Anthony Joshua 2017 v Mike Tyson 1986.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Crazy talk... Tillis took him 10 rounds... Bonecrusher the full 15...as did Tucker...

Smith held on for dear life and lost by a near whitewash. He should have been dqd ling hefore the end.

[Tanzio]

AJ survives the early onslaught and beats Tyson down mid to late.

[crusader]

I'll hesitantly take Joshua.the physical dimensions are just a big ask for someone with Tyson's limited ring iq

Just curious, what makes you pick AJ over Tyson due to physical dimensions, when in the past you've suggested that Tyson would pretty much be a lock over 6'6" Wlad, and that Tyson KO1 Wlad sounded right to you?

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I'll hesitantly take Joshua.the physical dimensions are just a big ask for someone with Tyson's limited ring iq

Just curious, what makes you pick AJ over Tyson due to physical dimensions, when in the past you've suggested that Tyson would pretty much be a lock over 6'6" Wlad, and that Tyson KO1 Wlad sounded right to you?

I thought wlad was a pussy then, I'd still take Tyson over him but not as confidently. I think aj is better than wlad.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Tyson's lack of inside game is being underestimated.

Yes, but joshua isnt a great inside fighter.

He doesn't have to be. Or is Joshua the much smaller guy?

[Ezzard]

Crazy talk... Tillis took him 10 rounds... Bonecrusher the full 15...as did Tucker...

Smith held on for dear life and lost by a near whitewash. He should have been dqd ling hefore the end.

But why didn't Tyson just easily slip inside and smash him up like everyone seems to be suggesting he will do to Joshua? Why couldn't he do it to Tucker? Why did it take him 6 rounds or more against other fighters?

He might...but it is not the foregone conclusion people here are saying it is. And if Joshua is able to move Tyson backwards then there's only one winner.

Tyson is still probably the most overrated fighter of my lifetime.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think tyson is both over and underrated if that makes sense.

[Matt W]

I think tyson is both over and underrated if that makes sense.

I agree with this. Tyson had incredible strengths that he made the most of but also had weaknesses that were exploited more than once and yet his losses are dismissed by many because he was 'on the decline'. Yes he was but he had a big part to play in that - hell, he was what, 23 when he lost to Douglas? And let's not forget, Douglas pasted him. People make excuses for his losses in a way they do't for others. Tyson didn't live like a monk before his great wins so you can't then blame them for his losses. He had gonorroeah when he smashed Berbick!

I actually think a prime Riddick Bowe would have hammered Tyson - big man, great jab and great inside fighter, all wrong for Mike.

[matthewcb]

In my honest opinion Mike Tyson was the best heavyweight ever , he beat every man in front of him before his decline , every champion , they were scared before they entered the ring , he put the fear of god into all men....so for me itd take him 2 or 3 rounds to obliterate AJ....just my opinion

Hmmm.

He lost to Buster Douglas at 24 - hardly past his prime.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said many were defeated before they entered the ring - question is, would Joshua be intimidated?

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think tyson is both over and underrated if that makes sense.

I agree with this. Tyson had incredible strengths that he made the most of but also had weaknesses that were exploited more than once and yet his losses are dismissed by many because he was 'on the decline'. Yes he was but he had a big part to play in that - hell, he was what, 23 when he lost to Douglas? And let's not forget, Douglas pasted him. People make excuses for his losses in a way they do't for others. Tyson didn't live like a monk before his great wins so you can't then blame them for his losses. He had gonorroeah when he smashed Berbick!

I actually think a prime Riddick Bowe would have hammered Tyson - big man, great jab and great inside fighter, all wrong for Mike.

Yes id have picked bowe in his prime. Bowe had all thr tools to be an all time great save the discipline to carry it through. His one weakness was his footwork which made him susceptible to good combination punchers who could move, but his all round skillset and toughness would have got him past the initial tyson onslaught.

