How would Tyson and Lewis have done in the 1970's?

[LacedUp]

Tyson, Lewis & Holyfield would have competed in ANY era.

That's what makes an ATG.

[dan_cov]

I think Big George breaks Tyson down late mid-late after over coming the early onslaught, I always liked Tyson to beat Ali.

Lewis couldn't deal with Mercers jab what so ever and had a very hard time with Bruno's. I don't see him faring well against either.

[LacedUp]

I think Big George breaks Tyson down late mid-late after over coming the early onslaught, I always liked Tyson to beat Ali.

Lewis couldn't deal with Mercers jab what so ever and had a very hard time with Bruno's. I don't see him faring well against either.

Ali also struggled with Lyle in their fight. Didn't look great against Jimmy Young and neither did Foreman in a losing effort.

Ali also couldn't deal with Norton in any of their fights and was getting countered relatively effectively.

I have a hard time seeing Lewis, Holyfield and Tyson not being very very competitive in the 70s. Everyone has some fights where they don't look great for whatever reason incl. Foreman, Frazier, Ali, Norton, Lyle, Shavers etc from the 70s.

[2Shotz]

And Foreman was DROPPED by J.young and saved by the bell vs Lyle who wouldn't even be Rhamans sparring partner,who was Tysons sparring partner.

Foreman needed SIZE to win ,he LACKED skills outside of a jab...Lennox wouldn't have joked with him and bullied the bully....Lewis hit harder and outsided him add in the skill ,well its obvious Lewis easily beats Foreman.He would have knocked Foreman out inside 4 rounds b/c that's the fight Foreman would bring to him.

Foreman was one of the most murderous punchers in Hwy history. And Lennox is going to bully Foreman? Good luck. I'm a Lewis fan but we're not talking about Lewis Vs Michael Grant or Andrew Golota. We're talking a prime George Foreman who would've caved in Lewis's ribs and skull if Lewis was actually dumb enough to stand and trade and try to take him down.

Don't forget the facts. Lennox was smart enough to box safe against David Tua and not get in extended exchanges. He'd be an absolute moron to get in a firefight with Prine Foreman. Even Prime Tyson kisses the dust if he stands toe to toe with Prime Foreman. Ali was intelligent. He knew how to outsmart George cod no one was gonna KO him. And all that talk about Jimmy Young, etc came post-Zaire when Foremans aura of invincibility ala Tyson vs Douglas had been forever cracked.

[BigAlexSand]

Some success for Tyson... Lennox could again rule the division.

[bender2000]

I don't really rate lewis as high as most so no I don't think he would compete with the best of the 70s I think even ron lyle could beat him , hey if Rahman and McCall could do it so could lyle , shavers , Norton , foreman , frazier , quarry , ali , holmes , hell even jimmy ellis right hand could flatten the big lumex lewis , different league in the 70s boys they were real fighters back then not posers and runners frazier would take your heart out , the fact a lot of todays fans don't rate 70s era heavyweights just shows basic ignorance of boxing history the only true way to rate an atg is the quality of opposition and how they performed against fellow atgs ,lewis didn't have that great resume against great fighters at there best , Tyson at his peak though was a beast although he didn't get the chance as with lewis to fight atgs at there best he would compete in any era and give any heavyweight hell his style was that aggressive his punching power and speed along with a good chin and underrated defence would be a handful , but ive always felt foreman would beat Tyson as would ali .

[juggernaut666]

Foreman was one of the most murderous punchers in Hwy history. And Lennox is going to bully Foreman? Good luck. I'm a Lewis fan but we're not talking about Lewis Vs Michael Grant or Andrew Golota. We're talking a prime George Foreman who would've caved in Lewis's ribs and skull if Lewis was actually dumb enough to stand and trade and try to take him down.

Don't forget the facts. Lennox was smart enough to box safe against David Tua and not get in extended exchanges. He'd be an absolute moron to get in a firefight with Prine Foreman. Even Prime Tyson kisses the dust if he stands toe to toe with Prime Foreman. Ali was intelligent. He knew how to outsmart George cod no one was gonna KO him. And all that talk about Jimmy Young, etc came post-Zaire when Foremans aura of invincibility ala Tyson vs Douglas had been forever cracked.

