Who would win between a prime Ali vs prime Mike Tyson?

[Vandelay]

Tyson is my favorite boxer, but Ali would take him to the later rounds where Tyson clearly couldn't hang.

Competition isn't the best indicator here. Skillset is. Tyson's skillset would have washed most of the greats from Ali's era. Its not Tyson's fault that he was in an era with weaker competition.

 

[The Amerikkkan Idol]

Styles make fights.

Ali is hands down the greater fighter. But Mike is also exactly the type of fighter that could give Ali a serious problem.

I think Tyson has a good chance of knocking him out in 3. If Ali makes it to round 4 Mike is done for. Tyson 6/10, just based on style.

Most reasonable post in the thread

Tyson was not washed when he fought Buster Douglas.

No, he just didn't train, and stayed up snorting coke and banging Japanese hoes with Bobby Brown the night before.

Ali. Tall, rangy boxers like James Tillis were able to go the distance with Tyson. If guys like Tillis or Bonecrusher Smith could take Tyson the distance, I have no reason to believe that Ali couldn't, especially considering the punching power that he has gone up against in his fights. I don't think that Tyson would beat Foreman, either, and neither does he if hearsay is to be believed about a possible fight between Foreman and Tyson in the early 90s.

Well, with that logic, if a stiff like Henry Cooper and a journeyman like Doug Jones could give Ali problems, then what could '88 Tyson do?

Hell, Henry Cooper almost knocked Ali out. Prime Ali

For the people picking Tyson, name some high level boxers Tyson defeated and compare them with the people Ali defeated, many of which Ali beat way after his prime.

Tyson beat the entire Ring top 10 heavyweights of the year he became champion.

Show me anybody else who's done that?

He beat everybody he could beat.

I'm aware of Tyson's attributes, but just don't see him taking Ali, based on the evidence. Yes, Tyson looked like a good against tomato cans, and great fighters past their prime, but their resumes don't look remotely equal.

It doesn't help that when evaluating Tyson, so have to use so many qualifiers. The so-called Prime years with Cus D'Amato and Kevin Rooney had Tyson steamrolling fighters who weren't worth much more, and after D'Amato dying and firing Rooney, every high-level fighter he went against beat him.

He fought the entire Ring Top 10 heavyweights of the year he became champion.

They weren't tomato cans.

He just made top 10 fighters LOOK like tomato cans.

Michael Spinks was a Ring top 10 ranked P4P fighter when Tyson obliterated him in 90 seconds.

I’d have to say Ali. Why? Because besides being a foot plus taller Ali was not only graceful, fast but had a crazy reach. He punished people and gloated about it. He outboxed people. Mike was just pure raw power. Ali would devastate Mike.

Ali was not a foot taller than Tyson

He's 6'3" and Tyson was 5'11. That's 4 inches.

Tyson was not just about raw power.

Have y'all watched D'Amato's Tyson?

Outside of Ali & Joe Louis, he was the most skilled heavyweight of all-time.

And outside of Ali, he was untouchable defensively

 

[Umoja]

Michael Spinks was a Ring top 10 ranked P4P fighter when Tyson obliterated him in 90 seconds.

His best years were at light heavyweight breh.

 

[SunZoo]

Most reasonable post in the thread



No, he just didn't train, and stayed up snorting coke and banging Japanese hoes with Bobby Brown the night before.



Well, with that logic, if a stiff like Henry Cooper and a journeyman like Doug Jones could give Ali problems, then what could '88 Tyson do?

Hell, Henry Cooper almost knocked Ali out. Prime Ali



Tyson beat the entire Ring top 10 heavyweights of the year he became champion.

Show me anybody else who's done that?

He beat everybody he could beat.



He fought the entire Ring Top 10 heavyweights of the year he became champion.

They weren't tomato cans.

He just made top 10 fighters LOOK like tomato cans.

Michael Spinks was a Ring top 10 ranked P4P fighter when Tyson obliterated him in 90 seconds.



Ali was not a foot taller than Tyson

He's 6'3" and Tyson was 5'11. That's 4 inches.

Tyson was not just about raw power.

Have y'all watched D'Amato's Tyson?

Outside of Ali & Joe Louis, he was the most skilled heavyweight of all-time.

And outside of Ali, he was untouchable defensively

However you wanna call this fictional matchup...the real take away from most of these discussions is a lot of people are completely uneducated on Tyson's skillset and think he was just a brute knockout artist. Those defensive high lights by themselves are amazing before you even get to some of the punishment he dished out.