[bbjc]

Think tysons seriously underrated nowadays. To a scary level. In terms of career...hes rated about right...it was a let down in the end...but in terms of how good he was for a short period of time....hes massively underrated.

No ones come close to smashing the division at 20 years old since. Dont think people realise how difficult and how much of an achievement that was. To boot that 80,s division is seriously underrated. If anyone gets the chance go back and watch them. They could do it all. Great jabs. Good footwork. Great punch variations. Great engines. Could fight going backwards. Had good boxing iq. Could move well all directions. Good head movement Good combination punchers.

Now compare that to someone like molina or breazeale. I dont think they tick any of them boxes. They dont actually do anything well.

The 80,s guys get stick probably because their wasnt a stand out champion just prior to tyson coming along but it was a deep division filled with talent.

They couldnt get the kid sparring partners he was smashing them up so badly. I heard holyfield tellig a story just last night when they sparred. Holyfield was 21 years old. Him and tyson we,re actually on the olympic b team. Tyson was smashing apart all the other olympians in the gym. So Holyfield offered to spar him. Tysons handlers we,re actually apprehensive incase holyfield got a bad beating. Pretty sure they started the spar with tyson only allowed to use his left hand. He was 17 years old. Thats the kind of level we,re talking. According to holyfield it went his way even with the use of both hands but you ve got to ask yourself the question why are his own handlers only letting him use the left.

Nowadays everyones version of events is they beat tyson in sparring. I remember it back then the stories coming out we,re no one could stay in with him. No one was claiming a win back then. Just years later.

Tyson was trained like an animal. As a result he was head and shoulders above everyone else....and then he started preparing like an amatuer. If we,re talking about the one that was training like an animal...he,d knock joshua out.....early. two different level of fighters.

[Oiky]

Think tysons seriously underrated nowadays. To a scary level. In terms of career...hes rated about right...it was a let down in the end...but in terms of how good he was for a short period of time....hes massively underrated.

No ones come close to smashing the division at 20 years old since. Dont think people realise how difficult and how much of an achievement that was. To boot that 80,s division is seriously underrated. If anyone gets the chance go back and watch them. They could do it all. Great jabs. Good footwork. Great punch variations. Great engines. Could fight going backwards. Had good boxing iq. Could move well all directions. Good head movement Good combination punchers.

Now compare that to someone like molina or breazeale. I dont think they tick any of them boxes. They dont actually do anything well.

The 80,s guys get stick probably because their wasnt a stand out champion just prior to tyson coming along but it was a deep division filled with talent.

They couldnt get the kid sparring partners he was smashing them up so badly. I heard holyfield tellig a story just last night when they sparred. Holyfield was 21 years old. Him and tyson we,re actually on the olympic b team. Tyson was smashing apart all the other olympians in the gym. So Holyfield offered to spar him. Tysons handlers we,re actually apprehensive incase holyfield got a bad beating. Pretty sure they started the spar with tyson only allowed to use his left hand. He was 17 years old. Thats the kind of level we,re talking. According to holyfield it went his way even with the use of both hands but you ve got to ask yourself the question why are his own handlers only letting him use the left.

Nowadays everyones version of events is they beat tyson in sparring. I remember it back then the stories coming out we,re no one could stay in with him. No one was claiming a win back then. Just years later.

Tyson was trained like an animal. As a result he was head and shoulders above everyone else....and then he started preparing like an amatuer. If we,re talking about the one that was training like an animal...he,d knock joshua out.....early. two different level of fighters.

Spot on

[Mimmy]

Think tysons seriously underrated nowadays. To a scary level. In terms of career...hes rated about right...it was a let down in the end...but in terms of how good he was for a short period of time....hes massively underrated.

No ones come close to smashing the division at 20 years old since. Dont think people realise how difficult and how much of an achievement that was. To boot that 80,s division is seriously underrated. If anyone gets the chance go back and watch them. They could do it all. Great jabs. Good footwork. Great punch variations. Great engines. Could fight going backwards. Had good boxing iq. Could move well all directions. Good head movement Good combination punchers.

