BoxRec

Seriously, why do some people think that Tyson smashing the lost generation and an old Larry Holmes mean he would have iced Ali and is a top 3 heavy of all time???

Depends if we’re talking peak Godzilla or the one after he divorced Mothra and got beaten up by King Kong.

Thought this was the next Fight Options mega-event in Chester for a minute

I personally think tyson is one of the best heavyweight fighters of all time at his very short lived peak. I think aswell the reason many of us do think this is that there is much more footage of tyson doing damage to peoples faces than any other fighter that ever lived. Tyson is a cult figure I suppose and i think deservedly so he was one of if not the most devastating fighter of all time!!! Would he beat ali? Would he beat foreman or frazier? Would he beat the klitschkos? Would he have beat lennox at his best? None of this can ever be answered but we all have an opinion and i think he may have beat them all apart from the klitschkos who are not the best fighters by any means but they are the hardest heavyweights of all time to beat!!! Boring as they may be you gotta say they do what they do really well. I just wish i could enjoy watching them fight. Never mind tho ay they will retire and heavyweight boxing along with the whole sport will get a well needed boost.

Ezzard wrote:Depends if we’re talking peak Godzilla or the one after he divorced Mothra and got beaten up by King Kong.

If I was Godzilla's trainer, I'd get him upgraded to MechaGodzilla ASAP...

I personally think tyson was over rated in some respects, there is also an argument that he is under rated by some. In his prime could he have competed with the the greats - i think probably so. Is he an all time great - yes. Would he have beaten a prime ali or lennox lewis - probably not.

This topic has been done to death but I will put forward my own personal opinion.

I do think Tyson kind of gets dismissed nowadays as some maniacal, gutless bully. which is overtly harsh, in my opinion. Whilst its true, his potential was never realised, I would certainly place him in th top 15 ATG HW's, probably closer to 10 rather than 15.

Talent-wise, not many I would take over him however, as we know, its not always just about talent. I would favour him (cicra 86-88) over the recent HW Champs we have had ie Klitschko's, Lewis, Bowe, though 'Vander was someone who was always going to be tough.

For me, Tyson demonstrated such ability, for a small fighter, the fact he could not fight inside didn't really come into it as most guys were scared s*******. Great chin, good power, tremendous speed and combinations - a great fighter. Psychologically is where his weakness was. He did take his 'licks' like a fighter (the Douglas, Lewis and Evander beat downs were brutal), so his heart was not an issue. He was a confidence fighter and like anyone, once that's gone, especially as a boxer, you lose much more than you realise.

As for Godzilla, Tyson KO 1.

Tyson would have lost to a peak Godzilla by late TKO, or early burning if Godzilla breathed fire on him in the early rounds as Tyson would have tried to bite him or break his arm or something.

As for Mechagodzilla; I think Tyson takes him, as Mechagodzilla was a bit slow & 'robotic'.

Ah yes, forgot about the 'fire' thing.....Hmm, I may need to re-assess.

Good point on MechaGodzilla, Syntax.

Who beats a prime Tyson, in your opinion?

(Robin Givens doesn't count).

Mensa07 wrote:Who beats a prime Tyson, in your opinion?

(Robin Givens doesn't count).

Larry Holmes is one who springs to mind. Tyson was one of the best of all time during his very brief peak.

I think if both were in their prime Lewis measures and stop’s Tyson. Tyson was a bully a terrific ferocious fighter although when someone hits him back it’s a different fight. Regarding comparisons to K2, Vitali would handle Tyson and stop him too. Wlad might crumble. Unfortunately theses fighters just missed out on each by a few years.

I'm a Lewis fan, but I'd take a prime Tyson to KO him.

Vitali too, and what he'd do to Wlad doesn't bear thinking about.

Mensa07 wrote:I'm a Lewis fan, but I'd take a prime Tyson to KO him.

Vitali too, and what he'd do to Wlad doesn't bear thinking about.

