Prime Tyson in the 70s

[undefeated]

tyson was 2 scared 2 fight a old foreman--how the hell is tyson supposed 2 beat a prime foreman?
a prime foreman can beat any1 who stood in front of him--like frazier

frazier has a better chin than tyson--tyson and marciano would have had the same fate as frazier had they gone against foreman

foreman has a great chin--better than tyson--ali was the only man to ever ko him --if frazier cant beat him--no way tyson could

[Gandalf]

tyson was 2 scared 2 fight a old foreman--how the hell is tyson supposed 2 beat a prime foreman?
a prime foreman can beat any1 who stood in front of him--like frazier

frazier has a better chin than tyson--tyson and marciano would have had the same fate as frazier had they gone against foreman

foreman has a great chin--better than tyson--ali was the only man to ever ko him --if frazier cant beat him--no way tyson could

prime tyson doesnt stand in front and get hit....thats a little ignorant...

prime tyson is a match for anyone....

[Gandalf]

tyson was 2 scared 2 fight a old foreman--how the hell is tyson supposed 2 beat a prime foreman?
a prime foreman can beat any1 who stood in front of him--like frazier

frazier has a better chin than tyson--tyson and marciano would have had the same fate as frazier had they gone against foreman

foreman has a great chin--better than tyson--ali was the only man to ever ko him --if frazier cant beat him--no way tyson could

we dont know the facts....

[cockey cockney]

Prime Tyson was a phenomenon. Foreman was ALOT slower then Mike and mike had dynamite in both fists with alot more speed in them. Mike would get inside and land a few of them bombs and nighty night george.

[cockey cockney]

BTW miles coolclick for arguing back for prime mike.

[El Kabong]

If anyone ever took the time to stop gawking at his incredible KO's of CRUISERWEIGHTS to notice he never took on an All-Time Great until he fought a past it Holmes, a scared cruiserweight in Spinks, and then he got his asswhippings from Holyfield and Lewis...but never fought Bowe, never BEAT anyone really....a devistating puncher, good skills but he wouldn't stand up to a Top 10 all time great.

I've seen the fight and the big right hand Holyfield lands that STOPPED THE FIGHT was just 1 punch. But yes Evander out worked him on the inside all night long. Evander didn't punch that hard though, when compared to the best heavy hitters.

Frazier and Tyson were suseptible to the same type of attack though.

Tyson was a bigger harder hitting Patterson...he's an ok fighter but nothing close to he was in the 80's

Again, Lyle...we are talking about primes and you bring up the Holy fight.....its all relative and that one is just out of time....

that wasnt prime tyson....

But that's the same Holyfield who couldn't KO a 40 year old Foreman!!!

[smashcrusher]

Um no if you remember the ENTIRE decade you would remember that Tyson got out in '95 and had the oppertunity to fight Foreman but was too scared to.

I don't blame him, I wouldn't want to fight George NOW!

Guess hooked on phonics didn't work for you huh? When he got out, George already got his @ss beat by Axel Schulz.

sorry

And Mike didn't want to fight him from 89-91 either smart a**

Yeah, because Foreman really proved his worthyness as a contender by beating Gerry Cooney. Sure, he was still great even though Michael Spinks KO'd him the fight before You're funny little lyle

[sexydarin]

The only reason Ali beat Foreman was because Foreman had no defence at all in that fight. He was winging punches wider that Rosie O'Donnells wasteline. Prime Tyson probably would have ko'd george in one round. Ali on the other hand would have given Tyson all he could handle. Ali had the smarts and the stamina to give prime Tyson all he could handle.

[Hulk]

The only reason Ali beat Foreman was because Foreman had no defence at all in that fight. He was winging punches wider that Rosie O'Donnells wasteline. Prime Tyson probably would have ko'd george in one round. Ali on the other hand would have given Tyson all he could handle. Ali had the smarts and the stamina to give prime Tyson all he could handle.

Tyson has never in his career felt power like he would have against George. Foreman hit extremely hard, and was mentally tougher than Mike. On top of that, didn't Mike always have trouble with tall opponents? He'd have to punch up to hit the 6'4 Foreman.

