If Tyson did not end up in jail, how do you think his career would unfold? Does he defeat Holyfield and go on to rule the division for a few more years like he did in the 80s? Does he lose to Holyfield...rebuild himself a bit and then go on to get a second shot at regaining the title against Bowe or maybe Lewis' WBC title? If he beats Holy...does he get past Bowe & Lewis?
Good question. I think that in 1991, Evenader may have beaten Tyson by split decision. Tyson may have come back and may have beaten Bowe....but by the time Lennox hit is peak, Tyson would have been on the slide (even though Lewis is older) and so I don't think Tyson would have been the dominant Heavy through the '90s.
Really difficult to say. His skills wouldn't have eroded to the same degree, but we don't know how much his lifestyle out of the ring would have affected him. I think he would have had a great shot at being Lennox, Holy or Bowe. Still those fights would have been wars and i think one of the three would have knocked him out, especially if they got Tyson 'last'.
I don't know. I'm Donnybrooking this one. It could be that Holyfield always had his number. Holyfield was supposed to be shot in 1996, but he wasn't, and he adapted better as he got older. Holyfield became physically stronger, more controlled in his aggression, and Tyson didn't attack the body as well (where Holyfield was more vulnerable than upstairs) by then. Regarding Riddick Bowe, Bowe seemed to have a lot of the tools to beat Tyson. Tall guy with a good jab, nice in-fighting skills, heart, very good workrate and uppercut (a punch Tyson was suspectible to). What makes me really question though if Bowe would beat Tyson is Bowe's defense and tendency to brawl. Bowe's defense was poor. Although he took shots well, it wasn't like Bowe was matched up often with big punchers. Herbie Hide could punch, and he hurt Bowe every time he landed clean. I wonder if Bowe could stand up to Tyson's punches. Lennox was relatively raw back before he was with Manny Steward. Despite his physical gifts, he still had bad balance, which Manny and Oliver McCall took full advantage of. Granted, he would be more cautious against Tyson than he was against McCall, but I can easily see Tyson taking out Lewis back around 92-94. Knowing Tyson though, he was a headcase and was bound to get into trouble of some sort of self-destruction sooner or later. Plus, with a style like Tyson's, it's hard to have longevity.
I've heard that last statement before and I'm not sure I agree with it. I could see a shorter slugger type like Joe Frazier (or possibly Marciano) burning out early and having a short prime because he got into wars and wore down opponents while taking his share of punishment along the way. The difference is that Tyson really didn't take that much punishment during his formative years or during his title reign. Most of his fights were one-sided and over quickly (Frazier, Spinks, Holmes, Tubbs, Williams), one-sided and over less quickly (Biggs, Ferguson, Thomas, Bruno) or one-sided and went rounds due to survival-minded opponents (Tucker, Smith, Green). The Douglas fight was the first time that Tyson was forced to endure sustained punishment for a number of rounds. Then came two more gimmies against Tillman & Stewart. And then came the Ruddock fights...Ruddock landed some good shots along the way in both fights, but he was outlanded by a significant margin by Tyson. I could see Tyson's out of ring life limiting his longevity, but I don't see his career up that point (and the punishment he took) doing so.
I think Holy beats him still, but in a better fight. Would have changed a lot of things because those two in a rematch would have wound up in front of Bowe or Lewis getting a shot.
A fighter as limited as Ruddock giving Tyson that much trouble probably means the likes of a young hungry Holyfield, Bowe and Lewis are going to give Tyson even more trouble. No way to know.:dunno:
Nah, Tyson woldn't have had a great shot at being Lennox, Holy or Bowe.....He would always remain Tyson.......
Lewis destroyed Ruddock, who really gave Tyson issues. Only Bowe, with his suspect defence and lack of heart may have lost to Tyson.
I think Holyfield would have beaten Tyson because the Douglas fight had already happened. I think that was a major turn in Tyson's carreer. All of a sudden he was beatable. I also think Evander beats him simply because he was the best heavyweight of the 90's guys like Bowe would have been a toss up because of his conditioning. I think Tyson destroys a young Lewis though. Lewis was a different fighter in his early days. Too bad a young Tyson never faced Bowe, Mercer, Tua at that time. All would have been awesome fights.
