Lewis vs. prime Tyson... who would have won?

[La_Vibora]

oh, 16 months prior he was at his best???? Razor had already been Ko'd before Fighting Tyson. Razor, was a good fight for Tyson Neither where in the same league as LL, if you don't beleive that just look at the fact that LL KTFO of both of them.

First of all, Ruddock was certainly damaged goods by the time Lewis got him, I mean this guy had a broken jaw against Tyson, but kept coming. After that, I never saw Ruddock able to handle that kind of punishment again. Secondly, you say that Tyson isn't in the same league as LL because he got knocked out by him when he was 15-20 years past his prime? Well I guess by your logic, Ali wasn't in the same league as Larry Holmes when Larry battered him around the ring, Joe Louis wasn't in the same league as Marciano when he "KTFO" of Louis in their fight. Now that is just silly.

you know whats crazy is that they knew each other from very young early teens. They knew each other in the amatuers and they didn't face each other till late in both there careers. Which was probably better for Lennox whom I think improved under stewart and became very seasoned and wiley.

You ever hear those tales that they had an amateur session and Tyson reputedly bloodied Lewis's nose in the first? Apparently Lewis took control after that, and Tyson began to get frustrated. If that's true, it's maybe a better indication of what would have happened than this:

[The Noose]

Lewis hit Mercer with some huge shots though, could Mike have taken those shots that Ray Mercer did? I find it hard to believe.

I think he would have been rocked or dropped by them.
But Mercer didnt move his head, whereas Tyson would of. Up close Tyson would of been working to land shots, Lewis would have been trying to tie him up.
Im not sure if Lewis would have tried to land those big punches up close in the same way.

[La_Vibora]

As far as my opinion goes, Lennox Lewis had Mike Tysons number. If anyone can be accused of preventing this fight from happening when Tyson was anywhere near his prime, then it is the man himself. I seem to recall Tyson paying Lewis off to step aside. Also, Rid**** Bowe running from Lennox Lewis. They all knew what was up. Lennox Lewis was by far the greatest heavyweight there has been since... Muhammad Ali.

Get your facts straight, the fight not happening the first time, had to do with HBO refuse allow Lewis to fight on Showtime, which caused the fight not to be made. Considering that at the time Mike was the boxing icon with the belts, plus was bringing the money to the table in the fight, it was obvious that the fight should have went to Showtime for this reason, however, HBO refused to allow their guy to fight for the title, which shows me that they weren't as confident as you that Lennox has Tyson's number. Furthermore, saying LL is the best HW since Ali is laughable, both a prime Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson would have exposed Lennox Lewis.

[GEOFFHAYES]

You ever hear those tales that they had an amateur session and Tyson reputedly bloodied Lewis's nose in the first?

They had a series of sparring sessions in April '84. Rooney says that Tyson floored Lennox inside 60 secs, and then that Lennox basically just ran for the rest of the time he stayed there, frustrating Tyson only because Tyson had to constantly go chasing him.. that's according to Rooney. He thinks Lennox simply wasn't good enough to stand with Tyson.

K-Dogg, a good read as always.

Furthermore, saying LL is the best HW since Ali is laughable, both a prime Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson would have exposed Lennox Lewis.

Well, the Larry Holmes question is another issue, but the Mike Tyson one is one that this thread is trying to solve... if we just take it as read that it's Mike Tyson then it kind of defeats the purpose of having the poll at all, doesn't it?

[La_Vibora]

....Right, okay. Here we go; this is how I see their initial math of three.

The factors to consider in this match-up are speed differential and height difference as well as flaws in both fighter's make-up. Mike had much faster hands than Lewis; but Lewis also had a tremendous reach advantage and was physically much stronger than Mike, which would help him tremendously on the inside in preventing Mike from unleashing those blazingly fast combinations. Also, Mike would have to get past those long arms of Lennox's. Weaknesses: Mike was prone to fall into clinches once his momentum spent itself in the first 4 to 5 rounds. Lennox had a tendency to be lazy with his jab and wasn't a great infighter.

