would larry holmes of 1980 have beat a prime tyson

[rightsideup]

what do you think?

[Anthony342]

Possibly, if he uses that jab and holds some, walks him back, maybe wins a decision.

[Sugarj]

Possibly, if he uses that jab and holds some, walks him back, maybe wins a decision.

Seconded, over 15 rounds its an almost certain Holmes points victory.

Over 12 rounds against prime Tyson, Holmes may well eak out a close decision.

To be fair Holmes vs Tyson prime for prime is a superb fight and would probably be very viewer friendly......

[Daddy T]

I think it would be an excellent fight but I reckon Tyson wins it, Holmes' jab while superb is actually kinda good for tyson, it's a bit of a bazooka jab and he tended to move in a bit closer when he threw it - a nice hurtful jab - BUT that makes it easier for Tyson to get in close and do damage - especially when matched with prime Tyson's epic head movement and ability to slip. I also don't think the Holmes that was demolished by Tyson was as far gone as people make out.

[Emon723]

In a 12-round bout, I see Holmes going down once similarly as against Shavers and Snipes, but will pull off a close decision over Tyson.

[Rspen46]

Yes!

Just watch what Buster Douglas did to Tyson, & don't anyone cry that Tyson had bad training habits & all the other junk by then, he was young & he was undefeated & Champ, so he was still good, & he lost to what I call a slightly above average fighter at the time, in Douglas, he danced, he moved, he jabbed & he used a decent right hand to defeat Tyson, Holmes has more of all of that, he was faster, hit harder, had a better jab & was smarter than Douglas, & yes Ali does the same to Tyson only more of it as he was faster than Holmes & moved much better & smarter.

[The Surgeon]

Not in my opinion no. I think over 12 rounds it's Tyson's. Most likely a points win but i don't completely rule out a stoppage either. Great fight too, an alternative to Ali vs Frazier

[Salardo]

Actually I thought about that a few times - Holmes looked pretty good for a few minutes against Tyson when he was moving around and popping that jab. So, when I think of a prime Larry Holmes, I can't help but think he could do that for 12 rounds. I really have a hard time imagining that Tyson would beat a prime Holmes.
Prime Holmes had it all: footwork, speed, (enough) power, jab, combinations, and most importantly - he always got up when he got knocked down. He got knocked down hard against Shavers and Renaldo Snipes I think, and he got up each and everytime to win the fight.
Furthermore Holmes was out on his feet against Witherspoon and survived: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3ugYP9Q6bA

[SBleeder]

Not in my opinion no. I think over 12 rounds it's Tyson's. Most likely a points win but i don't completely rule out a stoppage either. Great fight too, an alternative to Ali vs Frazier

Why would it only be a 12-round fight?

[Prince Mongo]

Holmes had the tools to give Tyson a very warm time. It would have been a great fight. Holmes was the first fighter I saw that seemed to have real ambition in the ring with Tyson. The rest looked like beaten men before the first bell sounded. The Peanut was good and looked good against Tyson and he was old then. The young Holmes was a great fighter and could take a good shot which is a must against a prime Tyson. He was also very clever,if Holmes survived the first 4 rounds I could see him outpointing Mike Tyson.