Ali vs Tyson in their prime?
- Thread starter Roovers410
- Start date
En Sabah Nur
The First
Based on that nobody else prime Tyson fought could even catch him with a good shot, let alone hurt him. Ali wasn't really known for power...He knocked out some dudes that were not on Tyson's level of defense, a gassed Foreman...Tyson could take a punch too, and he took them from harder hitters than Ali. Always took a culmination of punches from big dudes to drop him. But once again prime Tyson with Rooney training isn't eating punches like that in the first place
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
42Damn how old are you
Was Tyson not in his prime when he fought Douglas? Yeah I know he didn’t train, but he was only 24. Ali wasn’t a one punch knockout artist, but I’m sure he could break Mike down over several rounds. Plus Ali was simply smarter in the ring.
JesusFOREVER
Superstar
You nikkas really think some cokehead that lost to Buster Douglas beating the GOAT?
Ali would have been in Tyson’s head before the fight and it would have been a wrap
Ali would have been in Tyson’s head before the fight and it would have been a wrap
staticshock
Veteran
The muffukkin GOAT
A prime Ali is UNBEATABLE
Post-prime Ali still beat Frazier, Foreman, etc.
prime ali lost to frazier
Erratic415
Superstar
He did early on. Cus/Jacobs/Cayton did a great job managing him and developing him. They kept him busy, gave him the right type of opponents so he would improve but had minimal chance of beating Tyson. They also made him very marketable because he was so exciting, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated within a year of turning pro. Then he wins a title within two years of turning pro, and cleans out most of the top 10 within a couple years of that.
Tyson outjabbed Tony Tucker, who was half a foot taller.
Erratic415
Superstar
1979-82 Leonard beats Floyd handily. It’s not that Floyd wasn’t amazing in his own right, but he was a naturally smaller guy going against a guy who was about as great as anyone we’ve seen on film.
Ray didn’t have anywhere near the longevity of Floyd though. By the time Floyd became a a big star in 2007, he really was above his best weight divisions and past his peak. He was still the best in the sport, but he was better before. But the list of guys I would pick over him from 130-140 is very short.
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Trot LaRoc
Superstar
Ali
He faced cats with Tyson level power in Frazier and Foreman. Ali's chin is super underrated....he could eat hard punches. Ali in his prime is too fast and had too much reach for Tyson to get close enough to do damage
A better comparison is prime Tyson vs prime Frazier
Two very similar fighters...both shorter compact bulldogs who kept pressing against their opponents
He faced cats with Tyson level power in Frazier and Foreman. Ali's chin is super underrated....he could eat hard punches. Ali in his prime is too fast and had too much reach for Tyson to get close enough to do damage
A better comparison is prime Tyson vs prime Frazier
Two very similar fighters...both shorter compact bulldogs who kept pressing against their opponents
Trot LaRoc
Superstar
Also Lennox Lewis handled Mike relatively easily....Ali could follow the same blueprint with even more speed n skill than Lennox had.
Tyson is underrated as far as skill and ring intellect....he is being underrated but i just dont see him getting inside against a young Ali
Tyson is underrated as far as skill and ring intellect....he is being underrated but i just dont see him getting inside against a young Ali
Erratic415
Superstar
I pick Ali also but I’m not going to hold the Tillis fight too much against him. He was still a young up-and-comer and I thought he won by a fairly wide margin. Ali had worse problems on the way up, Sonny Banks & Henry Cooper dropped and hurt him with left hooks and Doug Jones took 3-4 of the 10 rounds against him.
I just think after a fast start, Tyson would start getting tagged too often and show frustration and look for one punch. He did this not only in his losses but also at times in some of his wins in the 80s. Eventually he would snap out of it, but that’s harder to do against when you’re fighting someone like Ali.
Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
That wasn't no Prime Ali.
seemorecizzy
Superstar
the funny thing is, the ali and floyd most of the world loved/hated wasnt even the prime version.
these guys werent at their best but were still better than everyone else which speaks volumes..
i love tyson but he aint beating ali. prime version he has no chance. the version that beat foreman would be a lot closer but i think he still loses
NormanConnors
Detroit/MSU Spartan Life
Not even close to a prime Tyson, and it still took Lennox giving his all to get him out of there. An in shape and mentally ready Tyson even at that state would have changed that contest drastically