No boxer could have beat Mike Tyson on the 22nd of November, 1986

[BKM-]

I forgot to add Larry Holmes. I think he had as big a chance as Muhammad Ali. Although he wasn't really that strong(not as Ali) in fact, Tyson pushed him back in their fight. So the clinches would be Tyson's game, if Larry Holmes kept him at bay with his brilliant left jab, he would definitely outjab Mike. Distance would go to Holmes. Tyson would have to go inside and attack the body. Theres a small chance he would ko him, but he punched hard enough to ko Holmes. So UD for Holmes if so.

[The Noose]

I forgot to add Larry Holmes. I think he had as big a chance as Muhammad Ali. Although he wasn't really that strong(not as Ali) in fact, Tyson pushed him back in their fight. So the clinches would be Tyson's game, if Larry Holmes kept him at bay with his brilliant left jab, he would definitely outjab Mike. Distance would go to Holmes. Tyson would have to go inside and attack the body. Theres a small chance he would ko him, but he punched hard enough to ko Holmes. So UD for Holmes if so.

I agree. He caught Tyson with his jab in the last round of their fight.
Maybe at Larry's best he would have landed it from round 1, and frustrated the hell outa Tyson.

[RockyMarcianofan00]

Prime Holmes v Prime Tyson...

Holmes would give Tyson alot of trouble, and Tyson would get frustrated......If Holmes could keep that going for maybe 9 rounds he could KO a tired Tyson (Maybe) or get a UD in 12 but

what are the chances more likely Tyson would cut the ring off get him a corner and there goes his footwork...from there it would just be a matter of time....

[Hard Boiled HK]

You know Yaman, instead of giving me bad karma along with an insulting comment, why don't you just argue right here in the thread?

According to you, Tyson aged faster than Holyfield. Even IF that's true, Holyfield's 4 year older in age would have offset that. Holyfield was not in his prime when he fought Tyson and you know it.

[Piggu]

Tyson would have smashed Liston in 1 round. Gave Ali a boxing lesson, and forced the ref to the stop the fight when he's pulling off 8 punch combos on Big George.


No one beats a Pime "Iron" Mike Tyson.

You've lost all credibility.

[Southpaw Stinger]

You've lost all credibility.

Indeed he has. Sad thing dat.

[Brassangel]

I wouldn't even say that Tyson was at his absolute best against Berbick. I tend to take Mike Tyson in pieces. For example:

Against Tillis, he spent the majority of the match headhunting. Tillis was able to see Tyson's loaded power shots coming, and he stayed away for the majority of the fight. Mike got frustrated, and while he still won, he seemed immature as a fighter. The following fight against Mitch Green showed us something different, however. While Green had fast hands, and also tried to stay away from Mike by using the jab, it was clear that Mike spent some time training for better ways to beat tall, agile opponents. He threw most of his punches to the body, at least for the first half of the fight, and upped his work rate from previous bouts. This was proof that he could learn and adapt to the adversity. More people assume Mike got frustrated than was actually the case.

Against Ruddock (I and II), Mike was up against an opponent who was 6'3" and 230 pounds, with an 80+" reach. This was supposed to be the textbook fighter for defeating Mike Tyson. Buster Douglas did it, and several fighters of this make gave Tyson trouble. Add to that the fact that Ruddock fights back, which is supposed to be double the frustration for Mike, and Razor was probably better than Douglas. Not to mention, Razor hit hard and knew that Mike Tyson was no longer invincible. We see a different Mike Tyson here, who has matured a little bit and shows signs of being seasoned. He attacks the body early on, taking a lot of zip away from Ruddock, and then gets him in a world of trouble by the 7th round. In the second meeting, it's much of the same only this time, both fighters show tremendous heart with a pinch of stamina and it goes the distance. Here, we saw a Mike Tyson who had heart, stamina, and strategy against an opponent who had nearly every advantage over him.

Against Holyfield, he only had a few fights against mediocre opposition, totalling no more than 10 rounds, after a three year layoff, before stepping into the ring against a seasoned champion. While Holyfield may have been beyond his prime, he was in phenomenal shape mentally, and physically for this bout. (Note that, while this situation is similar to Ali vs. Frazier, everybody will jump to Ali's defense about his layoff, even though he was primered with far better competition to prepare for his bout with Frazier than Tyson was with Holyfield).

