How would Mike Tyson have faired against modern day sized heavyweights?

[SUBZER0ED]

whats with the obsession with height, reach and weight on this site? He has more skills than 90 % of the guys today...Many dont know how to use the clinch and not many have a great jab or the movement required to keep him off of them...Tyson was an athletic guy, skilled, powerful and fast

I can see the klitchkos but Alot of guys...i doubt it

Tyson fought some big heavies....Ruddock, Lewis, Tucker, Biggs, Bruno, Douglass, etc....at or near his prime he had to get the breaks beat off of him before he succumb to punishment.


Of the current heavy weights, the guy with the best shot to get by Tyson would probably be Anthony Joshua...he has the size, he has good punching technique, but then again Tyson has blitzed some big guys.

Fury with all that wasted motion and low punch output isnt gonna work against a prime Tyson, and Tyson pre prison actually worked out of the clinch and had mad body shots and threw his combos in up down, body head body fashion

I dont know if anyone today could make it 12 rounds with a prime Tyson.

Wlad and Vitali have the best shot though like you said

I'm with you on this one, Pugilist. Although I think a prime Tyson gets inside and cracks Wlad's suspect chin.

[therealpugilist]

Nearly all of Tyson's opponents were taller than him. A young, focused Tyson was hard to hit. He wasn't just a devastating puncher. He would have destroyed Wilder, Fury, & Wlad once he caught up to them, because his power is too much. They would have had hell hitting him. Vitali might have given him some trouble, because he's tougher than Wlad. Mike may have had to decision him or cut his eyes for a stoppage. Joshua is athletic enough to trouble Mike, but he gets hurt from Mike's left hooks & counter rights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_kbC36JESs

I got you bro...all people think is power, power, power.....Tyson was skilled, quick and powerful....at heavy you usually have one or the other not all 3

[therealpugilist]

I'm with you on this one, Pugilist. Although I think a prime Tyson gets inside and cracks Wlad's suspect chin.

me too...the Wlad may make it to about round 4-5....cant forget how Peter and Brewster worked him over.

Vitali didnt fight a lot of heavies with the kind of speed or power tyson had but he had a good chin and was awkward

He may be the only one I see making it to the final bell.

Then again, we never saw him fight a fighter with Tysons power, and accuracy...his best opponent was a past prime out of shape lennox lewis

[kilojay505]

a prime Mike Tyson would beat ANY of todays HW. Todays hw are athletic but lack the skill in Mike era most the hw at the time had been boxing since childhood with plenty of experience in todays era most the hw have NOT been boxing very long and lack in the skill/experience department. Any one here who has REALLY boxed knows that heights not everything i've boxed opponents 6-7 inches taller than me with no problem At all!

[SUBZER0ED]

I got you bro...all people think is power, power, power.....Tyson was skilled, quick and powerful....at heavy you usually have one or the other not all 3

Thanks for the vids, I couldn't embed the code for some reason.

[New England]

tyson was 5'11". he had bad posture for a pro athlete, and often appeared shorter.


he relied a lot on slipping and getting underneath shots. never lacked in power when he was punching up. was as vicious a body puncher as you'll ever see at HW.

he'd f#cking murder wladimir and the boys. murder them. i don't think there are many people here who even remember tyson in his prime. i certainly don't. i was a toddler in the 80's.

mike tyson in the 80's was an absolute force of nature. speed and power that are unmatched at HW. great defense, too. he was a great, great fighter. maybe some people can't see the gap in class. wladimir, the greatest HW of his generation, was knocked out IN HIS PRIME by lamon brewster and corrie sanders.

wilder hits hard and he's tall, but are you f#Cking kidding me ?

fury is a big dumb cheating *****.

joshua has a lot of talent, but he's way too basic at this age for a guy with head movement and power like tyson.

[therealpugilist]

Thanks for the vids, I couldn't embed the code for some reason.

no problem....its been over 20 years since his prime....they must've forgot

[boliodogs]

He would probably do OK. He was short but hardly small. He weighed a rock hard 222 pounds with no extra weight at all. Wilder weighs about the same. Many of today's 250 pound heavyweights are carrying 50 pounds or so of blubber they would fight better without. They are not so big. They are just fat. Joshua and Wlad are true giants and lean at 240 to 250 pounds. Ortiz and Fury carry lots of fat. Giants have always existed in boxing but they haven't often been the best. When heavyweights get huge they often lose agility, speed, stamina and punch resistance so it's a trade off. Joshua has speed and agility along with great punching power in both hands. He is going to be hard to beat and quite possible become a guy Tyson would lose to. He has been staggered before so it depends on how good his chin is. If his chin is solid I think he is the best heavyweight fighting today.

[therealpugilist]

tyson was 5'11". he had bad posture for a pro athlete, and often appeared shorter.


he relied a lot on slipping and getting underneath shots. never lacked in power when he was punching up. was as vicious a body puncher as you'll ever see at HW.

he'd f#cking murder wladimir and the boys. murder them. i don't think there are many people here who even remember tyson in his prime. i certainly don't. i was a toddler in the 80's.

mike tyson in the 80's was an absolute force of nature. speed and power that are unmatched at HW. great defense, too. he was a great, great fighter. maybe some people can't see the gap in class. wladimir, the greatest HW of his generation, was knocked out IN HIS PRIME by lamon brewster and corrie sanders.

wilder hits hard and he's tall, but are you f#Cking kidding me ?

fury is a big dumb cheating *****.

joshua has a lot of talent, but he's way too basic at this age for a guy with head movement and power like tyson.

thank God for youtube, espn classic back in the day

prime Tyson wreaks these heavies today


He is more skilled and naturally gifted as an athlete to boot

[bluebeam]

Tyson Fury v Mike Tyson size difference is similar to the average guy on here fighting a 10 year old.

But seriously, the heavyweight game is totally different now just due to sheer size. Your average HW these days is about 6'5" and fairly heavy. That would be a HUGE heavyweight in Tyson's day, very rare. Are they more skilled today? maybe not, but the ones who are not bums might deal with Tyson, there will be a point where sheer size takes over and makes it extremely difficult.

I think prime Vitali Klitschko would have KO'd Tyson. I do actually think Wlad is more skilled than Vitali, but Vitali was much tougher and wouldn't be bullied.

Vitali is the only one that I would pick to beat a 19 year old mike tyson. He was a student of the game at that time in his life.

These dudes are too mentally weak to deal with a prime iron mike.

Now post prison mike would lose to them all