good power, but I think durability would have been his worst enemy vs Tyson ALTHOUGH MM took Holyfield's best shots when Tyson did not so it would have been interesting to see that play out. Riddick Bowe had the style to beat Tyson, the size, the skill, the heart....butI think his power is overrated, his chin is overrated, and he did not has discipline in the ring. Bowe would give up his height and reach on numerous occasions and it would make the fight more difficult for himself...Tyson could have beaten Bowe IMO. Shannon Briggs was one of the most dangerous fighters of recent memory. Big, fast hands, powerful, and athletic...a post prison Tyson would have trouble, but the heart of Briggs was occasionally weak and if anyone could make you question yourself in the ring it would have to be Tyson....Tommy Morrison would have also been a good fight and a HUGE money maker. If Tyson fought Morrison it would have been damn near close to Holmes-Cooney in regards to hype and electricity around the match, Tyson probably wins that one as well, but it would have been damn fun to watch.

[TitoFan]

Peak Tyson beats Wlad, who will not be able to hold off the ferocity of Tyson’s combination punching, speed, accuracy and power. Wlad will try and hold, paw with his jab, panic and get knocked out in 5-6 rounds. Other than that Wlad does OK against Tyson.

Wlad 6'6....Mike Tyson 5'10
Wlad's reach 81".....Tyson's 71"
Weight Wlad 244...Tyson 218

Sure he's quick and fast and all, but I just don't see Tyson beating Wlad at Wlad's peak.

I don't see the point of using height and reach as arguments. Razor Ruddock was 6-3, with an 82" reach..... and prime Tyson handled him just fine. And Wlad's chin is more questionable than Razor's. It's ok to give Wlad his props.... but a prime Tyson takes him apart.

Wlad would not fight Tyson like Buster Douglas fought him.... driving him back.... refusing to be bullied.... trading with Tyson. That's not Wlad's style. And if and when Tyson ever connected one of those haymakers against Wlad, it would be "good night Irene". Gotta keep it real.

[IamInuit]

Peak Tyson beats Wlad, who will not be able to hold off the ferocity of Tyson’s combination punching, speed, accuracy and power. Wlad will try and hold, paw with his jab, panic and get knocked out in 5-6 rounds. Other than that Wlad does OK against Tyson.

Wlad 6'6....Mike Tyson 5'10
Wlad's reach 81".....Tyson's 71"
Weight Wlad 244...Tyson 218

Sure he's quick and fast and all, but I just don't see Tyson beating Wlad at Wlad's peak.

I don't see the point of using height and reach as arguments. Razor Ruddock was 6-3, with an 82" reach..... and prime Tyson handled him just fine. And Wlad's chin is more questionable than Razor's. It's ok to give Wlad his props.... but a prime Tyson takes him apart.

Wlad would not fight Tyson like Buster Douglas fought him.... driving him back.... refusing to be bullied.... trading with Tyson. That's not Wlad's style. And if and when Tyson ever connected one of those haymakers against Wlad, it would be "good night Irene". Gotta keep it real.

Exactly.

There are two Wlads in the same career. The pre-clinch Wlad and the post-clinch Wlad. I’m sure the Wlad that learned how to clinch gives Tyson a tougher out but really the prime Tyson prior to getting ruined completely by King would have butchered Wlad and I’m no fan of either. Reach and height are negated here by speed, pin point freight train punching and some of the best head movement ever. Add this to Wlads notorious slow starts and he’s a goner. He might want to put a couple of ads on the bottom of his shoes.

[p4pking]

Peak Tyson beats Wlad, who will not be able to hold off the ferocity of Tyson’s combination punching, speed, accuracy and power. Wlad will try and hold, paw with his jab, panic and get knocked out in 5-6 rounds. Other than that Wlad does OK against Tyson.

Wlad 6'6....Mike Tyson 5'10
Wlad's reach 81".....Tyson's 71"
Weight Wlad 244...Tyson 218

Sure he's quick and fast and all, but I just don't see Tyson beating Wlad at Wlad's peak.

I don't see the point of using height and reach as arguments. Razor Ruddock was 6-3, with an 82" reach..... and prime Tyson handled him just fine. And Wlad's chin is more questionable than Razor's. It's ok to give Wlad his props.... but a prime Tyson takes him apart.

Wlad would not fight Tyson like Buster Douglas fought him.... driving him back.... refusing to be bullied.... trading with Tyson. That's not Wlad's style. And if and when Tyson ever connected one of those haymakers against Wlad, it would be "good night Irene". Gotta keep it real.