Now compare that to someone like molina or breazeale. I dont think they tick any of them boxes. They dont actually do anything well.

The 80,s guys get stick probably because their wasnt a stand out champion just prior to tyson coming along but it was a deep division filled with talent.

They couldnt get the kid sparring partners he was smashing them up so badly. I heard holyfield tellig a story just last night when they sparred. Holyfield was 21 years old. Him and tyson we,re actually on the olympic b team. Tyson was smashing apart all the other olympians in the gym. So Holyfield offered to spar him. Tysons handlers we,re actually apprehensive incase holyfield got a bad beating. Pretty sure they started the spar with tyson only allowed to use his left hand. He was 17 years old. Thats the kind of level we,re talking. According to holyfield it went his way even with the use of both hands but you ve got to ask yourself the question why are his own handlers only letting him use the left.

Nowadays everyones version of events is they beat tyson in sparring. I remember it back then the stories coming out we,re no one could stay in with him. No one was claiming a win back then. Just years later.

Tyson was trained like an animal. As a result he was head and shoulders above everyone else....and then he started preparing like an amatuer. If we,re talking about the one that was training like an animal...he,d knock joshua out.....early. two different level of fighters.

I dont think ive ever seen a boxer since Mike Tyson that actually scared his opponent s to death. I think Spinks was spooked, Bruno was certainly spooked in the second fight, he possibly had more confidence in his first match up with Mike, but knew he was a gonna in the second. Bruce Seldon was crapping himself and I dont think Trevor Berbick was all that confident either.

You have to sort of look at boxers in that division from then on after Mike Tyson that scared thier opposition, there was none.

The only guys who had the edge over Tyson were those who had self belief Evander Holyfield, Razor Ruddock, Mitch Green, Tony Tucker, James Smith and Buster Douglas. While several of those boxers got beat against Tyson they had the balls and the style not to get knocked out.

One boxer who I would liked to have seen against Mike was Tim Witherspoon possibly around 1987. I dont know how Tim never got a title shot around that time racking up 12 wins between 87 and 92. I wonder if Mike Tyson avoided him for some reason or was it King never gave him an opportunity.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Think tysons seriously underrated nowadays. To a scary level. In terms of career...hes rated about right...it was a let down in the end...but in terms of how good he was for a short period of time....hes massively underrated.

No ones come close to smashing the division at 20 years old since. Dont think people realise how difficult and how much of an achievement that was. To boot that 80,s division is seriously underrated. If anyone gets the chance go back and watch them. They could do it all. Great jabs. Good footwork. Great punch variations. Great engines. Could fight going backwards. Had good boxing iq. Could move well all directions. Good head movement Good combination punchers.

Now compare that to someone like molina or breazeale. I dont think they tick any of them boxes. They dont actually do anything well.

The 80,s guys get stick probably because their wasnt a stand out champion just prior to tyson coming along but it was a deep division filled with talent.

They couldnt get the kid sparring partners he was smashing them up so badly. I heard holyfield tellig a story just last night when they sparred. Holyfield was 21 years old. Him and tyson we,re actually on the olympic b team. Tyson was smashing apart all the other olympians in the gym. So Holyfield offered to spar him. Tysons handlers we,re actually apprehensive incase holyfield got a bad beating. Pretty sure they started the spar with tyson only allowed to use his left hand. He was 17 years old. Thats the kind of level we,re talking. According to holyfield it went his way even with the use of both hands but you ve got to ask yourself the question why are his own handlers only letting him use the left.

Nowadays everyones version of events is they beat tyson in sparring. I remember it back then the stories coming out we,re no one could stay in with him. No one was claiming a win back then. Just years later.

Tyson was trained like an animal. As a result he was head and shoulders above everyone else....and then he started preparing like an amatuer. If we,re talking about the one that was training like an animal...he,d knock joshua out.....early. two different level of fighters.

