PRIME Tyson vs PRIME Lewis?

akindoc

How do you think this fight would have went? We all know that Lewis spanked Tyson in their fight but he was given a tough first round by a Tyson who was YEARS past his best and who was 15 pounds heavier than his optimal weight. I am talking about the Lewis who fought Tyson against the Tyson of 1988 who beat spinks and was at his absolute fearsome best.

I think Tyson is the favourite in this fight because we know Lewis can be KO'd by single punches as it happen when he fought McCall and Rahman. We know Tyson will require a thourough beating before he goes down. Another thing to note is Tysons jab, he had a great jab in his younger days and Lewis had big problems with fighters who jabbed (Mercer, Bruno). But lews has big advantages over Tyson as regards size and reach. He has power and a wide selection of shots.

With all that said, I think this fight ends in the middle rounds with lewis getting stopped on his feet after a valiant effort.

What do you think would have happened?

greysquirel

Yeah have to agree with the result 100%, tyson in his prime was lethal don't think lewis would have lasted more than 5-6 rounds. Back then he was unstoppable before all his trouble began he was hungry and on a mission, sadly it went downhill. The only reason lewis looked so good towards the end of his career as there was nobody to fight that wasn't well past it or never had it!!

Sure Vitali Klitshko was really sticking it to him!! and tyson in his prime would have put him on the floor in the opening rounds!!

Harry2001

If Tyson connects early fight is over but if Lewis concentrates he was good at holding off smaller fighters and would be able to pick Tyson off and wear down his spirit, remember Tyson was a bully and did not like it when opponents stood up to him

Lewis holds Tyson at bay and wins by late stoppage or on points

joker77

Tyson in his prime would have ENDED Lewis in the 1st round, end of discussion

jobless

Harry2001 wrote:

If Tyson connects early fight is over but if Lewis concentrates he was good at holding off smaller fighters and would be able to pick Tyson off and wear down his spirit, remember Tyson was a bully and did not like it when opponents stood up to him

Lewis holds Tyson at bay and wins by late stoppage or on points

We're talking about tyson in his prime....there was nobody who could stand up to him in his prime!....i remember before he went to jail he was due to fight Evander Holyfield (before evander bulked up)....this would have been another 3 round or less victory....
Prime Lewis was not in the same league as tyson in his prime!

Harry2001

jobless wrote:

We're talking about tyson in his prime....there was nobody who could stand up to him in his prime!...

There was very little talent to stand up to Tyson when he was in his prime, I'm not saying it's his fault and has been said before you can only beat what’s put in front of you but he dominated a very poor era and was never really tested in his prime

jobless wrote:

Prime Lewis was not in the same league as tyson in his prime!

I disagree, prime Lewis would have had enough smarts and talent to hold off Tyson until he got frustrated and resorted to fouling

akindoc

Harry2001 wrote:

There was very little talent to stand up to Tyson when he was in his prime, I'm not saying it's his fault and has been said before you can only beat what’s put in front of you but he dominated a very poor era and was never really tested in his prime


I disagree, prime Lewis would have had enough smarts and talent to hold off Tyson until he got frustrated and resorted to fouling

Tyson had a record of 37 victories in his prime with 35 coming by way of knockout. He beat good fighters like Spinks, Holmes (Tyson is the only person to stopp Holmes), Thomas and Tucker. Tyson was a beast, he was a 12 round machine. Then he let his personal problems affect him.

Lewis was knocked out cold by journeymen in his prime, unlike Tyson. And Lewis was knocked out with ONE Punch. A prime Tyson hits much harder than McCall and Rahman. Lewis would find it hard to keep the pressure off himself and all it takes is ONE PUNCH. Even an old Tyson managed to hit Lewis with a clean left hook in the first round. The problem was that it didn't have maximum power in it.

Tyson wouldn't get stopped by Lewis at all. But Lewis could win on points. However, it's highly unlikely.

Big Ears

One of the main questions to ask is was Tyson still in his prime when he faught Buster Douglas if the answer is yes they the fight could go either way if no then its a Tyson voctory by knockout but if he wasn't then how ****ing short was Tyson's prime ? 2 years maybe .

I think Tyson was still in his physical prime at the time but not at his mental prime so for me this is Tyson be KO .

walshb

Guys, Tyson was in his prime for no more than two yrs.....late 86 to early 89.....The first Bruno fight saw the first sign of a chink in the armour. This was caused by Rooney's sacking. Once Kevin went, Tyson was on a downward spiral. He was the biggest motivational factor in Tyson's career after Cus D'Amato died. Once Givens and King got to Mike, his time was up. He lacked the character of the real greats and can never really be mentioned alongside the Ali's, Foreman's, Holmes, Joe Louis, Marciano's etc. However, Tyson at his peak was devestating and I believe he would have brutalised Lewis. Holyfield was a different case, because of his great chin, stamina and huge heart. Though I still think Tyson would win by a points victory or late TKO....Mike went 11rds with Evander first time out and at that stage, Tyson was well past it

metaGlass

I'll make this quick...

