Was Tyson too short to beat Lennox?

[beginner555]

Could he have beat him in his prime? or was Lewis' height simply too much of a disadvantage for him?
Also how would he have fared against the 6'7-6'9 heavyweights of today like joshua, fury and the klitschkos?

 

[eternaldarkness]

i wouldn't say it was lennox's height that would give tyson fits. it was the quality of his jab and the power of his right hand.

 

[Silver tongue samurai]

i wouldn't say it was lennox's height that would give tyson fits. it was the quality of his jab and the power of his right hand.

Exactly. Height was never tysons problem. Always fought someone taller. Lewis wouldnt have been the tallest. However he did have a very good jab and a strong cross. A good jab was usually tysons undoing (aside from Don king,rape allegations, and coke)

 

[eternaldarkness]

Exactly. Height was never tysons problem. Always fought someone taller. Lewis wouldnt have been the tallest. However he did have a very good jab and a strong cross. A good jab was usually tysons undoing (aside from Don king,rape allegations, and coke)

tyson struggled with people that could figure his style out. he tended to use a basic array of attacks and if fighters worked out his pattern of attack, he got frustrated. that is how holyfield beat him.

 

[BillytheFish]

I definitely thing Tyson would have gotten around Lennow Lewis' reach in his prime. Lennox had a habit of losing concentration and prime Tyson would have eaten him alive for it. Would have been an amazing fight both in their primes though

 

[Silver tongue samurai]

tyson struggled with people that could figure his style out. he tended to use a basic array of attacks and if fighters worked out his pattern of attack, he got frustrated. that is how holyfield beat him.

*beat him and lost a chunk of ear

 

[Silver tongue samurai]

Nasty little manlet Tyson was

 

[fluffball]

Lennox had a habit of losing concentration

I like this summary.

 

[Sinister]

No.

 

[JayE]

Joshua, Fury, and Wlad are all shorter than 6' 7'' (Fury might be 6' 7''). Tyson, at his best, stops all of them (as does Lewis).

 

[smellmyfarts]

Prime Tyson would land on Lewis. If Lewis could take it for 5 rounds, he probably wins.

It's a toss up fight, but I would bet on prime Tyson by KO in the first few rounds.

Tyson's skills were quite eroded when he came back from his little break. By the time Lewis fought him, he was literally a shell of himself. The power was still there, but it didn't come with the same speed, and Tyson was very hittable by that point, which is not a good thing against a guy with one of the best jabs ever.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

I don't think Lewis was the tallest fighter Tyson fought was he?

 

[listrahtes]

Tyson never fought someone even close to Lennox class in his prime so wew cant really compare.

Imo he would have lost by late tko. Lennox jab was just murderous and combined with his great chin / endurance and skillset just too much for Tyson.

I love Mikes fighting style. A joy to watch but prime vs. prime I see fighters like Bowe, Holyfield and Lennox a notch above him.

But I do think he would have defeated Wladimir , Joshua and Fury by ko /tko

 

[Foppa21]

No. A majority of his opponents were taller than him.

He was probably a bit long in the tooth and it's generally accepted he didn't train the way that he used to. Mind you, as someone alluded to, Lewis had been known to brain fart once in awhile and if Tyson could string together one of his old "bob-weave low left hook over the top" when it happened, we still would be trying to wake Lewis up from his slumber.

 

[spacetime]

I definitely thing Tyson would have gotten around Lennow Lewis' reach in his prime. Lennox had a habit of losing concentration and prime Tyson would have eaten him alive for it.

This. Lewis didn't look impressive against Mercer either.