I dont think ive ever seen a boxer since Mike Tyson that actually scared his opponent s to death. I think Spinks was spooked, Bruno was certainly spooked in the second fight, he possibly had more confidence in his first match up with Mike, but knew he was a gonna in the second. Bruce Seldon was crapping himself and I dont think Trevor Berbick was all that confident either.

You have to sort of look at boxers in that division from then on after Mike Tyson that scared thier opposition, there was none.

The only guys who had the edge over Tyson were those who had self belief Evander Holyfield, Razor Ruddock, Mitch Green, Tony Tucker, James Smith and Buster Douglas. While several of those boxers got beat against Tyson they had the balls and the style not to get knocked out.

One boxer who I would liked to have seen against Mike was Tim Witherspoon possibly around 1987. I dont know how Tim never got a title shot around that time racking up 12 wins between 87 and 92. I wonder if Mike Tyson avoided him for some reason or was it King never gave him an opportunity.

King deliberately screwed witherspoons career.

[bbjc]

Think tysons seriously underrated nowadays. To a scary level. In terms of career...hes rated about right...it was a let down in the end...but in terms of how good he was for a short period of time....hes massively underrated.

No ones come close to smashing the division at 20 years old since. Dont think people realise how difficult and how much of an achievement that was. To boot that 80,s division is seriously underrated. If anyone gets the chance go back and watch them. They could do it all. Great jabs. Good footwork. Great punch variations. Great engines. Could fight going backwards. Had good boxing iq. Could move well all directions. Good head movement Good combination punchers.

Now compare that to someone like molina or breazeale. I dont think they tick any of them boxes. They dont actually do anything well.

The 80,s guys get stick probably because their wasnt a stand out champion just prior to tyson coming along but it was a deep division filled with talent.

They couldnt get the kid sparring partners he was smashing them up so badly. I heard holyfield tellig a story just last night when they sparred. Holyfield was 21 years old. Him and tyson we,re actually on the olympic b team. Tyson was smashing apart all the other olympians in the gym. So Holyfield offered to spar him. Tysons handlers we,re actually apprehensive incase holyfield got a bad beating. Pretty sure they started the spar with tyson only allowed to use his left hand. He was 17 years old. Thats the kind of level we,re talking. According to holyfield it went his way even with the use of both hands but you ve got to ask yourself the question why are his own handlers only letting him use the left.

Nowadays everyones version of events is they beat tyson in sparring. I remember it back then the stories coming out we,re no one could stay in with him. No one was claiming a win back then. Just years later.

Tyson was trained like an animal. As a result he was head and shoulders above everyone else....and then he started preparing like an amatuer. If we,re talking about the one that was training like an animal...he,d knock joshua out.....early. two different level of fighters.

I dont think ive ever seen a boxer since Mike Tyson that actually scared his opponent s to death. I think Spinks was spooked, Bruno was certainly spooked in the second fight, he possibly had more confidence in his first match up with Mike, but knew he was a gonna in the second. Bruce Seldon was crapping himself and I dont think Trevor Berbick was all that confident either.

You have to sort of look at boxers in that division from then on after Mike Tyson that scared thier opposition, there was none.

The only guys who had the edge over Tyson were those who had self belief Evander Holyfield, Razor Ruddock, Mitch Green, Tony Tucker, James Smith and Buster Douglas. While several of those boxers got beat against Tyson they had the balls and the style not to get knocked out.

One boxer who I would liked to have seen against Mike was Tim Witherspoon possibly around 1987. I dont know how Tim never got a title shot around that time racking up 12 wins between 87 and 92. I wonder if Mike Tyson avoided him for some reason or was it King never gave him an opportunity.

