Hypothetical Match-up: Mike Tyson vs James Toney

[Diamond WEAPON]

It's sad that one of the only "go to" stories to save Mike's credibility is that James Buster Douglas was somehow Superman on that night.

Fact is he was very good, and when he was at his best he would ALWAYS be a headache for Mike. Might even beat him on another night other than that the night he was mysteriously morphed into the Hulk, or Thor or whoever he was that night.

That would make a great comic book, a superhero who's cover dayjob is a world champion boxer who kicks total ass, like an extension of what that Superman vs Ali comic hinted at.

Anyway, to throw my two cents in, there's a difference between being in great physical shape and being in a sharpened boxing shape, they are mutually exclusive in certain cases when a guy simply goes through the motions of a hard workout but without giving much thought to technique or strategy in the Boxing oriented parts of a workout. Tyson was clearly in good physical shape but his timing and skills were sloppy against Douglas and he resorted to looking for a single bomb to land virtually all night all the while getting hit with every combination known to man. Douglas fulfilled some of his promise on that one night and showed a spark of what a great champion he could've been, but consistency was never gonna be one of his trademarks, just as it is with many other talented fighters who show signs of something they never fulfill fully.

[NazNaci1]

I meant Douglas had the talent and on that night, it all came together.

The speed, power, the jab, chin, the combinations, the will to win etc...He always had these attributes but never did they all come together on one night, as they did that one.

Granted, a prime Tyson would have struggled immensely with THAT Douglas and probably still lost imo.

[Diamond WEAPON]

I meant Douglas had the talent and on that night, it all came together.

The speed, power, the jab, chin, the combinations, the will to win etc...He always had these attributes but never did they all come together on one night, as they did that one.

Granted, a prime Tyson would have struggled immensely with THAT Douglas and probably still lost imo.

Personally I think Tyson on his best night beats Douglas on his best night, but only after taking a shellacking. Basically I see him getting beat up similarly to what happened but being able to capitalize after hurting Buster the way he did in the actual fight.

[NazNaci1]

He might have pulled a win out of the hat, there.

Tough one, either way

[SaadOffTheDeck]

It's sad that one of the only "go to" stories to save Mike's credibility is that James Buster Douglas was somehow Superman on that night.

Fact is he was very good, and when he was at his best he would ALWAYS be a headache for Mike. Might even beat him on another night other than that the night he was mysteriously morphed into the Hulk, or Thor or whoever he was that night.

That would make a great comic book, a superhero who's cover dayjob is a world champion boxer who kicks total ass, like an extension of what that Superman vs Ali comic hinted at.

Anyway, to throw my two cents in, there's a difference between being in great physical shape and being in a sharpened boxing shape, they are mutually exclusive in certain cases when a guy simply goes through the motions of a hard workout but without giving much thought to technique or strategy in the Boxing oriented parts of a workout. Tyson was clearly in good physical shape but his timing and skills were sloppy against Douglas and he resorted to looking for a single bomb to land virtually all night all the while getting hit with every combination known to man. Douglas fulfilled some of his promise on that one night and showed a spark of what a great champion he could've been, but consistency was never gonna be one of his trademarks, just as it is with many other talented fighters who show signs of something they never fulfill fully.

How does anyone know his timing and skills weren't made to look sloppy by that punishing jab being in his face from the second the opening bell rang?

[big train express]

Hey guys lets fukkin rename this thread into "was tyson mentally and physically prepared for douglas."

smh

[DannyHornet]

I wonder how out-of-shape one can be when they have a six-pack & perfect musculature definition. Jesus H. Christ, people talk about Tyson in the Douglas fight as though he was carrying an extra ten kilos. How many of the commentary crew said anything along the lines of, "Gee, Mike sure looks soft tonight," as he entered the ring in Tokyo?

Excuses, excuses.

The most important muscle is the brain and if that's not in shape, then the fighter is in big trouble. That was the case for Tyson in the Douglas fight.

The brain is not a muscle.

[keithmoonhangover]

I wonder how out-of-shape one can be when they have a six-pack & perfect musculature definition. Jesus H. Christ, people talk about Tyson in the Douglas fight as though he was carrying an extra ten kilos. How many of the commentary crew said anything along the lines of, "Gee, Mike sure looks soft tonight," as he entered the ring in Tokyo?

Excuses, excuses.

The most important muscle is the brain and if that's not in shape, then the fighter is in big trouble. That was the case for Tyson in the Douglas fight.

The brain is not a muscle.

*YAWN*

[gilgamesh]

James Toney had some qualities that I think would ensure if nothing else that he'd give Tyson fits in there. He's certainly a very slick defensive fighter, likely as slick as anybody Tyson ever stepped in with if not more so, and considering he's never been stopped it's fair to say he had a granite chin. At the same time though, Toney never fought a Heavyweight like Tyson with his side to side movement and combination of speed and power Tyson would be more than a handful for any Heavyweight that ever walked the Earth in his prime. Tyson always seemed to have trouble with guys who weren't intimidated of him, so that's on advantage for Toney. Tyson also had trouble with guys that were significantly taller than him, since Toney is shorter than Mike...Advantage Mike in that case. Basically though I figure Mike would just be throwing too many punches in there and while I don't think he'd knock Toney out, I do think it's very possible that he'd drop him a time or two, and win a lot of the rounds just over his significantly higher workrate and the fact that his punches carry a lot more pop that would be eye-catching to the judges. I could see Toney coming on late and winning possibly the last 3 rounds of the bout, but it would be too little, too late and he'd still drop a Unanimous Decision to Mike.

[The 1bangkid]

a prime tyson it would be a easy nights work for mike people say toney had a great defensive but mike's was better but i dnt think he would need it 6 round ko