Muhammad Ali vs. Mike Tyson

[Takes_Two_To_Tango]

(In their primes)

I believe there hasn't been a poll on this. So it would be interesting to see what the numbers would be like on here.

 

[Takes_Two_To_Tango]

ttt for more votes.

 

[Money509]

Ali, his footwork, hand speed, boxing ability and chin would get him the W.

 

[613]

Is Boxing the only sport where a guy who is like 50th on the all time greats list can get compared non stop to a top 3 ever guy?

 

[Confucamus]

Prime Iron Mike vs Ali is a 50/50 fight. Ali was just so fluid and used that long jab so well. But could he avoid Tysons speed? Tyson ain't no Cleveland Williams to just follow Ali and get jabbed to death. Prime Tyson uses speed and ridiculous upper body movement to get inside and bust up his man. Ali would be forced to bang at some points and I could see him getting dropped.

But Ali knew how to make it a long night for his opponents. I think he'd have aggressive moments that'd surprise Tyson and work on getting rounds in the bag. Once it was late into the fight Tyson would be frustrated and would just be looking for the big right hand which wouldn't come at that time.

I think Ali outlasts him over 15 rounds for a UD.

 

[Rico]

I think the mental warfare would play a big role in this fight. Ali would have Tyson gotten to both before and during the fight. Bully the bully even before they get in the ring.

I always thought Ali would win a dec or a late tko but might get sat down once or twice.

 

[JayE]

It's hard not to side with Ali, but at the same time, it's hard for me to be too confident in the pick.

 

[nastyleft]

I think the mental warfare would play a big role in this fight. Ali would have Tyson gotten to both before and during the fight. Bully the bully even before they get in the ring.

I always thought Ali would win a dec or a late tko but might get sat down once or twice.

Problem is you dont just to get back up like its easy when Mike sits you down. Tyson could finish.
Guys dont forget if you were alive then and old enough to follow boxing; at the peak of his reign, Mike Tyson WAS considered universally by boxing historians as the best heavyweight ever since Muhammad Ali. So the discussion is not an unreasonable one.

As far as the mental warfare, I dont know about that. If you really look at the press conferences he was in early on, Mike didnt really care much about anything but getting in there and fighting. Didnt seem very easy to get to. He was always pretty focused and quiet, unrattled. Sure the press would have a good time with all the sound clips Ali wouldve given them but I just dont see it being much of a distraction to Tyson once he got in the ring. Remember we are talking about the Cus D'Mato/Rooney Mike Tyson of the 87-88 run, the guy that hadnt met Robin Givens yet, not been in prison for rape, or all the other bullshit that polluted his life in the 90s.

A pure uncorrupted focused clean, Mike Tyson in 1987. Not the guy that was easily gotten to emotionally 14 years later after the shit he'd been through. The guy that was compelled to stand on a table and call a reporter his bitch because they asked him about his prison time and the rape charges during the Lennox Lewis Conf. Pumping himself up talking about eating Lennox's kids. Trying to portray the monster everyone was convinced he was...
Thats not the Mike Tyson I think of when I think of his best. The quiet confident guy at 20-21 yrs old is the guy I remember best, everythi g after that was all just a blur, doesnt count to me. Mike at his best was one of THE best.

People always think of the Mike that lost to Buster or Evander or even Lennox. And they always ignore the Prime 86 - 88 Tyson. In a 10 fight series I have it a 5/5 split.
But in a one fight winner take all I probably side with Ali on the sheer fact that he would be prepared to NOT sit and punch with Tyson and would be on his bicycle all day fighting from range. UD or late stoppage if Mike slows down.

 

[moosaev]

Problem is you dont just get back up like its easy when Mike sits you down. Tyson could finish.
Guys dont forget if you were alive then and old enough to follow boxing; at the peak of his reign, Mike Tyson WAS considered universally by boxing historians as the best heavyweight ever since Muhammad Ali. So the discussion is not an unreasonable one.

As far as the mental warfare, I dont know about that. If you really look at the press conferences he was in early on, Mike didnt really care much about anything but getting in there and fighting. Didnt seem very easy to get to. He was always pretty focused and quiet, unrattled. Sure the press would have a good time with all the sound clips Ali wouldve given them but I just dont see it being much of a distraction to Tyson once he got in the ring. Remember we are talking about the Cus D'Mato/Rooney Mike Tyson of the 87-88 run, the guy that hadnt met Robin Givens yet, not been in prison for rape, or all the other bullshit that polluted his life in the 90s.

A pure uncorrupted focused clean, Mike Tyson in 1987. Not the guy that was easily gotten to emotionally 14 years later after the shit he'd been through. The guy that was compelled to stand on a table and call a reporter his bitch because they asked him about his prison time and the rape charges during the Lennox Lewis Conf. Pumping himself up talking about eating Lennox's kids. Trying to portray the monster everyone was convinced he was...
Thats not the Mike Tyson I think of when I think of his best. The quiet confident guy at 20-21 yrs old is the guy I remember best, everythi g after that was all just a blur, doesnt count to me. Mike at his best was one of THE best.