Exactly.

There are two Wlads in the same career. The pre-clinch Wlad and the post-clinch Wlad. I’m sure the Wlad that learned how to clinch gives Tyson a tougher out but really the prime Tyson prior to getting ruined completely by King would have butchered Wlad and I’m no fan of either. Reach and height are negated here by speed, pin point freight train punching and some of the best head movement ever. Add this to Wlads notorious slow starts and he’s a goner. He might want to put a couple of ads on the bottom of his shoes.

Agree with the both of you. Tyson struggled with Tony Tucker, Green and to an extent Ruddock(although that was already well past Tysons best form), but those guys had chins. I can't envision any way Wlad would avoid getting tagged early and hence losing by KO, simple as.

[rjj tszyu]

Peak Tyson beats Wlad, who will not be able to hold off the ferocity of Tyson’s combination punching, speed, accuracy and power. Wlad will try and hold, paw with his jab, panic and get knocked out in 5-6 rounds. Other than that Wlad does OK against Tyson.

Wlad 6'6....Mike Tyson 5'10
Wlad's reach 81".....Tyson's 71"
Weight Wlad 244...Tyson 218

Sure he's quick and fast and all, but I just don't see Tyson beating Wlad at Wlad's peak.

I don't see the point of using height and reach as arguments. Razor Ruddock was 6-3, with an 82" reach..... and prime Tyson handled him just fine. And Wlad's chin is more questionable than Razor's. It's ok to give Wlad his props.... but a prime Tyson takes him apart.

Wlad would not fight Tyson like Buster Douglas fought him.... driving him back.... refusing to be bullied.... trading with Tyson. That's not Wlad's style. And if and when Tyson ever connected one of those haymakers against Wlad, it would be "good night Irene". Gotta keep it real.

Exactly.

There are two Wlads in the same career. The pre-clinch Wlad and the post-clinch Wlad. I’m sure the Wlad that learned how to clinch gives Tyson a tougher out but really the prime Tyson prior to getting ruined completely by King would have butchered Wlad and I’m no fan of either. Reach and height are negated here by speed, pin point freight train punching and some of the best head movement ever. Add this to Wlads notorious slow starts and he’s a goner. He might want to put a couple of ads on the bottom of his shoes.

And who in his prime did he take on and beat that makes you think he would beat Wlad? It's ok saying he'd blow such and such away. Tyson blew bums away, I never ever in all his career saw him blow out a top notch fighter in his prime. He fought a past his prime Evander and got fucking hammered and a prime Lewis (to be fair Tyson was in clear decline by this time) and got obliterated.

Wlad is a top notch fighter whether you like his style or not. I think Tyson has serious issues with Wlad.

[AdamGB]

If it was most talented Haye would be top 10.

But as he hasn 't applied those talents much he can't be top ten of Wlad's era.

So far his most notable achievements have been winning the wba strap and stopping John Ruiz.

As I said he hasn't done as much as a lot guts whom he may have more talent than. He hasn't achieved what Ruiz has at heavy for example.

[ICB]

Peak Tyson beats Wlad, who will not be able to hold off the ferocity of Tyson’s combination punching, speed, accuracy and power. Wlad will try and hold, paw with his jab, panic and get knocked out in 5-6 rounds. Other than that Wlad does OK against Tyson.

Wlad 6'6....Mike Tyson 5'10
Wlad's reach 81".....Tyson's 71"
Weight Wlad 244...Tyson 218

Sure he's quick and fast and all, but I just don't see Tyson beating Wlad at Wlad's peak.

It's not always about size, Chisora gave Vitali a tough fight just imagine if that was Tyson. Also Tyson beat tall Heavyweights like 6'5 Tucker. Sometime's being short is an advantage as crazy as that sounds, watch how an incredibly short Light Heavyweight/Cruiserweight Dwight Muhammad Qawi, used his shortness to make him a very target to hit, making much taller guys punch down leaving themselves exposed then Qawi would explode by coming down then up, something Mike Tyson was a master at, Wladimir Klitschko has a weak chin and suspect stamina. And the tough fights he's been in hes normally crumbled.

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

It's not always about size, Chisora gave Vitali a tough fight just imagine if that was Tyson.

Chisora won 3 rounds against a 41 year old with an injured arm! A 100% fit/primed vitali stops chisora quite easily...

Also Tyson beat tall Heavyweights like 6'5 Tucker

Beat tucker 7 rounds to 5. Tony Tucker has become vastly overrated by Tyson fans. I shudder to think what the likes of tua and ike would have done to tucker...