2002 Lennox Lewis vs 1988 Mike Tyson

[El Kabong]

again, the thread clearly says the "1988 Tyson". I really don't recall Tyson being intimidated by anybody at that time

Who had he fought to be intimidated by at that point? An older and out of shape Larry HolmesBonecrusher Smith Tyrell Biggs? At that time the division was far from flush with intimidating power punchers, it was the holdovers from the Holmes era and a bunch of young fighters who developed a little later than Tyson.


Mike Tyson was a force of nature, but don't forget there have been other boxers that have had that aura about them and vs better competition IMO....George Foreman was far and away more intimidating than Tyson. Sure Tyson beats Michael Spinks who went toe to toe with Holmes quickly...but Foreman just man handled Joe Frazier who beat Ali....Frazier being a TRUE heavyweight as well, one that took everything Ali threw at him and then some. Joe Louis made up for the lack of competition his era had with quantity and had he not given 3 of his prime years to be in the Army he could have had 30 or 40 consecutive successful title defenses!!! Joe Louis would KO you in 1 or he'd KO you in 12 or even later if needed, his power stayed around and his timing, accuracy, and delivery of that power were just things of beauty.

Mike Tyson gets overrated quite a bit, I like him but come on a Prime Lennox Lewis had all the tools to beat a Prime Tyson...height, reach, a good jab, good defense, strength, and power. I'd say Prime v Prime Lennox wins 8 out of 10 times vs Tyson.

[TitoFan]

again, the thread clearly says the "1988 Tyson". I really don't recall Tyson being intimidated by anybody at that time

Who had he fought to be intimidated by at that point? An older and out of shape Larry HolmesBonecrusher Smith Tyrell Biggs? At that time the division was far from flush with intimidating power punchers, it was the holdovers from the Holmes era and a bunch of young fighters who developed a little later than Tyson.


Mike Tyson was a force of nature, but don't forget there have been other boxers that have had that aura about them and vs better competition IMO....George Foreman was far and away more intimidating than Tyson. Sure Tyson beats Michael Spinks who went toe to toe with Holmes quickly...but Foreman just man handled Joe Frazier who beat Ali....Frazier being a TRUE heavyweight as well, one that took everything Ali threw at him and then some. Joe Louis made up for the lack of competition his era had with quantity and had he not given 3 of his prime years to be in the Army he could have had 30 or 40 consecutive successful title defenses!!! Joe Louis would KO you in 1 or he'd KO you in 12 or even later if needed, his power stayed around and his timing, accuracy, and delivery of that power were just things of beauty.

Mike Tyson gets overrated quite a bit, I like him but come on a Prime Lennox Lewis had all the tools to beat a Prime Tyson...height, reach, a good jab, good defense, strength, and power. I'd say Prime v Prime Lennox wins 8 out of 10 times vs Tyson.

I agree, but there's one missing factor...... mentality.

Tyson at his peak was unwavering. He fought some huge punchers (ie: Razor Ruddock), and still found the way and the will to win. With Lennox, you didn't know what you were going to get on fight night. Laser-focused and angry..... or lazy and lackadaisical. If you add the adjectives on 2002 Lewis, namely focused and determined..... THEN I would agree with Lewis winning 7 or 8 times out of 10. Otherwise forget it.

[El Kabong]

I agree, but there's one missing factor...... mentality.

Tyson at his peak was unwavering. He fought some huge punchers (ie: Razor Ruddock), and still found the way and the will to win. With Lennox, you didn't know what you were going to get on fight night. Laser-focused and angry..... or lazy and lackadaisical. If you add the adjectives on 2002 Lewis, namely focused and determined..... THEN I would agree with Lewis winning 7 or 8 times out of 10. Otherwise forget it.

Alright then, let's account for that then




All of that was bubbling under the surface, just 1 or 2 good shots away

[TitoFan]

Yeah, we all know Tyson was a head case.
Still, he never went into the ring unfocused or lackadaisical.

[ross]

I agree, but there's one missing factor...... mentality.

Tyson at his peak was unwavering. He fought some huge punchers (ie: Razor Ruddock), and still found the way and the will to win. With Lennox, you didn't know what you were going to get on fight night. Laser-focused and angry..... or lazy and lackadaisical. If you add the adjectives on 2002 Lewis, namely focused and determined..... THEN I would agree with Lewis winning 7 or 8 times out of 10. Otherwise forget it.

Alright then, let's account for that then




All of that was bubbling under the surface, just 1 or 2 good shots away

This is a 15 year old child.....

[mikeeod]

Back to the main point, Tyson would always have a punchers chance vs Lennox, so a Tyson win isn't out of the question. That being said, Lewis was much larger and would've come in against Tyson with a laser focus due to Mike being so dangerous. With both versions fighting their best fights, Lennox comes out ahead. Too many weapons, too smart, and too big for any version of Mike Tyson.

[El Kabong]

This is a 15 year old child.....

Yes and he was the youngest heavyweight champion of all time....just pointing out that a Tyson who wept before fights wasn't all that far in the past. But please feel free to elaborate on how Tyson grew emotionally and psychologically in the 7 years between this and 1988.

[TitoFan]

This is a 15 year old child.....

Yes and he was the youngest heavyweight champion of all time....just pointing out that a Tyson who wept before fights wasn't all that far in the past. But please feel free to elaborate on how Tyson grew emotionally and psychologically in the 7 years between this and 1988.

I don't think Tyson grew up emotionally and psychologically until after he retired.

However, that is besides the point I was originally trying to make. Whereas Lewis was given to the periodic lackadaisical attitude, which earned him two knockout losses which he later avenged, Tyson was not. Regardless of whether he won or lost, Tyson went in there trying to rip your head off. His head was a mess.... but inside the ring he was like a caged animal. If the Lewis that got KO'ed against Rahman and McCall shows up against prime Tyson, he gets KTFO'ed..... I don't care how much bigger Lewis is. Otherwise, the saying that a great big man beats a great little man has a lot of truth to it. Prime Tyson versus a prime (and laser-focused) Lewis would be a helluva fight. But I think Lewis takes it over 50% of the time.

[ross]

This is a 15 year old child.....

Yes and he was the youngest heavyweight champion of all time....just pointing out that a Tyson who wept before fights wasn't all that far in the past. But please feel free to elaborate on how Tyson grew emotionally and psychologically in the 7 years between this and 1988.

Are you for real?

You cant comprehend the difference in maturity between a 15 year old and a man who had been in the biggest fights the world had known at 22?