People always think of the Mike that lost to Buster or Evander or even Lennox. And they always ignore the Prime 86 - 88 Tyson. In a 10 fight series I have it a 5/5 split.
But in a one fight winner take all I probably side with Ali on the sheer fact that he would be prepared to NOT sit and punch with Tyson and would be on his bicycle all day fighting from range. UD or late stoppage if Mike slows down.

In fairness, Mike didn't seem easy to get to because he was fighting stiffs. The reason Ali wins is because of his mental fortitude, he never let setbacks stop him. Mike Tyson was somewhat of a frontrunner. Unless he knocked Ali out in 1-2 rounds, its easy to see him get flustered and eventually find a reason to lose. Mike always found a way to quit when it got hard.

 

[Strychnine]

I voted Ali, but I've always liked the Fight night Simulations.

 

[Rico]

Problem is you dont just get back up like its easy when Mike sits you down. Tyson could finish.
Guys dont forget if you were alive then and old enough to follow boxing; at the peak of his reign, Mike Tyson WAS considered universally by boxing historians as the best heavyweight ever since Muhammad Ali. So the discussion is not an unreasonable one.

As far as the mental warfare, I dont know about that. If you really look at the press conferences he was in early on, Mike didnt really care much about anything but getting in there and fighting. Didnt seem very easy to get to. He was always pretty focused and quiet, unrattled. Sure the press would have a good time with all the sound clips Ali wouldve given them but I just dont see it being much of a distraction to Tyson once he got in the ring. Remember we are talking about the Cus D'Mato/Rooney Mike Tyson of the 87-88 run, the guy that hadnt met Robin Givens yet, not been in prison for rape, or all the other bullshit that polluted his life in the 90s.

A pure uncorrupted focused clean, Mike Tyson in 1987. Not the guy that was easily gotten to emotionally 14 years later after the shit he'd been through. The guy that was compelled to stand on a table and call a reporter his bitch because they asked him about his prison time and the rape charges during the Lennox Lewis Conf. Pumping himself up talking about eating Lennox's kids. Trying to portray the monster everyone was convinced he was...
Thats not the Mike Tyson I think of when I think of his best. The quiet confident guy at 20-21 yrs old is the guy I remember best, everythi g after that was all just a blur, doesnt count to me. Mike at his best was one of THE best.

People always think of the Mike that lost to Buster or Evander or even Lennox. And they always ignore the Prime 86 - 88 Tyson. In a 10 fight series I have it a 5/5 split.
But in a one fight winner take all I probably side with Ali on the sheer fact that he would be prepared to NOT sit and punch with Tyson and would be on his bicycle all day fighting from range. UD or late stoppage if Mike slows down.

Yeah I get all that about young Tyson, but he never faced the type of bs that Ali would have thrown his way and that nutjob was always locked away in there whether "tamed" at the time or not. We're talking driving buses to other boxers training camps and shit. Ali would poke the fuck out of the bear.

And if I came across as saying it was an easy win for Ali I didn't mean it that way. You basically came to the same conclusion I did at the end that in a one fight, gun to my head type deal I'm taking Ali by dec or late tko.

 

[nastyleft]

In fairness, Mike didn't seem easy to get to because he was fighting stiffs. The reason Ali wins is because of his mental fortitude, he never let setbacks stop him. Mike Tyson was somewhat of a frontrunner. Unless he knocked Ali out in 1-2 rounds, its easy to see him get flustered and eventually find a reason to lose. Mike always found a way to quit when it got hard.

See, Ive heard that before from other people and I just dont see that. He is somewhat of a frontrunner in fhe way he starts out so fast and uses an intimidation factor so much, but I cant honestly put a finger on a situation where he's been challenged and whimpered away with his tail between his legs. Maybe Im looking at him with rose colored glasses. Please give me an example where he was mentally soft once challenged and quit or found a way outta there. Dude only has 6 losses, (3 to legendary guys and 1 to a legendary performance) . When has he quit and found a way out?.

 

[nastyleft]

Yeah I get all that about young Tyson, but he never faced the type of bs that Ali would have thrown his way and that nutjob was always locked away in there whether "tamed" at the time or not. We're talking driving buses to other boxers training camps and shit. Ali would poke the fuck out of the bear.

And if I came across as saying it was an easy win for Ali I didn't mean it that way. You basically came to the same conclusion I did at the end that in a one fight, gun to my head type deal I'm taking Ali by dec or late tko.

Thats funny, poke the fuck out of the bear stuff. Probably true that he'd try. I wonder how hard though. And if it wouldve made a difference in the ring. Or would it have resulted in Mike going BedStuy in an alley on Ali's Louiville countryboy ass suspending the fight indefinitely. Ali got the best of the classy guys that wouldnt say nothing or didnt know how to respond to Ali's antics. We know Mike didnt play that shit, he had no problem rolling guys in a club or in an alley if he didnt like the way they looked at him during a promo shot....Some guys Ali was smart enough not to go too far, Mike mightve been one of those guys. The whole scenario wouldve been interesting for sure.

