Prime Mike Tyson in this era

[tysonesque]

Tyson would clean up in this era even more convincingly than he did in the 80s.

Wlad is made to measure for Tyson and would be out of there as soon as Tyson caught him clean on the chin. I wouldn't be surprised if it was over in a couple of rounds.

Vitali probably gives Mike a few problems and can take a shot, so I see that going the distance with Tyson taking the decision quite comfortably.

[TysonBomb]

Tyson would clean up in this era even more convincingly than he did in the 80s.

Wlad is made to measure for Tyson and would be out of there as soon as Tyson caught him clean on the chin. I wouldn't be surprised if it was over in a couple of rounds.

Vitali probably gives Mike a few problems and can take a shot, so I see that going the distance with Tyson taking the decision quite comfortably.

Sanders speed shocked Vitali

Tyson is going to take him out ... maybe even early.

Pele Reid style

[tysonesque]

Tyson would clean up in this era even more convincingly than he did in the 80s.

Wlad is made to measure for Tyson and would be out of there as soon as Tyson caught him clean on the chin. I wouldn't be surprised if it was over in a couple of rounds.

Vitali probably gives Mike a few problems and can take a shot, so I see that going the distance with Tyson taking the decision quite comfortably.

Sanders speed shocked Vitali

Tyson is going to take him out ... maybe even early.

Pele Reid style

I'm not so sure Mike would KO Vitali. He certainly wouldn't have decked him with a single shot. Maybe if he lands a big combination on him, but otherwise it goes the distance in my opinion.

Vitali proved against Lewis that he takes one hell of a punch.

I see Tyson being too quick and out working Vitali on his way to a decision.

[TysonBomb]

Tyson would clean up in this era even more convincingly than he did in the 80s.

Wlad is made to measure for Tyson and would be out of there as soon as Tyson caught him clean on the chin. I wouldn't be surprised if it was over in a couple of rounds.

Vitali probably gives Mike a few problems and can take a shot, so I see that going the distance with Tyson taking the decision quite comfortably.

Sanders speed shocked Vitali

Tyson is going to take him out ... maybe even early.

Pele Reid style

I'm not so sure Mike would KO Vitali. He certainly wouldn't have decked him with a single shot. Maybe if he lands a big combination on him, but otherwise it goes the distance in my opinion.

Vitali proved against Lewis that he takes one hell of a punch.

I see Tyson being too quick and out working Vitali on his way to a decision.

Vitali having a great chin is largely an untested myth. Lewis landed some good punches on him and he took them ... so what? Vitali said he SAW all of the punches so he clearly braced for impact and was mentally prepared to take them. Corrie Sanders had him shocked with his speed and sent him backwards. Tyson is just as fast if not faster in terms of hand speed and puts together excellent combinations.

Other than two old shot guys in Lewis and Sanders, Vitali has NEVER fought against a truly powerful puncher.

Also Vitali has NO inside game at all. If he doesn't control the distance he can't win ... Tyson would be moving in and going to the body. Vitali would either backpeddle or try and clinch. If he tries to fight him he's toast. Tyson would show no respect and keep the pressure on him. He can try and peck at him but he doesn't really possess an uppercut, the one punch that was really effective against Mike.

5th round KO

[tysonesque]

I don't think we can say Vitali doesn't have a chin. I forget what round it was in, but Lewis hit him with a monster uppercut that would have taken a lot of fighter's heads off and Vitali barely flinched.

Prime Mike would have been too quick for Vitali and easily out works him, but his sheer size would have made it difficult for Mike to catch him with big combinations to the head.

[TysonBomb]

I don't think we can say Vitali doesn't have a chin. I forget what round it was in, but Lewis hit him with a monster uppercut that would have taken a lot of fighter's heads off and Vitali barely flinched.

Prime Mike would have been too quick for Vitali and easily out works him, but his sheer size would have made it difficult for Mike to catch him with big combinations to the head.

Tyson wasn't a head hunter then ... if the body was available he'd dig right into it.