[undefeated]

tyson was 2 scared 2 fight a old foreman--how the hell is tyson supposed 2 beat a prime foreman?
a prime foreman can beat any1 who stood in front of him--like frazier

frazier has a better chin than tyson--tyson and marciano would have had the same fate as frazier had they gone against foreman

foreman has a great chin--better than tyson--ali was the only man to ever ko him --if frazier cant beat him--no way tyson could

prime tyson doesnt stand in front and get hit....thats a little ignorant...

prime tyson is a match for anyone....

what i meant was u have 2 have to pretty much be a slick stylist in order 2 defeat a prime foreman. tyson did move around, but it wouldnt b enough to get away from foremans clobbering punches--tyson could not move around like ali--foreman would ko him

[Kev]

Ok I have a few thoughts on the subject.

Firstly when comparing fighters of different era's you have to examine closely how each fighter fought and dealt with opponents of a similar style and build to whatever fighter you are hypothetically matching them with.

Tyson is one of the biggest punchers and most murderously aggressive men in the history of boxing. In order to judge accurately how a 70's fighter would fare against him we need to look at the other huge punchers around in the 70's.

Sonny Liston and George Foreman were without doubt two of the most feared men in the history of boxing, huge punchers and feared by everyone in the division, except Ali.

Ali, although a huge underdog against both men took on and destroyed them both.

Ali was a slick intelligent boxer the only modern fighter to compare in terms of skill and ability was Lewis.

Lewis kept Tyson at distance and jabbed his head off.

So I think it's entirely reasonable to assume that Ali would have beaten a prime Tyson.

It doesn't matter that Tyson in his prime had an aura of invincibility, so did Liston and so did Foreman. Foreman was destroying guys that Ali lost to but Ali was still completely unfazed.

Tyson in his prime was destroying everyone like Foreman. That's great when you are winning but when you face someone who does not fall down after 4 rounds you will inevitebly start to worry. Ali would beat Tyson just like Douglas or Lewis beat him, a long protracted beat down.


Another point is this. A fighter's prime only seems to last until they lose. Douglas beat Tyson in 1990 so we say that is when Tyson was no longer in his prime.

But what if the two had met two years earlier and Douglas fought the exact same fight? Would Tyson have beaten him them? I'm not sure, Douglas took everything Tyson had and was still there fighting Tyson. I think Tyson's pysche probably cracked and he started to run out of ideas. He was the same man two years earlier, with the same fragile mental state. It's quite conceivable that Douglas could have done the same thing two years before.


I personally think it's a kop out to say a fighter is past his prime when he loses. That way everyone is great until they get beat and then it was only because they either had a bad night or they are past their prime. It's a dodgy way of looking at things I think.

Take the Hatton fight. People are saying he had a bad night. No he didn't. He fought with exactly the same ferocity and aggression as he always does. He wasn't as strong at 147 than 140 that is what the problem was.

Maybe he will grow into the weight, maybe not, but he didn't have an off night.

[El Kabong]

cool click Hulk, great post.

Now smashcrusher, the fact was that Foreman was there and Tyson was scared of him. Was Tyson really ever the same after Douglas whipped him? You think Foreman didn't know how to fight a bully? I know Tyson didn't know how to fight one!

[VictorCharlie]

if he'd fought in the late sixties and seventies he'd still be remembered as on of the best KO artists of all time, but we wouldn't have to entertain the silly idea of him being an ATG HW much less fighter. He wouldn't beat Foreman, Frazier, Ali and I'm not sure if he would beat Norton either.

[Hulk]

cool click Hulk, great post.

Now smashcrusher, the fact was that Foreman was there and Tyson was scared of him. Was Tyson really ever the same after Douglas whipped him? You think Foreman didn't know how to fight a bully? I know Tyson didn't know how to fight one!

Back at ya Klithead.
Foreman was most certainly a bigger badder bully than Mike Tyson. However, I feel that Tyson would have for sure beaten Norton. Anytime Norton felt power, for example in the Foreman and Shavers fights, he went down and was stopped early. He seemed to panic once he got hit by a huge puncher. Same thing would happen against Tyson.

[DOO1]

Foreman was too big for Tyson They both weighed 220. Foreman was KO'd by Ali, so just imagine what Tyson would do to him.

Foreman was 6'4 and Tyson was a generous 5'10....chump

foreman was 63 tyson was 5 11