How good was a 'prime' tyson?

[Gandalf]

I think Tyson was great in his prime but I doubt he could beat any of the top ten all-time heavyweights just on a heart standpoint. Tyson had great skill but anytime someone stood their ground he had trouble.


I would have LOVED to see Tyson fight Bowe, Rahman, Briggs, Mercer, and Morrison

He would've detroyed all of them, except perhaps Bowe imo

And even Bowe may have had his hands full. Tyson at his best was nasty.

[El Kabong]

And even Bowe may have had his hands full. Tyson at his best was nasty.

Are you kidding me Riddick Bowe had ALL the tools to beat Tyson prime or post jail.

Bowe was bigger, he was mentally tough, he has never been KO'd, he RARELY if ever got hurt (I never saw anyone other than Holyfield or Lewis in the amateurs do it).

Bowe was better than the Douglas that beat Tyson in 1990...he was MUCH better

[Kel]

A prime, focused and confident Tyson had the ability to beat anyone ever IMO

It was only when his foot speed went that he struggled againsed bigger guys, he could get on the inside quicker than a taller heavy could throw a jab for fucks sake.

[SweetPea]

One more thing I want to add....

When people talk about Tyson being overrated, the focus always is on his lack of mental toughness. But IMO, a big reason why he would have lost to many top heavyweights is not because he lacked toughness, it's because he was a short, stocky short-armed fighter. A good tall long armed fighter is almost always going to beat a short, stocky, short-armed fighter.

Ali, Holmes, Foreman, Lewis, Bowe.... all those guys would have either beaten Tyson or had a very good chance at beating him, but it's not because I think Tyson would have cracked mentally, I just think he would have been tactically outgunned by fighters with much longer reaches and more height.

[Spicoli]

And even Bowe may have had his hands full. Tyson at his best was nasty.

Are you kidding me Riddick Bowe had ALL the tools to beat Tyson prime or post jail.

Bowe was bigger, he was mentally tough, he has never been KO'd, he RARELY if ever got hurt (I never saw anyone other than Holyfield or Lewis in the amateurs do it).

Bowe was better than the Douglas that beat Tyson in 1990...he was MUCH better

I dont know....Bowes willingness to often lay on the inside might have been a fatal flaw with a primed Tyson.Maybe I'm grabbing at straws but I remember Hide wobbling him,Before being bounced off the canvas repeatedly like he was drunk

[Gandalf]

And even Bowe may have had his hands full. Tyson at his best was nasty.

Are you kidding me Riddick Bowe had ALL the tools to beat Tyson prime or post jail.

Bowe was bigger, he was mentally tough, he has never been KO'd, he RARELY if ever got hurt (I never saw anyone other than Holyfield or Lewis in the amateurs do it).

Bowe was better than the Douglas that beat Tyson in 1990...he was MUCH better

Lyle, we have been through this before. You know Im not kidding.

Bowe was much better than the Douglas that beat Tyson in 1990. I dont doubt that. But the Tyson of two years earlier mauls them both.

And, no, Im really not kidding. Bowe at his best would have to fight fucking smart to beat Tyson and Tyson at his best was a beast.

[TitoFan]

Bowe? Mentally tough? Gee... I don't know. Whenever the thought of Bowe comes to mind, it's usually about a guy with a lot of talent that never had the mental fortitute to get the maximum benefit out of it.

As for the list of people that hurt Bowe in a fight, I would add Golota to the list. And before the "low blow" chants come pouring out, let me state that Golota was dominating Bowe in their fight BEFORE he stupidly, unnecessarily and inexplicably resorted to the low blow barrage.

So was Bowe good? Absolutely. Was he an ATG? Well... I'd stop short of building a bronze statue of him, if you know what I mean.

[SweetPea]

Prime Tyson was a dynamic force who was great to watch. However, I think prime Tyson is also overrated. Was Tyson in his prime one of the 10 best heavyweights ever? Ya. But there are people who claim prime Tyson could have beaten just about any heavyweight in history, and I think those people are nuts.