Again, we see Tyson spend too much time headhunting, while Holyfield lands sharp, accurate punches, and pushes Tyson backwards for most of the fight. Suddenly, in the 5th round, Tyson actually decides to throw some punches to the body which opens up Holyfield a bit. He then lands an uppercut beautifully off of a combo to the midsection that staggers Evander. Tyson started to build momentum until the incidental headbutt of doom opened a cutt over his eye in the 6th, and things just went downhill from there.

This wasn't the end, however. We saw a glimpse of adaptability once again during their second fight. Tyson started slower this time, clinching Holyfield, and pushing him backwards instead. In the third round, Tyson attacks the body once more and fires off combos, instead of single shots, and actually gets Evander in a little trouble. He of course, throws it away by biting his opponent, thus writing the most rediculous incident in boxing's history. What this shows, however, was he was able to take what worked from the first fight, change what was beating him (pushing forwards instead of falling back), to create an advantageous situation. Many people don't see this, but it's evident.

These scenarios show that Mike Tyson could be patient, could score points without having to expend power, could attack the body to create opportunity, and could learn from mistakes. Most people have presupposed the fallacies that he was easily frustrated, and therefore, the same plan could beat him every time. Had all of the above mentioned pieces come together more often, or had he not made bad choices which sent him to prison, then he very well could have been close to unbeatable. In fact, he likely would have only suffered 1 or 2 losses in his career, and he'd be ranked in the top 3 or 4 all-time.

[BKM-]

You know Yaman, instead of giving me bad karma along with an insulting comment, why don't you just argue right here in the thread?

According to you, Tyson aged faster than Holyfield. Even IF that's true, Holyfield's 4 year older in age would have offset that. Holyfield was not in his prime when he fought Tyson and you know it.

You're ignorant. Age doesn't have ANYTHING to do with being past prime. Tyson was a swarmer(technically) wich means he tried to smother opponents, wich means he had to take a punch himself. Frazier, Marciano, Dempsey were already past their prime in their early 30s, late 20s. Because of their styles. Do you understand this?

Evander Holyfield was a boxer with a style that could go on for a long time. Ring Savy, adapting ability..etc. Holyfield was barely past his prime when he fought Tyson. In fact, i dont think he was at all. The only thing i can conclude out of that is his reflexes, or hand speed..oh wait, he showed he still had his handspeed when he fought Tyson. His reflexes and quickness were not a problem for Holyfield. Like i said, his experience helped him. Wallcott never looked as good when he got older, same as Lennox Lewis.

Do you understand this? You sound like you're 13 or something. Everybody knows that a fighters age doesnt have anything to do with being peaked, or past prime. Tyson peaked at 20, does that mean a skinny green Cassius Clay could've beaten Liston? Swarmers are past it at an early age. **** like that.

[SABBATH]

Holyfield was barely past his prime when he fought Tyson. In fact, i dont think he was at all.

The NSAC wouldn't even sanction the fight because of how bad Holyfield had looked in his previous fights. Holyfield had to get examined by the Mayo clinic and get a clean bill of health before Nevada would even grant him a boxing licence. He'd lost 2 of his last 4 fights 3 of his last 7 and hadn't scored a KO win in 5 years and that came against last minute substitute Bert "crackhead" Cooper. Holyfield looked so bad in his previous fights that he opened as an 18-1 betting underdog when the fight was announced.

How many heavyweight champions in their prime were refused a boxing licence because of how bad they looked in previous fights?

[BKM-]

The NSAC wouldn't even sanction the fight because of how bad Holyfield had looked in his previous fights. Holyfield had to get examined by the Mayo clinic and get a clean bill of health before Nevada would even grant him a boxing licence. He'd lost 2 of his last 4 fights 3 of his last 7 and hadn't scored a KO win in 5 years and that came against last minute substitute Bert "crackhead" Cooper. Holyfield looked so bad in his previous fights that he opened as an 18-1 betting underdog when the fight was announced.

How many heavyweight champions in their prime were refused a boxing licence because of how bad they looked in previous fights?

Again with the nice Boxrec research. I suggest you watch him fight Tyson before you open your mouth about how the media was crying about his heartproblems(that Holyfield always denied). I was explaining how his boxing skills and physical health didnt look any diffirent, and you're telling me he was a 18-1 underdog. So what? Did he not look fresh in the 11th round?(and all the rounds before that. Come on, its not like he could rest against Mike Tyson) None of those so called health problems were effecting Holyfield in those fights. Thats why i dont consider him past his prime, because i dont read articles or listen to the media when i say this.

But thats offtopic. Im not gonna discuss that in here.