Foreman wouldn't have much to offer Lewis ,Lewis had an overhand right from hell ,compared to Foremans telegraph punches thrown in slow mo ,its no question who wouldve been the more dangerous puncher ,add in a bigger guy leaning on Foreman who then gassed out and faded quickly he would be doomed .J.Young who was not a hard puncher dropped Foreman for that reason what do you think when Lewis connected would happen?Foreman fought a better fight with Young ,stayed calm ,picked his shots and fought aggressive in spurts and still lost ,those are the facts.

[Elroy1]

If Tyson and Lewis had been in the 70's they would be undisputed champions with 100% KO records and no losses of any rounds in the entire decade.

More the point though, nobody would ever want to become a HW boxer as getting to the top and having to face either of these guys would basically be suicide.

The champions of the 70's would have been more or less journeymen KO opponents for Lennox and Tyson.

That is a hard fact of life that nostalgists will always find hard to accept but must know in their heart and head is true.

I would not be surprised if Norton, Frazier, Ali and Foreman, all 4 of them were KO1 opponents for bith Tyson and LEwis. That's how far the gap is!

[2Shotz]

Foreman wouldn't have much to offer Lewis ,Lewis had an overhand right from hell ,compared to Foremans telegraph punches thrown in slow mo ,its no question who wouldve been the more dangerous puncher ,add in a bigger guy leaning on Foreman who then gassed out and faded quickly he would be doomed .J.Young who was not a hard puncher dropped Foreman for that reason what do you think when Lewis connected would happen?Foreman fought a better fight with Young ,stayed calm ,picked his shots and fought aggressive in spurts and still lost ,those are the facts.

For a guy that was knocked out cold by two bums (McCall and Rahman), ducked Chris Byrd (ha ha), went life and death against Ray Mercer (and many felt he lost that fight), refused to engage in throw downs with David Tua, barely escaped a greenhorn Vitali Klitschko, couldn't finish an old Holyfield in two fights, and has publicly stated that Zelko Mavrovoc was his toughest challenger, there sure is a lot of revisionist history about Lennox Lewis being some kind of world beater power punching monster.

The only guys Lewis feasted on we're bums like Golota, Grant, Botha, Briggs.... And you sure wouldn't compare them to a Prime Foreman or Frazier or Ali....

I was there for all of Lewis' career. Fact is the man was really good but inconsistent. He had a great jab and straight right hand. Uppercuts and long left hook were pretty damn good too. But his conditioning was often inconsistent and he never allowed himself to go into a destroyer mode, always electing to play it safe and if he scored a KO, would often do so cautiously, behind a measured attack.

Add to that he could be arrogant and underestimate opponents and lose focus in the ring and you might begin to understand why I respect Lennox but also refuse to automatically grant him top dog status in any era of competition.

One big difference between Lennox and the 90s era when he reigned is that the 70s guys had HEART and GUTS. They came to fight and leave it all in the ring. That could spell doom for an arrogant Lewis who oftentimes felt that all he had to do to win was show up.

[soul_survivor]

I was talking to my granddad the other day and he believes Lennox would have done very well in the 70's, but he thinks Tyson would have struggled immensely due to his mental issues of folding up when being hit back.

How do you guys see this?

Lewis didn't have the chin or dynamic ability to beat guys who could throw bombs like Frazier and Foreman. He might outpoint second tier guys like Shavers and Lyle though, maybe stop Lyle. Norton would be an awkward match up and it could get really tough and physical for Lewis down the stretch. Let's not even get started on Ali.

Tyson, at his absolute physical and mental best could hang with the best. I reckon he'd stop Norton and Lyle, hurt Shavers and batter a few other the 3rd tier guys. Against the very best (Frazier, Ali, Foreman) I don't think he could last the full 15 rounds. They would take him into deep waters in different ways and Tyson would not be able to swim.