You think Tyson could have beat Rahman in 2001?

[XThe GreatestX]

Rahman ko's Lewis in 5 rounds. Big talk at the time was Rahman vs Tyson for the WBC/IBF/IBO Heavyweight Championships as Rahman I believe wanted to fight Tyson but Lennox ended up going to court to get his rematch clause honored

but if Mike Tyson vs Hasim Rahman in 2001 goes down for the HW title who wins? Does Tyson become the Heavyweight Champion again?

 

[ssx]

Pains me to say it, but I’d favor Rahman over the 2001 version of Tyson. Tyson was throwing one shot at a time by then and he had questionable work rate and stamina.

 

[burningspear]

After '99 and the Botha fight, where Tyson was getting worked until he pulled a rabbit out the hat, probably Rahman.

 

[Hagler]

Pains me to say it, but I’d favor Rahman over the 2001 version of Tyson. Tyson was throwing one shot at a time by then and he had questionable work rate and stamina.

Sadly, I do agree.

 

[SaiWa]

Hey I am big Tyson fan but he was far far and long away from the elusive prime version of himself by 2001.

There is still no guarantee that Mike wouldn't win via a knockout but he'd be the underdog in that matchup in 2001.

Now if you are talking prime Mike Tyson ('88) then i'll favor him over anyone else in their prime..

 

[defjaam]

Put him through the same training routine he was doing in 1988 with the same coach (Kevin Rooney) and I'm not betting against Mike.

 

[jeff7b9]

Put him through the same training routine he was doing in 1988 with the same coach (Kevin Rooney) and I'm not betting against Mike.

And herein lies the problem.

Kid dynamite 1980s Tyson had the work ethic and technique.

Late 1990s-2000s Tyson forgot more than most will ever know about boxing, and it showed.

 

[defjaam]

And herein lies the problem.

Kid dynamite 1980s Tyson had the work ethic and technique.

Late 1990s-2000s Tyson forgot more than most will ever know about boxing, and it showed.

That's what I'm thinking... He wouldn't have it in him anymore to work on nuances and maintain that form for years - even though he still trained hard... remember that he broke his back due to too many sit ups... Spinal anyone?

But he might have still been able to get more out of him once or twice, which could have gotten him wins over contenders like Rahman, Sanders or John Ruiz... At least a better version of him that we saw in 2001.

 

[Jonny Ninja]

Hey I am big Tyson fan but he was far far and long away from the elusive prime version of himself by 2001.

There is still no guarantee that Mike wouldn't win via a knockout but he'd be the underdog in that matchup in 2001.

Now if you are talking prime Mike Tyson ('88) then i'll favor him over anyone else in their prime..

i don’t think there’s many that would beat him, prime for prime, but not sure how he ever matched up well against Lennox, vitali. Maybe 1 or 2 more

 

[SaiWa]

i don’t think there’s many that would beat him, prime for prime, but not sure how he ever matched up well against Lennox, vitali. Maybe 1 or 2 more

Unless it actually happened a prime vs prime debate comes down to who you really prefer. There are no incorrect answers IMO (unless its a blatant mismatch - flyweight vs a heavyweight for example). Theoretically a prime Lennox should be favored over a prime Tyson. I simply choose to believe the prime Tyson is the better fighter.

 

[Jonny Ninja]

Unless it actually happened a prime vs prime debate comes down to who you really prefer. There are no incorrect answers IMO (unless its a blatant mismatch - flyweight vs a heavyweight for example). Theoretically a prime Lennox should be favored over a prime Tyson. I simply choose to believe the prime Tyson is the better fighter.

yeah he was a beast back in the 80s. Who didn’t love seeing him destroy everyone who was put in front of him. Shame we didn’t get to see him at his prime in with guys like bowe, Holyfield and Lewis.

 

[SaiWa]

yeah he was a beast back in the 80s. Who didn’t love seeing him destroy everyone who was put in front of him. Shame we didn’t get to see him at his prime in with guys like bowe, Holyfield and Lewis.