 

[moosaev]

See, Ive heard that before from other people and I just dont see that. He is somewhat of a frontrunner in fhe way he starts out so fast and uses an intimidation factor so much, but I cant honestly put a finger on a situation where he's been challenged and whimpered away with his tail between his legs. Maybe Im looking at him with rose colored glasses. Please give me an example where he was mentally soft once challenged and quit or found a way outta there. Dude only has 6 losses, (3 to legendary guys and 1 to a legendary performance) . When has he quit and found a way out?.

Holyfield-Tyson II is one example. The ear biting stunt was nothing more than him quitting when he realized he was in for another tough fight. He generally had a pattern of folding when the pressure got too hot. Ali was the exact opposite, the greater the pressure the sharper he was. His two best fights were against Sonny Liston and George Foreman, the two fights in which he was a big underdog. Not a coincidence.

 

[Rico]

Thats funny, poke the fuck out of the bear stuff. Probably true that he'd try. I wonder how hard though. And if it wouldve made a difference in the ring. Or would it have resulted in Mike going BedStuy in an alley on Ali's Louiville countryboy ass suspending the fight indefinitely. Ali got the best of the classy guys that wouldnt say nothing or didnt know how to respond to Ali's antics. We know Mike didnt play that shit, he had no problem rolling guys in a club or in an alley if he didnt like the way they looked at him during a promo shot....Some guys Ali was smart enough not to go too far, Mike mightve been one of those guys. The whole scenario wouldve been interesting for sure.

Liston was a mob enforcer supposedly. I think knowing where Mike was from would egg him on even more tbh. He was never trying to scare opponents, he was trying to rattle them and get them to fight emotionally.

The fight itself is kind of a toss up (though like I said I'd favor Mo) but there's no doubt in my mind a young, brash Cassius Clay is yapping his gums at Mike from the time the fight was announced. Add in some of the other folklore Ali supposedly pulled and I see Tyson biting hard. Interesting either way.

 

[613]

Thats funny, poke the fuck out of the bear stuff. Probably true that he'd try. I wonder how hard though. And if it wouldve made a difference in the ring. Or would it have resulted in Mike going BedStuy in an alley on Ali's Louiville countryboy ass suspending the fight indefinitely. Ali got the best of the classy guys that wouldnt say nothing or didnt know how to respond to Ali's antics. We know Mike didnt play that shit, he had no problem rolling guys in a club or in an alley if he didnt like the way they looked at him during a promo shot....Some guys Ali was smart enough not to go too far, Mike mightve been one of those guys. The whole scenario wouldve been interesting for sure.

ALi went HARD at Liston. Liston outside the ring was far scarier then Tyson ever was

 

[nastyleft]

Holyfield-Tyson II is one example. The ear biting stunt was nothing more than him quitting when he realized he was in for another tough fight. He generally had a pattern of folding when the pressure got too hot. Ali was the exact opposite, the greater the pressure the sharper he was. His two best fights were against Sonny Liston and George Foreman, the two fights in which he was a big underdog. Not a coincidence.

I knew someone was gonna bring that up. Mike knew exactly what he was doing when he started biting Evanders ear. He said Evander was leading with the head and butting on the way in and the ref was doing nothing about it. So he took measures into his own hands. He wasn't trying to get outta there, he was trying to send a message to Evander to stay away. Watch that fight, it was pretty even right up to that point. He had no reason to quit.

 

[nastyleft]

ALi went HARD at Liston. Liston outside the ring was far scarier then Tyson ever was

Whats a guy with Mob ties gonna do to Ali talking smack for a fight??!! Liston was nothing but a money pot for betting and maybe a little muscle when someone needed it. Give me a brake what was he gonna do, order a hit on Ali? He didn't have the juice for that (a Black dude in the 60s working for/with the Mob). And he for sure wouldn't have the authority to bring attention to to his "constituents" if he used his nefarious contacts to take action. Get real guys, use common sense., Liston wasn't a Boss, he wasnt a Consigliare, He wasnt even a made man...
Mike on the other hand could walk right up to you on the street or the grocery store and fuck you up just for looking at him wrong, and would do it. Mitch Green anyone?

 

[nastyleft]

Liston was a mob enforcer supposedly. I think knowing where Mike was from would egg him on even more tbh. He was never trying to scare opponents, he was trying to rattle them and get them to fight emotionally.

The fight itself is kind of a toss up (though like I said I'd favor Mo) but there's no doubt in my mind a young, brash Cassius Clay is yapping his gums at Mike from the time the fight was announced. Add in some of the other folklore Ali supposedly pulled and I see Tyson biting hard. Interesting either way.

And.....You think Liston would've been able to put a hit on Ali if he wanted to? Iron Mike would've met you in the parking lot and handled your ass for saying the wrong thing. Liston was a conduit, he wasn't a made guy.

 

[nastyleft]

You guys and your "mob ties" crack me up thinking Liston had any juice.