I think a prime Tyson vs. any of the other two major heavyweights (Lewis & Holyfield) of the late 80s and 90s, would definitely be an interesting fight. It's my opinion however, that Tyson hit his PEAK before the Berbick fight. He hit his peak right before Cus died. Tyson has even said that right after Cus died, he had a strong urge to just leave the sport (sorry, don't have a cite for the interview that came out of). The only people holding his boxing skill and world together were Jimmy Jacobs and Kevin Rooney. Then after Jimmy died, he married Givens, King pushed Cayton out of the picture, and Rooney was fired after siding with Cayton. That's when the dam broke and Tyson started the downward spiral that had been set up for years. He had left a lot of his old team behind (ie: Steve Lott, Rooney, Cayton/Jacobs, etc.), and got together with people that really had no idea how to handle someone like that. They thought they could just wind up him and put him in the ring. Sorry, it didn't work out like that.

Anyway, as I was saying, Tyson in his "prime" (86-88) vs. any of the big heavies would be a good fight. I think he probably would have shredded Holyfield in a similar fashion to how Bowe beat him, except possibly faster. The only thing saving Holyfield would be his chin and heart. Those won't hold up forever though, and back then, Tyson would have worked the body a lot more (kind of like how he did for Ruddock). When the Holyfield fights did actually happen, Tyson was obviously way past his prime (mental, not physical), and was just head-hunting. If he had worked the body more, I think he would have likely beaten Holyfield. Watch round 5 of Holyfield-Tyson I, and watch Tyson start working the body. Holyfield was in trouble for a short period there. One more thing I will say about Holyfield is that I don't think he's the saint that everyone constantly parades him to be. He's definitely a tough character and a great boxer, but he's not lilly-white. Holyfield DOES head-butt, whether it's intentional or not. I hear people talk about how it's unintentional and it's his style that causes it. My response to it is, "So?" That doesn't make it any more excusable. If he leads with his head and he ends up heat-butting a lot more then the average boxer, HE NEEDS TO MODIFY HIS STYLE SO IT DOESN'T INTRODUCE ILLEGAL TACTICS. You can't "accidently" knee someone in the ring and then say, "Sorry, it's my style." Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to villify and knock on Holyfield, I like him too...but it's my opinion that Tyson wrongly becomes the totally evil bad guy in most situations. Now, Tyson taking a bite out of Holyfield's ear is totally wrong and absolutely inexcusable. However, I will say this...Tyson has admitted, apologized, and repeatedly said that was a very stupid thing to do. I've never heard of Holyfield really apologizing for his illegal tactics (feel free to prove me wrong if I am, but cite the source please )

As for Tyson vs. Lewis, I think it would be definitely be a good match. Lewis is a very good technical boxer, and he has the physical advantage in reach and height. Lewis has said before that boxing is about hitting without being hit. This leads to a boring match for most, except for people that are into the technical side of boxing, and can appericiate Lewis' technique. The problem with this technique against a prime Tyson is that it'll cause Lewis to back-pedel in the ring, and Tyson gets a lot of his power in forward lunging attacks. Combine that with Holmes saying about Tyson that he comes in very fast, in combinations, and a lot of different angles. I don't see how Lewis could keep dodging and out-boxing Tyson for more then 8 rounds. On another note, when they finally did fight, Lewis kept saying, "I was ready for the prime Tyson." What the hell? No he wasn't. If you were ready for the prime Tyson, you would have beaten that hollow shell of a man within the first few rounds. It wouldn't have taken you 8 rounds to down him.

In closing, I'll say that Tyson in his prime was a VERY good fighter, regardless of the quality of his opponents. I mean just look at his speed, combinations, and chin (which I think is underrated). He can take a lot of punishment, as was demonstrated in his fights again Holyfield, Lewis, Douglas, and Ruddock. Tyson has a 19.5" neck, and that greatly seems to help him with his chin. Tyson had great power (and he still has it, although maybe not as much), had great speed, great head movement/defense (peek-a-boo), good footwork, and an unmatched aggression (which is one of the biggest reasons he has the draw that he does). When you go to watch a Tyson fight, you know there's a very good chance you'll be entertained.

Anyway, that's my rant. I could write a lot more, but I'll leave it be for now . On a final note, if someone is going to post, lets keep it civil. I'm very open-minded, and I'd love to hear other valid viewpoints.

barrera

There's a lot of pedantic debate about when precisely Tyson's prime was.

However, there can be no doubt that Tyson at his very best, vs Lewis at HIS very best, Tyson would have destroyed Lewis. Lewis would've been lucky to last two rounds.

There is not a single heavyweight since Tyson who could've won vs Tyson at peak condition and form.

Dempsey

joker77 wrote:

Tyson in his prime would have ENDED Lewis in the 1st round, end of discussion

Agreed. If Oliver McCall could sucker punch him.......