#7- Mike Tyson vs. Joe Frazier
Seeing that Frazier was about the same height as Tyson, fought nearly the same style, this fight would be a slugfest. Frazier had arguably the most heart and determination of any heavyweight champion ever, and, like Tyson, had great head movement. He owned probably the most dangerous punch in boxing, his signature left hook, and his constant attack stopped many boxers. Here we'll use the Frazier the night of the first fight with Ali, seeing that that was probably his greatest moment.
Tyson would be prepared for Frazier's deadly left hook, and would storm out covering up his left side mainly. He throws a nearly fatal right hook, but Frazier ducks and catches Mike with a left-right to the body. The first 2 rounds consist of mainly Tyson missing many punches, and Frazier counters them with body shots. Frazier's underrated right hand is becoming very prominent, as Tyson underestimated it. At the end of the 3rd round, Mike catches Frazier with a destructive uppercut, but Joe shakes it off like it's nothing and comes right back at Mike. Furious, Mike throws a brutal left hook, but missed and is smashed by a suprisingly powerful right from Joe.
By the 5th, Tyson is realizing that Joe's right hand is much more of a problem than he realized, and he starts to cover up his right side more. This allows Joe to start letting the left hook fly. Tyson is brutally beaten the 5th round, because Joe's body shots in the early rounds are taking the toll, and Tyson is slowing down and taking brutal left hooks. Somehow he manages to stay in there, but his left eye is swollen and a cut has appeared below his right eye. In the 6th round, Joe connects with 2 rights: the first to the body and the second to the head, which staggers Mike. While Mike backs up, Joe launches forward and throws a monstrous left hook, catching Mike square on the chin. Mike is out cold, as Joe stands over him and casts him a look of disgust, then he walks over to his corner.
#6 Mike Tyson vs. George Foreman
In the mid 70's George Foreman was a monster. He had the most powerful punch of any heavyweight, and his strength was unbearable. His chin was underrated, and he wasn't scared of anyone. We'll use the version of George when he fought Frazier in Kingston, seeing that was his finest moment.
At the staredown, Mike is scared ****less, looking into the angry looking face of an animal. Hell, if Mike was scared of a 45 year old Foreman, he must be scared of the monster 20 years younger. When the bell rings, Tyson doesn't storm out as usual, but gently walks out. Foreman's reach and brutal is disarming Mike of his staccato combos. Throughout the 1st round, Mike has landed no punches, while Foreman is throwing brutal jabs and occasional right hooks. A freakish looping right hand catches Mike and sends him to the canvas for a 6 count at the end of the first round.
The 2nd round starts off the same as the 1st round, but Foreman is throwing less jabs and more straight rights and lefts. Tyson is busted wide open from a left hook, and George winds up and throws a blistering uppercut that lifts Tyson off his feet. Tyson gets up barely at the 9, and George throws more bombs at Mike: uppercuts, body shots, hooks until the ref steps in and saves Mike of his life.
# 5: Mike Tyson vs Jack Johnson
Though Jack Johnson was roughly 32 when he fought the “Boiler Maker” in 1910, there is little doubt that he was in the best shape of his career for that fight, so we’ll use this Johnson to pair with Tyson. At the time, Johnson had a record of 57-6-12 (34) with 17 ND, according to the Cyber Boxing Zone. Johnson was to defense what Tyson was to offense and then some. The “Galveston Giant” had the ability to parry off incoming blows with his gloves while the punches were in mid-flight, a technique that has been lost with the annals of time, or maybe no one else could do it. In addition to his punch-blocking abilities, Jack was not afraid to tie you up on the inside either and was quite strong in the clinches, despite his 190 lb frame. He also had a snake-like jab that he could turn into a powerful hook, should he feel the punch would serve him better. In short, Johnson was everything that would drive Tyson nuts in the ring and cause him to give in to frustration.
Tyson, as always, would start off fast, looking to catch Johnson with a fusillade of hooks and uppercuts; but would run into a major problem with Johnson’s wide stance and ready posture. Johnson would repeatedly reach and unashamedly grab Mike as “Kid Dynamite” bull-rushed him and hold and muscle the younger man around the ring until the referee separated the two. The audience would soon realize this is not going to be an exciting match as Johnson would stop every onslaught as soon as it started. As we saw with the Smith, Tucker, Douglas, and Holyfield bouts, once frustrated, Tyson willingly gives in to being clinched on the inside. It would be no different with Johnson. Over the course of the fight, Johnson would pick and choose his shots and eventually walk away with a relatively easy, if not boring, fifteen-round decision.