Good post mate. I think one of the things people dont look into enough when it comes to opponents tyson failed to stop was his schedule. Think between the mitch green fight and the james smith one....there was 17 days. For a kid that age to fight two solid guys like that in such a short space of times is unheard of nowadays. Hard going schedule that for a 19 year old. Training like they we,re and trying to fight 2 x 12 round fights in a space of 17 days. Its no wonder he failed to stop them. Plus guys like tony tucker took lewis the 12 i think again they wasnt a long break before back to back fights. They we,re durable guys tyson was fighting. Plus cause they we,re all out regularly they we,re sharp.

I dont really buy into the tyson was a bully talk. They we,re mostly all mentally strong guys...but tyson was so far ahead of the pack its little wonder they fell apart. They fell apart cause they knew what was coming and there wasnt a lot they could do about it imo.

Think by the time from buster onwards the old tyson was gone forever. He was sliding ever since he left the trainers. Buster wasnt actually that a mentally strong guy...its just that he found out in that very first round that mike tyson wasnt prepared for it. One of the easiest fights douglas had. A lot of guys tyson defeated would have beat tyson that night for me.

Witherspoon good shout...before that run he was slightly inconsistant struggling with guys tyson battered. Would have been a good challenger tho. Seemed to miss it for some reason.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Think tysons seriously underrated nowadays. To a scary level. In terms of career...hes rated about right...it was a let down in the end...but in terms of how good he was for a short period of time....hes massively underrated.

No ones come close to smashing the division at 20 years old since. Dont think people realise how difficult and how much of an achievement that was. To boot that 80,s division is seriously underrated. If anyone gets the chance go back and watch them. They could do it all. Great jabs. Good footwork. Great punch variations. Great engines. Could fight going backwards. Had good boxing iq. Could move well all directions. Good head movement Good combination punchers.

Now compare that to someone like molina or breazeale. I dont think they tick any of them boxes. They dont actually do anything well.

The 80,s guys get stick probably because their wasnt a stand out champion just prior to tyson coming along but it was a deep division filled with talent.

They couldnt get the kid sparring partners he was smashing them up so badly. I heard holyfield tellig a story just last night when they sparred. Holyfield was 21 years old. Him and tyson we,re actually on the olympic b team. Tyson was smashing apart all the other olympians in the gym. So Holyfield offered to spar him. Tysons handlers we,re actually apprehensive incase holyfield got a bad beating. Pretty sure they started the spar with tyson only allowed to use his left hand. He was 17 years old. Thats the kind of level we,re talking. According to holyfield it went his way even with the use of both hands but you ve got to ask yourself the question why are his own handlers only letting him use the left.

Nowadays everyones version of events is they beat tyson in sparring. I remember it back then the stories coming out we,re no one could stay in with him. No one was claiming a win back then. Just years later.

Tyson was trained like an animal. As a result he was head and shoulders above everyone else....and then he started preparing like an amatuer. If we,re talking about the one that was training like an animal...he,d knock joshua out.....early. two different level of fighters.

I dont think ive ever seen a boxer since Mike Tyson that actually scared his opponent s to death. I think Spinks was spooked, Bruno was certainly spooked in the second fight, he possibly had more confidence in his first match up with Mike, but knew he was a gonna in the second. Bruce Seldon was crapping himself and I dont think Trevor Berbick was all that confident either.

You have to sort of look at boxers in that division from then on after Mike Tyson that scared thier opposition, there was none.

The only guys who had the edge over Tyson were those who had self belief Evander Holyfield, Razor Ruddock, Mitch Green, Tony Tucker, James Smith and Buster Douglas. While several of those boxers got beat against Tyson they had the balls and the style not to get knocked out.

One boxer who I would liked to have seen against Mike was Tim Witherspoon possibly around 1987. I dont know how Tim never got a title shot around that time racking up 12 wins between 87 and 92. I wonder if Mike Tyson avoided him for some reason or was it King never gave him an opportunity.