He does have a good chin but its not super amazing if we can only base it from one fight. Plus he said that he Lewis was slow and he saw everything coming. Compare that with a Tyson uppercut that he would never see coming. The speed difference is too great and Tyson would charge him.

[tysonesque]

I don't think we can say Vitali doesn't have a chin. I forget what round it was in, but Lewis hit him with a monster uppercut that would have taken a lot of fighter's heads off and Vitali barely flinched.

Prime Mike would have been too quick for Vitali and easily out works him, but his sheer size would have made it difficult for Mike to catch him with big combinations to the head.

Tyson wasn't a head hunter then ... if the body was available he'd dig right into it.

He does have a good chin but its not super amazing if we can only base it from one fight. Plus he said that he Lewis was slow and he saw everything coming. Compare that with a Tyson uppercut that he would never see coming. The speed difference is too great and Tyson would charge him.

I guess there is a possibility that Tyson could force the ref to step in, but I just can't see Vitali being counted out.

To be honest though, anything is possible with prime Tyson.

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

James Tillis frustrated the hell out of him and made him look inept at times so put him in with any boxer with quick hands!

Holy schooled him and Douglas broke him. So let's not make out he would run through everyone....

I'd favour him over everyone except K2 and maybe the 2 quick southpaws Byrd and Ibragimov.

[OMGWTF]

I firmly believe Tyson would destroy all of them, and he would of taken out a prime lennox lewis, he never would have beaten holyfield though.

Basically Vitali has been flawed and wobbled by lesser punchers than the bombs Tyson throws, and thats a severe understatement, not many of you have seen vitali kickboxing, his chin isnt iron, its solid, but not Tyson solid and tall fighters are tailor made for Tysons style.

Only someone with an exceptional chin or power could beat a prime Tyson e.g. holyfield ali for chin and perhaps a slugger like foreman could beat him too, buster dougless was a fluke 9/10 times Tyson would beat buster dougless.

[Beanflicker]

I think a lot of you guys are really underestimating the Klitschkos. Yeah, Tyson was probably the greatest puncher in HW history (his combination of power + speed + punching variety is unmatched imo), but like any puncher, he needed to plant his feet.

You guys forget that he often had a lot of problems getting off and landing on big, tall guys who tied him up when he got close. Even 6'4'' bum Mike Jameson effectively tied Mike up and stifled his offense for the first few rounds. 6'4'' James Smith stifled his big punch largely, as did 6'5'' Tony Tucker.

Would Tyson beat the Klitschkos? Like I said, for me it's a toss up. But for all you who think Tyson would just walk in there and bomb them out because they caught punches from Corrie Sanders is just rediculous. The Klitschkos didn't dominate a division just by being big - they have the skill and the knowledge to back it up. They've been great at keep guys out of range and not allowed guys to get set.

[THE THIRD MAN]

Those with short memories will dismiss Tyson's chances against the Klits, a prime 1986-89 Tyson beats all of them including the Klits.

[johnsebastianmiran]

I know that not everyone will agree with what I have to say but in order to be called great, we are sometimes mistaken when we call a fighter great. Everyone has great moments or in this scenario nights but very few of us can transcend these moments into an era. Great fighters are mistakenly called great for having great nights. What makes a fighter great is the training, the homework and living the lifestyle of a fighter. Some call themselves warriors but be careful because soldiers are often called warriors when they are trained for what they do and a good soldier like a good fighter is open for greatness. He does his job with the resources available to him and a renewable, mind you renewable desire each time he gets into the ring. Warriors in certain parts of history are known as mindless killers, not a good image. Know what you mean and mean what you say. In summation, yes under the wing of Rooney given all the sets of circumstances that got him there minus, Ruthless Roper and Robbing Givens, he could with training and the right coaching repeat his feats in this era because with those tools, you have fighters that care and most of all, realistic. I don't know about great but if you think back into your own life you just may find you are capable of doing better things if you had patience, education and perseverance. Champion has a good ring to it, right? Most of the contenders in the heavyweight division should fight more often because if Mike was here they'd definitely need to practice survival of the fittest. I'm not the biggest fan of Mike Tyson but his greatness was never truly fulfilled because he was distracted.