Prime Mike Tyson in this era

[Beanflicker]

Prime Tyson was fast and slick enough to crack thunderous punches onto both of their heads.

Could be. I do know that neither Klitschko would just blow over like a card house along the lines of a David Jaco, like some posters seem to think.

It's a tough fight for Mike and it's a tough fight for either Klitschko. Tyson had a lot of power and speed but hey, so does David Haye. Not saying David Haye = Tyson, but Haye found out quickly that it's easier said than done to just go in there and bomb out a Klitschko. We're talking about two guys with serious size, punching power, speed, educated jabs and superior HW foot movement and range. It's a tough fight for Mike.

[IamInuit]

One thing I have noticed over the years is that boxing fans have the shortest memories in sport. Not only short memories but also selective. Many tend to remember what a guy looked like on his worst day or the months of decline before he left.

I never liked Tyson at the time but that's not relevant. That guy was a machine even leading into his prime years. He started fighting in 1985 and by the end of 1986 he was already at the top of the food chain having fought 15 times in 85 and 13 times in 86 ending in a title. That's unprecedented now and in the mid eighties when it happened.

Tyson was unstoppable for a time. The mere sight of him coming to the ring with no socks, black no frill boots and shorts with a head hole cut through a terry cloth would have most of the guys mentioned asking for a fresh pair of Depends. Its at that very moment that many of Tysons opponents folded. The highlight reels of the man they watched replaying in their minds. I think Wlad falls into that category. Tyson simply gets underneath that jab and it does not end well for Wlad.Tyson probably had the best head movement in boxing history for a heavyweight and could bob and weave as good as any other.He also was extremely fast for a heavyweight.

Vitali could prove more difficult but damn he stands straight up and moves straight back with that kind of posture. He also carries his lead hand at his waist in the process. He gets away with that with slower and less aggressive fighters but its unclear whether he could cope with the Tyson continuous on-slot. Its probably a toss up as others have mentioned. Personally I don't see it going to the cards and I don't see Vitali making it out of the fight off his back in a slug fest.

[TitoFan]

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.

Well..........

Not really. Remember Tyson's flying left hooks, where he practically lifted himself off the ground with the power they were thrown. Sure... he planted his feet. But the delivery of these shots was so-o-o quick, the opponent had little time to react with defense. Tyson's short arms and natural quickness gave him so much hand speed... and with power... that it basically neutralized a lot of bigger men's defenses.

But I think it's a mistake to lump in Vitali with Wladimir. Some say they would both lose to Tyson... some say both would beat Tyson. I'm with the group that says Tyson would annilihate Wlad, but would have a much harder time against Vitali. Tyson might still win... but it's by no means a foregone conclusion.

Vitali's chin was in fact a lot more resistant than Wlad's. That is an undisputable truth. Yeah he was slow and ponderous... but he's never been in trouble and much less knocked down or KO'ed.

[TysonBomb]

Notice that in those isolated gifs of Tillis doing reasonably well against Tyson (that you probably jacked from a user named "Tezel" of another boxing forum) that he was using UPPERCUTS

A punch that NEITHER Klit throws, especially Wlad.

Neither Klit would survive ... because nethier of them can fight inside ... Wladimir was KTFO by Sanders while attempting to clinch ... if he can't handle Sanders speed then what about Tyson who had speed that was off the charts ?Vitali and Wladimir are both bothered by speed ... as show in the Sanders fights.

Tyson was scoring KOs in the middle of someone trying to clinch him. Remember the second Bruno fight? Tyson KOed Bruno while he tried to clinch him.

Vitalis chin will only last for so long ... Tyson was KOing guys who had iron chins and had never been KOed before. Either that or his face would fall apart from the dynamite in Tyson's gloves. Tyson wouldn't allow him to control the distance and then Vitali would be an open target for Tyson to explode on.

Vitali could see Lewis's punches, which is why he could take them but he wouldn't see Tyson's, who would be throwing from every angle and in bunches with lightning hand speed.

[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.

[Mr140]

Well Tyson crushing cans few ok fighters and atg who was past his beast does not mean he could beat a elite fighter. I mean he lost to Douglas for fuck sake Wlad lost to people who he should not have either. I mean Wlad may not have fought great fighters so its kinda of a unknown. Tyson Has fought greats like Holyfeild and Lewis but those fighters crushed him. I never seen fighter ranked so high on some people list with out the resume to back it up. Ali, Foreman, Lewis and Holyfeild beat great fighters and were competitive for a long time thats what made them great.

[TysonBomb]

Well Tyson crushing cans few ok fighters and atg who was past his beast does not mean he could beat a elite fighter. I mean he lost to Douglas for fuck sake Wlad lost to people who he should not have either. I mean Wlad may not have fought great fighters so its kinda of a unknown. Tyson Has fought greats like Holyfeild and Lewis but those fighters crushed him. I never seen fighter ranked so high on some people list with out the resume to back it up. Ali, Foreman, Lewis and Holyfeild beat great fighters and were competitive for a long time thats what made them great.

Ali is "great" because he beat Frazier who was "great" because he beat Ali.

This BS about fighting "great" fighters is overstated. Who the hell did Holmes beat to be considered "great"? Why is Holyfield "great"? Because he has a 26-10 record as a heavyweight? A JOURNEYMAN record?? If his best win is against Tyson, who is a bum, then why is he great?

Post prison Tyson "losing" to Holyfield and to Lewis when he was a walking zombie doesn't mean anything. Tyson beat Michael Spinks, the greatest LHW ever ... he also beat Holmes, who is supposed to be "great" according to you.

Yeah I will concede that he didn't fight in a particular special era but he beat everyone there and made a resurgence after he lost. You can't blame Tyson for things he didn't have control over. Holmes ruled over an even weaker division yet he doesn't get this kind of criticism. Holmes couldn't even become undisputed heavyweight champion in the piss poor era he fought in and made a career out of crushing CANS and a sick, Parkinson's riddled Ali. The first elite fighter he fought, in Mike Tyson, he got KTFO. His biggest win to that point was an old Ken Norton or Gerry Cooney.

If Tyson fought nothing but bums then why does Lewis have those same names on his resume? He fought even weaker versions of those bums. Holyfield couldn't even win his series with John Ruiz and lost 2 out of 3 to Riddick Bowe.

Let us put things in perspective here ... Tyson wasn't being cracked by every punch that landed on his jaw nor was he petrified of anything going near his chin like Wlad.

[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.

[beenKOed]

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.

Easily distracted, after Buster got through with him. Tyson became distracted by his own suspect chin.
What makes anyone think the same thing wouldn't happen again.

[Master]

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.

Easily distracted, after Buster got through with him. Tyson became distracted by his own suspect chin.
What makes anyone think the same thing wouldn't happen again.

Suspect chin? You really do not know boxing.