Good post mate. I think one of the things people dont look into enough when it comes to opponents tyson failed to stop was his schedule. Think between the mitch green fight and the james smith one....there was 17 days. For a kid that age to fight two solid guys like that in such a short space of times is unheard of nowadays. Hard going schedule that for a 19 year old. Training like they we,re and trying to fight 2 x 12 round fights in a space of 17 days. Its no wonder he failed to stop them. Plus guys like tony tucker took lewis the 12 i think again they wasnt a long break before back to back fights. They we,re durable guys tyson was fighting. Plus cause they we,re all out regularly they we,re sharp.

I dont really buy into the tyson was a bully talk. They we,re mostly all mentally strong guys...but tyson was so far ahead of the pack its little wonder they fell apart. They fell apart cause they knew what was coming and there wasnt a lot they could do about it imo.

Think by the time from buster onwards the old tyson was gone forever. He was sliding ever since he left the trainers. Buster wasnt actually that a mentally strong guy...its just that he found out in that very first round that mike tyson wasnt prepared for it. One of the easiest fights douglas had. A lot of guys tyson defeated would have beat tyson that night for me.

Witherspoon good shout...before that run he was slightly inconsistant struggling with guys tyson battered. Would have been a good challenger tho. Seemed to miss it for some reason.

King wanted tyson kept away from witherspoon. There was a good article a few years back about how badly he was treated in the unification tournament. Witherspoon claimed he hoped losing to smith would mean he could part company with king but he didnt escape for several more years as i recall.

[bbjc]

Ah i remember something like that mate. Nothing surprises you with king.

Would be surprised anyone was avoided by tyson around that time tho...witherspoon was struggling with guys tyson battered.

Its another one of them i beat him in sparring stories that came out years after the event...the tyson avoided him talk for me...back in his short prime anyway.

[Matt W]

Think tysons seriously underrated nowadays. To a scary level. In terms of career...hes rated about right...it was a let down in the end...but in terms of how good he was for a short period of time....hes massively underrated.

No ones come close to smashing the division at 20 years old since. Dont think people realise how difficult and how much of an achievement that was. To boot that 80,s division is seriously underrated. If anyone gets the chance go back and watch them. They could do it all. Great jabs. Good footwork. Great punch variations. Great engines. Could fight going backwards. Had good boxing iq. Could move well all directions. Good head movement Good combination punchers.

Now compare that to someone like molina or breazeale. I dont think they tick any of them boxes. They dont actually do anything well.

The 80,s guys get stick probably because their wasnt a stand out champion just prior to tyson coming along but it was a deep division filled with talent.

They couldnt get the kid sparring partners he was smashing them up so badly. I heard holyfield tellig a story just last night when they sparred. Holyfield was 21 years old. Him and tyson we,re actually on the olympic b team. Tyson was smashing apart all the other olympians in the gym. So Holyfield offered to spar him. Tysons handlers we,re actually apprehensive incase holyfield got a bad beating. Pretty sure they started the spar with tyson only allowed to use his left hand. He was 17 years old. Thats the kind of level we,re talking. According to holyfield it went his way even with the use of both hands but you ve got to ask yourself the question why are his own handlers only letting him use the left.

Nowadays everyones version of events is they beat tyson in sparring. I remember it back then the stories coming out we,re no one could stay in with him. No one was claiming a win back then. Just years later.

Tyson was trained like an animal. As a result he was head and shoulders above everyone else....and then he started preparing like an amatuer. If we,re talking about the one that was training like an animal...he,d knock joshua out.....early. two different level of fighters.

Good post and you're spot on about what an achievement it was to win the title at 20. I was a kid at the time so didn't appreciate just how young that was. As I've got older the big thing that stands out for me is that he won the title, not only at such a young age but after only being pro for 18 months. That's an incredible achievement! And he was smashing people to pieces to do it. He was kept very busy and I expect they knew discipline would be a problem for him, especially when fame came calling. Physically Tyson had an awesome skillset but discipline is no more an excuse for not fulfilling potential than a glass jaw is, and at least discipline is something that is in your own hands. I think prime Ali, Holyfield, Bowe, Foreman would all have beat a prime Tyson due to how they match-up against each other and I don't have Tyson high on the all-time ratings but no doubt he was a phenomenal fighter in his brief prime.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Definitely smart to keep him busy. He never had discipline, cus let him do as he pleased.

