I hear alot of people say that Tyson was done after Cus died... yet Mike went on to win his first heavyweight title and unite the rest after Cus' death. I also hear alot of people say that prison time killed Tyson's prime yet he lost the biggest upset in history before he went to prison. After his exile from boxing Tyson went on to lose to the two best heavyweights of his era. It took him 21 months after being released from prison to face Holyfield (who was 34 with 3 losses, the most recent being to Bowe a year prior) for the first time which he would go on to lose by TKO. We all know what happened in the second fight. After his exile from boxing Ali took only 8 months to fight Frazier (who was 27 and undefeated) which he would lose by UD. We all know what happened in the rematches and we all know who else Ali went on to beat. I think Ali would have a much harder time against Lewis. He was built for Tyson: incredible chin/ability to take bodypunchers & survive then recover from overall beatings, constant stamina, deep sense of range, historic handspeed. The most important though was the fact that he wouldn't be intimidated. Pre-fight he would have seriously fucked with Mike as well. I see Mike losing it out of, then in the ring. It wouldn't stop at the conferences either, Ali would be talking to him all night during the fight and that underlying sense of doubt would pop up into Mike's mind. To me the guys who beat Tyson did so because they believed they could. At 15 Mike needed Cus to constantly compliment him just to build his confidence while Ali was already proclaiming himself the greatest.
Bookmarks