Don King ruined him. I hope that fucker eternally suffers in hell after he dies.

 

[jeff7b9]

That's what I'm thinking... He wouldn't have it in him anymore to work on nuances and maintain that form for years - even though he still trained hard... remember that he broke his back due to too many sit ups... Spinal anyone?

But he might have still been able to get more out of him once or twice, which could have gotten him wins over contenders like Rahman, Sanders or John Ruiz... At least a better version of him that we saw in 2001.

I think if Cus would have lived another 15 years we would be debating Mike alongside Joe Louis and Ali.

Cus was the key, Mike respected him and would have put in the work and avoided the pitfalls under Cus’ guidance.

 

[defjaam]

I think if Cus would have lived another 15 years we would be debating Mike alongside Joe Louis and Ali.

Cus was the key, Mike respected him and would have put in the work and avoided the pitfalls under Cus’ guidance.

I doubt it... Him and Cus got into arguments... But boxing fans remember it different for whatever reason.

 

[jeff7b9]

Unless it actually happened a prime vs prime debate comes down to who you really prefer. There are no incorrect answers IMO (unless its a blatant mismatch - flyweight vs a heavyweight for example). Theoretically a prime Lennox should be favored over a prime Tyson. I simply choose to believe the prime Tyson is the better fighter.

I am unabashed in my bias for Mike Tyson, which my other posts probably demonstrate...

But there is not a man who has laced the gloves that I would favor over prime Lennox Lewis.

 

[jeff7b9]

I doubt it... Him and Cus got into arguments... But boxing fans remember it different for whatever reason.

Tyson was a wild animal and Cus was the best route to keeping him tame.

I’ve heard about the Teddy Atlas revolver story and the shenanigans when Mike went back to his old neighborhood. I know problems weren’t ever far away.

But between Tyson under Cus and Tyson under Don King, I don’t think we ever saw what Mike was truly capable of in terms of his career body of work.

 

[defjaam]

Tyson was a wild animal and Cus was the best route to keeping him tame.

I’ve heard about the Teddy Atlas revolver story and the shenanigans when Mike went back to his old neighborhood. I know problems weren’t ever far away.

But between Tyson under Cus and Tyson under Don King, I don’t think we ever saw what Mike was truly capable of in terms of his career body of work.

Don't think so... He was an athlete's athlete - eat, sleep and train was all he was doing and he had enough of it. The old man couldn't have done a damn thing about his lifestyle change once he became a multi millionaire.

 

[jeff7b9]

Don't think so... He was an athlete's athlete - eat, sleep and train was all he was doing and he had enough of it. The old man couldn't have done a damn thing about his lifestyle change once he became a multi millionaire.

Maybe. I could see how he could have gotten worn out of the lifestyle of boxing 24/7, but at that point he didn’t need that anymore.

I think Cus would have gotten Mike into 8 week camps and kept his skills (which he already had) up.

Mike was training 2-3 weeks for fights and not taking it seriously. That’s a recipe for disaster which Cus could have fixed.


Would he still have been partying and doing coke and banging hoes? Yeah.

Would he have forgotten how to throw a decent combo and feint and use lateral movement to create offensive openings?
I don’t think so.

 

[XThe GreatestX]

I am unabashed in my bias for Mike Tyson, which my other posts probably demonstrate...

But there is not a man who has laced the gloves that I would favor over prime Lennox Lewis.

I think Vitali and Riddick Bowe are both bad matchups for Lennox. Even if you throw out the Vitali-Lennox fight, stylistically it's a weird one for Lennox.

even the Ray Mercer fight kinda showed Lennox could be pressured

 

[listrahtes]

Don King ruined him. I hope that fucker eternally suffers in hell after he dies.

Mike Tyson ruined Mike Tyson. Everything else is just poor me. But the downfall played right into his myth. Every loss was bad circumstance or something else. Don King, the whores in Japan, his mentors death, Rooney gone, fabricated rape charge blablabla.

I dont think there is one boxer in the history of mankind with that many built in excuses.