Prime Mike Tyson in this era

[TitoFan]

lol so you're telling me that nobody could've survived those shots from McCall and Rahman??



Tokyo Douglas would've had Wlad out of there in 2 rounds max ... Vitali would've gotten TKOed in 6

I'm a big Tyson fan also, but there's such a thing as taking fandom to an extreme.

#1- A heavyweight takes a flush shot such as Lewis did against both McCall and Rahman... and 90% chance he's going down. Lewis was not moving back with the punch. There was no partial blockage of the punch. In each case, the punch landed right on the button (the point of the chin, which rattles the brain more).

#2- I'm the first one to say that Douglas deserves all the credit in the world (see past posts) for his upset of Tyson. And I do think he KO's Wlad at some point early or mid-fight. But Vitali KO'ed in 6? C'mon man. What Mrs. Klitschko didn't give to Wlad in the chin department, was because Vitali had already taken it.

We can't say for sure how many heavyweights could take those shots from Rahman and McCall, so assigning a percentage is the wrong thing to do. But I can tell you that not every heavyweight would be KOed from those punches. And how many one punch KOs do Rahman and McCall have between them?? Both were never known for one punch KO power ... McCall was known for durability and Rahman was known for his overall ability. It was more of a chin failure from Lewis than super punches from either guy ... especially when Lewis was KTFO while exchanging with McCall and with his guard up against Rahman.

"That punch would've KOed anybody" isn't always true.

You're right. There's no way to accurately put a percentage on how many HW's would be knocked out by those punches. But I still think you're oversimplifying things with the bolded statement above. You neglect to notice everything else about the punches which resulted in the knockouts. I've seen these over and over again. They caught Lewis cold and flush on the point of the chin. These punches, more than any other head punches, create the sudden rotation of the neck which in combination with the rattling of the brain results in a knockout. Many other head shots land on the cheek, forehead, ear, etc. The point of the chin is the most susceptible. You also neglected to consider what I mentioned about the punches not being partially blocked. This happens a lot also. And finally... you said it yourself. Lewis was exchanging with McCall. A lot of knockouts occur as a result of an exchange, when the other fighter is coming forward with his own punch. And what you call "his guard up" against Rahman was nothing but a lazy attempt at keeping his hands up. Rahman's punch touched nothing but chin. The theory that Lewis somehow had a suspect chin gets put to bed with the fight against Vitali, where Lewis caught some heavy bombs himself.

Lewis' issue was usually mental. He could be lackadaisical and lazy, which he was in the first fights against both McCall and Rahman... or he could come in with a killer's mentality.