 

[MasterOfAllHeSurveyz]

Pre-ban and post-ban Ali beats Tyson every day of the week.

Tyson's best wins - an over the hill Homes and a career lightheavy in Spinks

 

[Samori Toure]

However you wanna call this fictional matchup...the real take away from most of these discussions is a lot of people are completely uneducated on Tyson's skillset and think he was just a brute knockout artist. Those defensive high lights by themselves are amazing before you even get to some of the punishment he dished out.

I actually think that most people are completely uneducated on Muhammad Ali's skill set. In his prime people literally could not hit Ali.




Tyson would have had to be in at close to do damage, but he would not have been able to do that against Ali when Ali was in his prime.

 

[86\*/98]

Ali

 

[Bledswole]

Prime Tyson with Cus is beating ANYONE

 

[The Lord Doc]

I'm well aware of Tyson's skill set, but just feel that a Prime Ali has the necessary tools to counter it. Tyson relied on his foot work and head movement to set up counterpunch opportunities, which resulted in him knocking out his opponents with punches that they didn't see coming. It is probably the main reason that he saw less success in his career, because he became more of an undisciplined headhunter who relied on his understandably intimidating aura to beat opponents before he got in the ring with them.

I feel that Ali's range, footwork and speed would allow him to keep Tyson at a distance in earlier rounds and to dissect him the longer that the fight goes. Yes, Tyson was great at weaving his way around jabs and straights, but I don't think that he has ever done it to someone with Ali's level of speed and footwork.

 

[Neuromancer]

Wouldn't happen. Ali is God to Mike. Ali wins though.

 

[Complexion]

It would've been a fascinating fight to watch, purely based on the talent levels of both boxers involved as well as the similarities and differences in their styles as they are almost perfectly balanced competition.

Prediction:

They would've each studied each others greatest hits like crazy and formulated a fight to exploit the other fighters perceived weakness. Meaning Ali would've expected the front loaded Tyson approach and aimed to tire him out by making him waste his strength by missing for the first few rounds whilst Tyson would've anticipated Ali wouldn't just be coming to stand and bang but would try and lure him into fighting his fight.

End result, both would've most likely switched up their styles drastically to catch the other off balance and that means it literally could've gone any way because what made them great wasn't what they did in the ring but how they prepared which is why they're legends.

Tyson training for a distance fight with the aim to win on points/tactics and not a quick knockout with Ali throwing relentless bombs then floating away in the first few rounds to end it decisively would've been something to see and most likely how it would've played out because each would take the others style and try to beat them with it whilst tempting them to switch back and abandon their plan thus playing into their hands and being off balance.

Think about it, its the epitomy of cocky to plan on beating the other fighters ass using his own style and these two are the only ones talented enough to even be able to consider, let alone pull it off, and in this type of scenario its the only move that would've made sense because anything else would've been predictable and thus counterable. One thing I guarantee you is the sheer amount of punches that would miss from both sides would be legendary as they both had radar like ability to anticipate and avoid shots.


I'd still put my money on Tyson, even knowing all of this, because in his prime he would've still had Cus' original training team around him (Prime Tyson + Cus still alive = No competition, he could take out any fighter with ease, Ali included) to advise him and keep him on point and they knew how to get the best out of him but either way this fight would've made us see both boxers in a totally different light due to sheer level of skills - both mental and physical - at play as it would've been as cerebral as a top level chess match and brutal as Roman gladiators in an arena but Mike still had more character, as Cus spoke on:



I suppose thats why life placed them close enough together to be contemporaries yet far enough apart to not compete so we could imagine the paradox, just not see it... If anyone could take Tyson the distance and punish him each step it would be Ali and if anyone could make Ali fight for every point all the way its Tyson.

 

[DrHackenbush]

All those videoclips of Tyson knocking out electricians and brick layers dont prove anything..He was never tested in his prime so there's no way you can put him above Ali, thats crazy talk. I think Lennox Lewis in 90-92 would have beaten Tyson. They ducked away from fighting Lewis with good reason

 

[ThaBoyBam]

Prefight antics with these 2 would be epic

 

[Cadillac]

Ali, height, jab, defense, mindset and wit. Plus reach

Puts him over Tyson with his power

 

[AlbertPullhoez]

Prime Tyson doesn't even beat prime Holyfield much less prime Ali