[stujones]

Back to the question at hand - Tyson by 5th round KO. Still not convinced Joshua is any more than a bigger version of Bruno. I think the Klitchsko fight left us with as many questions as answers. I think Tyson would take it too him, might have a few scares but ultimately it will be Joshua who gasses first.

I think people seem to be forgetting that Joshua had a life an death struggle with a 40 year old Klitchsko who hadn't fought in 2 years. At time, in my opinion, he was getting a bit of a boxing lesson.

If Dillon Whyte can hurt Joshua and Klitchsko can have him at his mercy for a moment, then I think Tyson would have his lights out. I think Joshua needs to showcase a bit more before we can assess how good he is now, if you know what I mean - there are still too many question marks. He's had his first world class opponent against him and he was very close to losing.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Its quite possible joshua will improve significantly on what he is right now, but the truth is he is being vastly overrated based on his actual wins. The win over klitscko was impressive un some espects as he showed great heart to surivive but he was also one solid clean shot away from unconsciousness for over a round.

Tysons speed was phenomenal in his brief prime; his prime was cut short by his lack of self discipline. Without the constant head movememt which was his trademark, he was far more beatable, as his record shows, whilst he kept his power pretty much to the end, his stamina and speed declined massively.

Joshua has poor footwork, he relies on his offence a lot, and whilst he does have quick punches hes not fluid. His sheer size and power have gotten him thus far, his dodgy stamina and reliance on those gifts could see him come unstuck.

I think its fortunate he came to the brink of disaster against wlad, as he will probably improve tactically. I think an ortiz type, could be his nemesis, good footwork, fluid punch output and heavy handed. Sadly it looks like ortiz is either in decline or, like many cubans had too much money and high life to maintain the desire.

[boxingknockout]

Bacause of his erratic behaviour, training issues after he split from his original team, and we now know his drug habit.... Tyson never fulfilled his potential.

If he had Holyfield's mindset he would've been very hard to defeat for years.

His peak was very short, but when you watch how powerful and quick he was, not to mention his technique in the early days.... I can't see another fighter who had his tools.

[Tanzio]

I am not over rating AJ or under rating Iron Mike. AJ 2017, post Wlad, would be too much for any version of Tyson who was always one excellent big man away from defeat, imo.

AJ just did something Tyson was never able to do (until after retirement); come back from the brink. AJ would survive the early adversity and put Tyson away mid to late, if he did not just dispatch him in the early firefight.

2017 AJ is too big, strong, powerful, dedicated and smart for any version of Tyson, although it would be fun while it lasted.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I am not over rating AJ or under rating Iron Mike. AJ 2017, post Wlad, would be too much for any version of Tyson who was always one excellent big man away from defeat, imo.

AJ just did something Tyson was never able to do (until after retirement); come back from the brink. AJ would survive the early adversity and put Tyson away mid to late, if he did not just dispatch him in the early firefight.

2017 AJ is too big, strong, powerful, dedicated and smart for any version of Tyson, although it would be fun while it lasted.

Its one thing surviving thd onslaught from one of the most hard punching yet reluctant heavyweights of all time, another entirely to survive being hurt by tyson in his prime.

I agree that if he could survive he would have the tools to beat tyson into submission, but getting to that point would have been far from a racing certainty.

[crusader]

From a head-to-head perspective, how do the people picking AJ rate him on an all-time basis? Top ten? Top twenty? I specify those who picked AJ, because I think I have a better idea of what the 'Tyson easy KO' people would say.

How would he do against fighters such as:

-Frazier
-Louis
-Ali
-Riddick Blowe
-Holyfield
-Foreman
-Holmes
-Norton
-Marciano
-Butterbean
-Dempsey
-Liston
-Lewis