Mike would come out, guns blazing, looking to take Lewis's head off; Mike never heard of the concept of a "feeling out process" and Lewis would be ready for this, keeping his left extended, trying to keep Mike at the end of it and catch him coming in with that big right. Mike, realizing he couldn't just walk in to pay-dirt, would begin bobbing and weaving, looking for opportunities to launch a four punch combo. Seeing Lewis's exposed ribs, Mike would begin pounding away and as Lewis attempts to grab, Mike squats lower, under his arms, and leaps up a couple of shots that just miss before Lennox folds those huge arms around him. Mike would be pounding Lewis's side with his free hand...probably the right...until Mitch Halpern separtates the two.

The first three rounds would pretty much follow this pattern, with Mike occasionally landing on Lennox's head and rocking the big man enough to where Lewis would be forced to tie him up. Lennox would find Mike next to impossible to hit, early on; but would keep Mike at bay off and on with a snappy jab. Lewis would then begin working Mike's body a little in order to slow his movement down. Going to Mike's body, however, leaves Mike an opening to Lewis's jaw and sooner or later, he'd hurt Lennox; but remember, THIS Lewis is prepared to be hit and hurt, unlike the ones who underestimated Rahman and McCall. Lewis, when hurt, would alternately tie up his opponent and fire back with some stout stuff of his own as he did against Mercer.

The argument can be made that Lewis would be the one ahead in the scoring by round 5; but I don't think so. Tony Tucker was as big as Lewis; but was younger and throwing more punches in his early rounds against Mike...and that Mike was younger and less experienced than the one we're using. Lewis would be biding his time, trying to gradually get Mike to fight his fight, rather than fighting Mikes. By the fifth, Mike's head movement would only be sporadic and Lewis would begin catching him coming in. Lewis wouldn't be able to throw any pitty-pat punches with Mike though, or he could be countered as he was earlier. He'd have to get Mike's respect and land something solid and odds are sometime between rounds 3 and 5, one of those big shots of Lewis's would connect on Mike's head, which would cause him to show a little more caution....and set the pace for the remainder of the bout.

The middle-rounds would consist of Lewis getting back into the bout with solid jabs and right hands and uppercuts and then tying Mike up by the time he got inside. After a while though, Lewis would lose his focus and begin pushing his jab instead of snapping it, inviting an overhand right counter....which Mike would throw and land, stunning Lennox. Once Mike smells blood, his work-rate always increased automatically because he knew this was a chance to end things. However, he wouldn't end matters; but he would win the round.

This pattern would repeat over the final rounds with Mike working Lewis's body on the inside and occassionaly ripping a shot upstairs; but rarely landing more than one at time because of Lewis's defensive expertise.

In the end, Mike would win a close decision in their initial encounter....more or less on sheer aggression. Odds are Lennox would have stunned Mike on occassion somewhere in the middlerounds; but this Mike didn't quit...and would come back even stronger in the next round to get his respect back. So, it would be an exciting affari in which neithr of the the participants would hit the canvas, IMHO. Final score, probably something like Mike by two to three poins.


Now, to keep it short...the rematch and the rubber-match would both go to Lewis based on his problem-solving skills. All of th mistakes he made in the first match, he would have corrected by the rematch, which would enable him to win either a pretty broad UD or by a late round stoppage. The third fight would resemble the second; but with Mike probably getting stopped or stopped sooner, depending upon how the second fight ended.


That's how I see it, anyway. Sorry 'bout the length.

That was a fair unbiased assessment, I don't agree with everything, but you did a good job articulating your thought process.

[The Noose]

You ever hear those tales that they had an amateur session and Tyson reputedly bloodied Lewis's nose in the first? Apparently Lewis took control after that, and Tyson began to get frustrated. If that's true, it's maybe a better indication of what would have happened than this:

Tyson was beaten twice by Tilman (i think) as amatuers. As pros wen they met Tyson KO'd him in 1.
The Tyson that fought Lewis 2002 in was shot.
The Tyson that fought Bruno in 1989 on the slide in terms of technique and focus.

[La_Vibora]

Lewis KO 9 imho

You can't be serious, it took Lennox 8 rounds to KO a shot Tyson that was 15 years past his peak, and you think it would take only one more round to get a prime Mike out of there?

BTW, Lewis never had a KO in rounds 9-12. In fact, off the top of my head, I don't even think he has had a KO past 7 other than an ancient Mike Tyson.