Tyson looked jacked and mean in this one. It's a shame that even this version didn't fight Lewis. This version definitely gives Lewis a fight. Buster had some great head and body movement.
Mathis had skills for sure. Him and his father would give Andy Ruiz a run for his money in the "Fat but can Fight" stakes.
What percentage of his prime self is Tyson here? I'd say about 30%. His footspeed is bad and his timing is way off. He maintained this level up til about the Golota fight. He must have done something drastic in the next year, because he fought Neilson and came in 18 pounds heavier than the Golota fight and looked like complete shit. He looked like he had about 10-15% of his prime ability. The next fight was Lewis and he looked like complete shit again.
One of Reeds most interesting fights was when he stuck his head up his ass and fought for air. His next most interesting fight was when he pulled it out and fought for words. Then I kicked his ass and he fought the tears. Alright auld Reedy, me auld chestnut?
No, I think in my mind that Ali might have been nailed by a left hook and hurt badly by the best Mike. Ali was really a very hittable guy and it's hard to overstate how slow Joe warmed into their first fight. Took him about 6 rounds to really even get Ali to stop talking.
Took everything Frazier and Foreman threw at him and came back with a WAR!! Tyson would crumble mentality like he usually did...and look for a way out.
Mathis was a cagey infighter, but Tyson still looked rusty in only his 2nd fight back from his prison stint. He was better in his next fight against Bruno IMO.
Tyson's most unheralded fights are Stewart and Thomas IMO. Brutal performances, look at how Holy handled them and you'll see the difference in offensive capabilities. Pinky is arguably Tyson's best overall performance, and Stewart is arguably his post-Douglas performance.
