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I definitely think Lenox Lewis (in his prime) would pretty easily beat Tyson. Lennox Lewis' size, reach, stamina, speed would be too much to handle for Mike. It's mainly because of the size and reach physical advantage. Lewis was so savvy and could keep Tyson away from him because of his length. An average Buster Douglas' height (6'4") is one of the main reasons he beat Tyson. An even longer Lenox Lewis (6'5") who is an infinitely better boxer, would destroy Tyson with relative ease in his prime. And I say that even though Mike was my favorite boxer (I'm a 90's teen).
MT was not a coward. Boxing is the toughest sport out there, especially after the bell rings. A Boxer must use all mental and physical tools to win. MT would have a successful career in any era, dominating a given era is a different answer from me.
I did not like MT. I was hoping for a loss everytime. Luckily his opponents were minimal and selected for a reason. It's well documented that Lewis was avoided because Tyson trainers knew and witnessed Lewis handle MT, before they turned pro.
MT greatest flaw was against large opponents with a stiff jab, i.e. Larry Holmes (prime), Lewis, Klitcho brothers,
and the etc.
Either way, I grew to like post Boxing MT because he admitted his flaws and tried to work on them.
I definitely think Lenox Lewis (in his prime) would pretty easily beat Tyson. Lennox Lewis' size, reach, stamina, speed would be too much to handle for Mike. It's mainly because of the size and reach physical advantage. Lewis was so savvy and could keep Tyson away from him because of his length. An average Buster Douglas' height (6'4") is one of the main reasons he beat Tyson. An even longer Lenox Lewis (6'5") who is an infinitely better boxer, would destroy Tyson with relative ease in his prime. And I say that even though Mike was my favorite boxer (I'm a 90's teen).
Honestly, I thought the fact that Tyson was able to have any type of success as a boxer was incredible. The odds were against him making it as a decent heavyweight, never mind becoming a champion. Think back on his fights. How many times was he ever the bigger man in the ring? He was 5'10, 215 lbs. Chronically undersized for a heavyweight. In no universe should a guy with his measurements be able to even stay in the ring with skilled boxers who in many cases outweighed him by 40 or more pounds and were taller by 5 to 6 inches. So OF COURSE, Lennox Lewis, George Foreman and others would have blasted him. It would be child's play. Muggsy Bogues going up against Shaq. Yet Tyson reminded me so much of Allen Iverson, another little man who was able to dominate against much larger opponents.
He needed to be at the top of his game to overcome these obstacles, and sadly with the death of Cus, that was no longer the case, so it was a matter of time before he fell off. But I will always respect the guy because in his prime, he made those deficiencies seem to disappear. I didnt realize how much smaller he was than other heavyweights till much later on. So yeah you can have your Lennox and Holyfield. Yes those two are better than Tyson and proved it in the ring. My boxing heart will always be for Tyson, the ultimate under dog.
Mike Tyson’s prime was only from 1985-1988. After the Michael Spinks fight (Kevin Rooney’s last as Tyson’s trainer) it went downhill. I can’t stand when people think of Tyson as the ultimate fight ever based on only 3yrs of work. Did he have the potential to be the greatest of all time I believe so, I also believe he could’ve remained undefeated his whole career. However the only way that was happening was if none of these 3 things occurred.
- cus d’ mato & jimmy jacobs didnt die
- Kevin Rooney remained as trainer
- No Don King.
Who would beat a prime Mike Tyson, very easy answer. In my opinion without a doubt a Prime Muhammad Ali, Prime George Foreman, Prime Larry Holmes, Prime Joe Louis, Riddick Bowe (only on the night of his first Holyfield fight). Both prime Lennox Lewis and prime Evander Holyfield would’ve beaten Tyson as older versions of them beat him easily and were nowhere near their primes.
I also have to give honorable mention to Vitali Kiltschko, Joe Frazier, Rocky Marciano and Earnie Shavers (on his best night) to possibly beat Tyson.
As an FYI I grew up during the Tyson era, I was a boxer as well, spent many years as a fan and researcher on the sport. I’m not a casual fan like most people who always only seem to pick Tyson over everyone lol.
I will say though as confident as I am in my list of fighters who could beat a prime tyson, the Iron Mike who destroyed Michael Spinks that night wouldn’t make it easy at all. Aside from that night the tyson who shows up could easily be beaten from the names I said cause of the no fear and mental strength on top of fighting ability.
Listen to a recent tyson interview and he will tel you how he was actually hypnotized for the early years of his career. It helped maintain his mental composure.
Ali had the greatest chin in boxing history and then add in amazing Boxing skills and intelligence. All of which would force a great match, but I think Ali would get past Tyson.
I think both Fury and Wilder could beat him too. Fury is pretty much a foot taller than Mike.
It's important to say though that Tyson could obviously beat anybody that ever walked this Earth if he caught them with one of his hooks.
Last edited by jobaba; 04-26-2020 at 08:05 PM..
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