The Tyson of the Spinks, Holmes, Tubbs and Biggs fights vs the 32 year old Ali that didn't dance anymore, had his jab broken by Norton and was dropped by Frazier. Who wins? Ali wins, that's who. Tyson gives him hell in the early rounds and Ali has to use his guile and reach into his resolve in order to get through it...but the Steel chinned, adamatium resolve Ali wouldn't be close to getting stopped but rather would be frustrating Tyson with his holding and spoiling antics (and whispering in his ears etc). In the 2nd half of the fight, Ali sensing Tyson slowing down will begin to attack more and start to discourage Mike. Down the stretch a consistent Ali assult will wear Tyson down for a late stoppage.
Ali I just cant envision Tyson being able to handle the unyielding arrogance of Ali, the "you can't do it" toughness of the man... you needed to be able to funnel Ali's taunts into a focused, razor-sharp rage (Frazier) or simply be amused by them (Norton) ... when you let the man get in your head, you were fucked eventually... No one will ever convince me that Tyson could handle all of it, the whole package... I dont care if there was Cus D'Amato, Kevin Rooney, Ray Arcel, and Eddie Futch in his corner all at the same time
Tyson could conceivably get him outta there if he puts the right shots together but Ali seemed to take a better shot than what he did during his CC days. I think Ali would mentally and physically wear him down and stop him late.
Tyson could only beat a more faded version of Ali. Not as bad the the one that fought Holmes, but the version that beat Foreman would still be too much.
Tough call, Ali was diminished at this point and Tyson was fast as hell and threw a variety of combos in his prime. If Joe Frazier could give him hell, Tyson certainly was capable of doing the same. Also, part of the reason Foreman had problems was because a) he was incredibly slow, and b) he tended to generate power down low; Ali was not only the same height as him, he stood up straight for most of the fight and was damn near impossible to hurt to the body. Then again, Ali would clinch a lot and Tyson always had a hard time with that. A prime Ali easily defeats Tyson. I would still favor the Ali that fought Foreman over Tyson, but it's much more of a toss-up.
I would give Tyson a better shot at doing this than most people might, I fancy. Not sure I'd say I favour him, though. I'd have to see how Ali dealt with the speed Foreman could not bring, in addition to crunching power.