So just out of curiosity do you think anyone would beat a prime Tyson?

zero wrote:

Mensa07 wrote:I'm a Lewis fan, but I'd take a prime Tyson to KO him.

Vitali too, and what he'd do to Wlad doesn't bear thinking about.

So just out of curiosity do you think anyone would beat a prime Tyson?

tough question but the same rules apply to all sports 'comparison' questions etc...

tyson was an animal at his peak, if cooper dropped ali then tyson would beat ali, in my opinion.

vitali would have had a good chance against a peak tyson, because he is so awkward and hits so hard.

foreman was owned by ali. dempsey, marciano and frazier etc were too small, lewis had slightly questionable whiskers and a peak tyson would have stopped him i feel. tyson would have iced wladimir.

but its a tough tough question. i feel a peak holmes would have given tyson problems.

rhino222 wrote:

zero wrote:

Mensa07 wrote:I'm a Lewis fan, but I'd take a prime Tyson to KO him.

Vitali too, and what he'd do to Wlad doesn't bear thinking about.

So just out of curiosity do you think anyone would beat a prime Tyson?

tough question but the same rules apply to all sports 'comparison' questions etc...

tyson was an animal at his peak, if cooper dropped ali then tyson would beat ali, in my opinion.

vitali would have had a good chance against a peak tyson, because he is so awkward and hits so hard.

foreman was owned by ali. dempsey, marciano and frazier etc were too small, lewis had slightly questionable whiskers and a peak tyson would have stopped him i feel. tyson would have iced wladimir.

but its a tough tough question. i feel a peak holmes would have given tyson problems.

Yeah, Ali wasn’t at his peak when he fought Cooper though…Lennox’s peak was from about 1997 to 2001 IMO. I would still consider Tyson at his peak when Douglas beat him. I just think Lewis with the size advantage and Technical ability would beat Tyson if he could withstand the first 4 rounds of course.

bengulnaci1 wrote:This topic has been done to death but I will put forward my own personal opinion.

I do think Tyson kind of gets dismissed nowadays as some maniacal, gutless bully. which is overtly harsh, in my opinion. Whilst its true, his potential was never realised, I would certainly place him in th top 15 ATG HW's, probably closer to 10 rather than 15.

Talent-wise, not many I would take over him however, as we know, its not always just about talent. I would favour him (cicra 86-88) over the recent HW Champs we have had ie Klitschko's, Lewis, Bowe, though 'Vander was someone who was always going to be tough.

For me, Tyson demonstrated such ability, for a small fighter, the fact he could not fight inside didn't really come into it as most guys were scared s*******. Great chin, good power, tremendous speed and combinations - a great fighter. Psychologically is where his weakness was. He did take his 'licks' like a fighter (the Douglas, Lewis and Evander beat downs were brutal), so his heart was not an issue. He was a confidence fighter and like anyone, once that's gone, especially as a boxer, you lose much more than you realise.

As for Godzilla, Tyson KO 1.

Good post.

zero wrote:

Mensa07 wrote:I'm a Lewis fan, but I'd take a prime Tyson to KO him.

Vitali too, and what he'd do to Wlad doesn't bear thinking about.

So just out of curiosity do you think anyone would beat a prime Tyson?

Ali, Holmes, Foreman maybe. He'd have 20lbs on the likes of Louis and Marciano. Frazier, who wouldn't want to see that fight. If Lewis had an A chin I might pick him. The K bros I don't believe are in the same class, and neither would come close to beating a young Tyson.

I think the most underrated thing about prime Tyson was his defence. Very difficult to tag cleanly.

Datsue wrote:

Ezzard wrote:Depends if we’re talking peak Godzilla or the one after he divorced Mothra and got beaten up by King Kong.

If I was Godzilla's trainer, I'd get him upgraded to MechaGodzilla ASAP...

MechaGodzilla would never agree to random testing.

Dan Dares wrote:I think the most underrated thing about prime Tyson was his defence. Very difficult to tag cleanly.

Very good point. It was when he abandoned that and stood there as a static target that he started getting beaten up on.