Tyson was fortunate, in that his prime occurred during a lull in the heavyweight division. His signature wins came over stiffs for the most part, and his big win was over Spinks, who was a great light heavyweight, but not a true top heavyweight. Spinks' claim to fame as a heavyweight was beating an ancient Larry Holmes, and then getting a gift decision in the rematch against an even more ancient Holmes.

If Tyson's prime had occurred several years earlier (when a younger Holmes was still champ) or several years later (after the arrival of Holyfield, Lewis, and Bowe) then I think he would have suffered at least 1 or 2 more losses.

[Spicoli]

Prime Tyson was a dynamic force who was great to watch. However, I think prime Tyson is also overrated. Was Tyson in his prime one of the 10 best heavyweights ever? Ya. But there are people who claim prime Tyson could have beaten just about any heavyweight in history, and I think those people are nuts.

Tyson was fortunate, in that his prime occurred during a lull in the heavyweight division. His signature wins came over stiffs for the most part, and his big win was over Spinks, who was a great light heavyweight, but not a true top heavyweight. Spinks' claim to fame as a heavyweight was beating an ancient Larry Holmes, and then getting a gift decision in the rematch against an even more ancient Holmes.

If Tyson's prime had occurred several years earlier (when a younger Holmes was still champ) or several years later (after the arrival of Holyfield, Lewis, and Bowe) then I think he would have suffered at least 1 or 2 more losses.

Have to agree for the most part as far as Tyson being somewhat overrated.A physical specimen with tremendous weapons in arsenal but has always been a little wanting in mental make-up.He was marketed and pushed well ,capitalized on a tattered Division but to risk a tired cliche.....he did have power & chance to explode on most heavyweights.....In more ways than one .Remember all the discussion and talk of a Tyson/Foreman match up?I actually think Foreman would have TKO'd Tyson at the time and I still believe it.

[DaxxKahn]

And even Bowe may have had his hands full. Tyson at his best was nasty.

Are you kidding me Riddick Bowe had ALL the tools to beat Tyson prime or post jail.

Bowe was bigger, he was mentally tough, he has never been KO'd, he RARELY if ever got hurt (I never saw anyone other than Holyfield or Lewis in the amateurs do it).

Bowe was better than the Douglas that beat Tyson in 1990...he was MUCH better

Lyle yopu kow as well as anyone else who even follows the sport remotely that the night Tyson fought Douglas it was not a top version of Tyson...Even 2 fights before Tyson was going into fights half assed looking for 1 shot KO's...so we can not use the Douglas fight as a measuring stick...

[El Kabong]

Bowe had the mental toughness to beat Holyfield...Tyson didn't....Bowe lost ONE fight out of 43 fights and he KO'd 33 fighters. He lost ONCE to a PRIME Evander Holyfield whom he also beat twice and once by KO.


Bowe's prime was short as was Tyson's but Bowe's style was perfect to beat Tyson

[Master]

Bowe was brilliant the night he beat Holyfield, never fought as good as that again in his career but I feel had Tyson landed a left hook that Holyfield landed on him he would have KOed Bowe and stopped him.

[OumaFan]

funny, I was actually thinking about doing a thread on how good could Buster Douglas have been.

Just watched that fight again for the first time in like 8 years last night and Buster had it all. Big, strong, fast, great jab, nice right hand. Great footwork and balance, the way he could take a hop step back, plant and throw a right all in pretty much one motion was impressive.

He came right out and took it to Tyson, you can talk all about what Tyson didn't do, what Douglas did do was bounce some big rights off his head right off the bat. I'd forgotten how quick he could be.

And he was incredible at punching off the break

[Master]

Tyson was poor in that fight but Douglas was inspired and i believe many thought he would beat Holyfield if he took that form into his next fight. All bets were off when he weighed in for the fight!

[DaxxKahn]

Bowe had the mental toughness to beat Holyfield...Tyson didn't....Bowe lost ONE fight out of 43 fights and he KO'd 33 fighters. He lost ONCE to a PRIME Evander Holyfield whom he also beat twice and once by KO.


Bowe's prime was short as was Tyson's but Bowe's style was perfect to beat Tyson

Yeah but also what version of Tyson was it that Holyfield beat?....Holyfield was also the best HW in the sport at the time...

\A 1996 Tyson was far from his best