If tyson fought in Clay/ali time he would be greater than he is now.

[Brassangel]

Not to mention the largest upset in the history of the sport to date. 42:1 odds...whew! Donald ***** put a $1,000,000 bid on Douglas to win that fight. Lucky for a billioinaire I suppose.

Bad matchups from that era for Mike Tyson would include George Foreman because of his size, reach, and his ability to hit with more raw power than Tyson. Although it would be interesting to watch Tyson attack Foreman's body. Sonny Liston would be a tough match, with Liston having a strong reach advantage, but Tyson had considerable speed. In another post I wrote a little ditty about how Tyson's record might look versus the hall-of-famers from that era, assuming he stayed on top and boxed from 1965-1978 or so. It has changed, but could parallel this:

Tyson vs.
Patterson: 2-0 (Mike prevails as Liston did, via KO)
Liston: 1-1 (Bloodbaths; pre-fight feud prevents 3rd bout)
Ali: 1-2 (Mike gets lucky and surprises Ali in fight 1)
Frazier: 2-0 (Similar styles; Mike has more weapons)
Foreman: 0-1 (Mike's frustration prevents a rematch)
Holmes: 1-0 (Holmes is a jerk anyway; Tyson retires afterwards)

Overall: 7-3; not bad. Figure another random loss somewhere to a guy like Chuvalo or Norton (or whoever) and he'd probably skate in around 50-5. His five losses would have looked cleaner against a lot like this, simply because of how big their names were. Keep in mind that the journeymen of the 60's and 70's were far closer to "bums" than the guys of the 80's.

[butterfly1964]

Not to mention the largest upset in the history of the sport to date. 42:1 odds...whew! Donald ***** put a $1,000,000 bid on Douglas to win that fight. Lucky for a billioinaire I suppose.

Bad matchups from that era for Mike Tyson would include George Foreman because of his size, reach, and his ability to hit with more raw power than Tyson. Although it would be interesting to watch Tyson attack Foreman's body. Sonny Liston would be a tough match, with Liston having a strong reach advantage, but Tyson had considerable speed. In another post I wrote a little ditty about how Tyson's record might look versus the hall-of-famers from that era, assuming he stayed on top and boxed from 1965-1978 or so. It has changed, but could parallel this:

Tyson vs.
Patterson: 2-0 (Mike prevails as Liston did, via KO)
Liston: 1-1 (Bloodbaths; pre-fight feud prevents 3rd bout)
Ali: 1-2 (Mike gets lucky and surprises Ali in fight 1)
Frazier: 2-0 (Similar styles; Mike has more weapons)
Foreman: 0-1 (Mike's frustration prevents a rematch)
Holmes: 1-0 (Holmes is a jerk anyway; Tyson retires afterwards)

Overall: 7-3; not bad. Figure another random loss somewhere to a guy like Chuvalo or Norton (or whoever) and he'd probably skate in around 50-5. His five losses would have looked cleaner against a lot like this, simply because of how big their names were. Keep in mind that the journeymen of the 60's and 70's were far closer to "bums" than the guys of the 80's.

nice post!

[marvdave]

Tyson would never beat Ali or Foreman. He would give Frazier hell and I would pick Tyson in that one. Tough fight but Tysons speed and combos would be the difference against Fraziers one big punch. Styles make fights

Tyson would beat Norton and Lyle by ko
Tyson would decision Young
Tyson would ko Quarry

[Easy-E]

i think so sure would have lost to ali but would have most likly beat all the other fighters. i think he would have beat ali once.

he would not have beat clay imo, but he prolly could have ko'd liston, fraizer, norton, quarry, etc etc. him vs foreman is a pickem, and i think ali beats him 2/3 times.
i agree wiht your point tho

[Brassangel]

Thanks for your kind agreements. I just have to say, that in the short time I've been here, I have received several wonderful "donations" as well as complimentary remarks. I appreciate it.

Now, back to a manly topic. Tyson would beat Norton, I'm just factoring in another random loss. Even during the hayday of Mike's career, he tended to get a little bit careless. I guess it didn't matter as he started 37-0 before anyone figured out how to hit him while he's down, (in life, not in the ring).

Regardless of how Tyson's career spiraled into the toilet, it certainly makes for some of the most interesting speculation. Even the Tyson haters out there would have to concede that this makes him one of the top heavyweights in history. No one else had a "bad" career with the potential to be the best like Iron Mike did. His career wasn't a joke, it was more like an 80's rock ballad: hard and exciting, followed by a sad story that gradually fades away into the background.

[VERSION1 (V1)]

Since trilogies, or best two-of's were the big thing of that era, let's get hypothetical. First, we'll assume that Tyson stays with Rooney and focuses on each fighter. Secondly, we'll assume that his career spans from 1965-1979 or so.

VS.
Ali = 1-2 (Tyson got lucky in fight 1)
Foreman = 0-1 (Tyson's frustration prevents rematch)
Liston = 1-1 (Out of ring brawl cancels 3rd fight)
Frazier = 2-0 (Tyson's power and weapons are overwhelming)
Holmes = 1-1 (Tyson retires before a 3rd fight)
Chuvalo = 2-0 (Tyson usually wasn't outbrawled by converts)
Norton = 1-0 (Norton recedes under pressure; a la Foreman)
Shavers = 2-0 (Weakest chin ever)

Overall = 10-5

Not a bad resume against that lot, and it would look a lot better than the 6 losses he has in his current career. I think that Liston vs. Tyson would be an absolute bloodbath in the ring. Both fighters landing stiff combinations; Liston with the reach and Tyson with the speed. Tyson would win the first fight, but Liston would be a little smarter in fight two. This would piss off Iron Mike forcing some out-of-the-ring shenanigans that prevent a third match. I'm also not convinced that Holmes could take Tyson, regardless of what time period you find Holmes in. He might have won one of the fights on points, but that's it. Just speculation.

Tear it apart at will.

i think it might have happen like that just think some of those fight would be all time greatest

[Brassangel]

It's really a shame that his career couldn't have been fueled by a few more big name players. The average journeyman of the 80's was tough, but Tyson's skill made them look rediculous. I think that the following would be hall-of-fame match ups:

Tyson vs. Frazier I & II Tyson wins both, but Frazier has a heart of gold and keeps coming at Mike.

Tyson vs. Ali I, II, III Tyson shocks the world in their first meeting. Naturally there's a rematch and we get an amazing second fight, perhaps one of the best ever, with Ali winning a vicious battle. Ali's ability to age gracefully versus top-notch opponents gives him the advantage in fight three and Tyson loses heart as the fight drags on.

Tyson vs. Holmes Tyson wins and goes out on a positive note, unlike his real career.

[Brassangel]

Oh yeah, and following Tyson's retirement comes some breaking changes to the sport:

Tyson and Liston messed each other up so badly that all committees require mandatory headgear. This takes away Evander Holyfield's most powerful strategy, the head-butt, and he never escapes the Amateur ranks.

Frieking Holyfield...

[supaduck]

Well, that's not entirely true, I think the prime Tyson of a few years before then would have defeated that Douglas. And of course Ali, Liston, Foreman, etc etc..

[moondog0]

Emotions such as Douglas had that night can't be measured by a record, same with James J. Braddock against Max Baer, you can't measure the human heart in boxing, Tyson would have been better earlier in his career, but you just never know....