Seeing that Frazier was about the same height as Tyson, fought nearly the same style, this fight would be a slugfest. Frazier had arguably the most heart and determination of any heavyweight champion ever, and, like Tyson, had great head movement. He owned probably the most dangerous punch in boxing, his signature left hook, and his constant attack stopped many boxers. Here we'll use the Frazier the night of the first fight with Ali, seeing that that was probably his greatest moment.
Tyson would be prepared for Frazier's deadly left hook, and would storm out covering up his left side mainly. He throws a nearly fatal right hook, but Frazier ducks and catches Mike with a left-right to the body. The first 2 rounds consist of mainly Tyson missing many punches, and Frazier counters them with body shots. Frazier's underrated right hand is becoming very prominent, as Tyson underestimated it. At the end of the 3rd round, Mike catches Frazier with a destructive uppercut, but Joe shakes it off like it's nothing and comes right back at Mike. Furious, Mike throws a brutal left hook, but missed and is smashed by a suprisingly powerful right from Joe.
By the 5th, Tyson is realizing that Joe's right hand is much more of a problem than he realized, and he starts to cover up his right side more. This allows Joe to start letting the left hook fly. Tyson is brutally beaten the 5th round, because Joe's body shots in the early rounds are taking the toll, and Tyson is slowing down and taking brutal left hooks. Somehow he manages to stay in there, but his left eye is swollen and a cut has appeared below his right eye. In the 6th round, Joe connects with 2 rights: the first to the body and the second to the head, which staggers Mike. While Mike backs up, Joe launches forward and throws a monstrous left hook, catching Mike square on the chin. Mike is out cold, as Joe stands over him and casts him a look of disgust, then he walks over to his corner.
#6 Mike Tyson vs. George Foreman
In the mid 70's George Foreman was a monster. He had the most powerful punch of any heavyweight, and his strength was unbearable. His chin was underrated, and he wasn't scared of anyone. We'll use the version of George when he fought Frazier in Kingston, seeing that was his finest moment.
At the staredown, Mike is scared ****less, looking into the angry looking face of an animal. Hell, if Mike was scared of a 45 year old Foreman, he must be scared of the monster 20 years younger. When the bell rings, Tyson doesn't storm out as usual, but gently walks out. Foreman's reach and brutal is disarming Mike of his staccato combos. Throughout the 1st round, Mike has landed no punches, while Foreman is throwing brutal jabs and occasional right hooks. A freakish looping right hand catches Mike and sends him to the canvas for a 6 count at the end of the first round.
The 2nd round starts off the same as the 1st round, but Foreman is throwing less jabs and more straight rights and lefts. Tyson is busted wide open from a left hook, and George winds up and throws a blistering uppercut that lifts Tyson off his feet. Tyson gets up barely at the 9, and George throws more bombs at Mike: uppercuts, body shots, hooks until the ref steps in and saves Mike of his life.
# 5: Mike Tyson vs Jack Johnson
Though Jack Johnson was roughly 32 when he fought the “Boiler Maker” in 1910, there is little doubt that he was in the best shape of his career for that fight, so we’ll use this Johnson to pair with Tyson. At the time, Johnson had a record of 57-6-12 (34) with 17 ND, according to the Cyber Boxing Zone. Johnson was to defense what Tyson was to offense and then some. The “Galveston Giant” had the ability to parry off incoming blows with his gloves while the punches were in mid-flight, a technique that has been lost with the annals of time, or maybe no one else could do it. In addition to his punch-blocking abilities, Jack was not afraid to tie you up on the inside either and was quite strong in the clinches, despite his 190 lb frame. He also had a snake-like jab that he could turn into a powerful hook, should he feel the punch would serve him better. In short, Johnson was everything that would drive Tyson nuts in the ring and cause him to give in to frustration.
Tyson, as always, would start off fast, looking to catch Johnson with a fusillade of hooks and uppercuts; but would run into a major problem with Johnson’s wide stance and ready posture. Johnson would repeatedly reach and unashamedly grab Mike as “Kid Dynamite” bull-rushed him and hold and muscle the younger man around the ring until the referee separated the two. The audience would soon realize this is not going to be an exciting match as Johnson would stop every onslaught as soon as it started. As we saw with the Smith, Tucker, Douglas, and Holyfield bouts, once frustrated, Tyson willingly gives in to being clinched on the inside. It would be no different with Johnson. Over the course of the fight, Johnson would pick and choose his shots and eventually walk away with a relatively easy, if not boring, fifteen-round decision.
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