Tyson 120-108 ... way too fast and skilled... Tua would go into a shell and stay there... he was durable as hell, so he'd go the distance but he wouldn't do jack shit except get handily outboxed and outfought... easy fight for Tyson
Here comes a prosaic point: the key to beating Tua is moving. But i mean, literally, that's all it takes - just keep moving your feet and Tua can't do shit, it takes him about 3 seconds to get his feet set properly. It'd be interesting if Tyson would show a little versatility and do that....the peak version probably would, late version no way. I think post prison Tyson loses actually.
EVERYTHING about Tua was overrated; his power, and his chin. Had Lewis tried, he could have gotten Tua outta there. Tyson would have actually TRIED to take him out, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he pulled it off.
tyson probably would've whupped him 12 rounds to 0, but bowe or holyfield had a better chance of stopping tua w/ body shots.
ruddock also survived and was competitive in spurts. he was also a lot taller. tyson was great to the body, but i'm just thinking that given bowe and holyfield's height, they had the style to stand in front of tua and bust him up on the inside a lot easier.
I think that if Tua actually opened up and traded with Mike consistently, he'd get stopped. The speed would just overwhelm him. But chances are Tua would go into a shell, so he probably goes 12.
Tua is actually a better infighter than Mike, Tyson was crap in there, contrary to myth. It's a really weird fight, hard to envision.... the more i think about it the more i favour Tua though.
Pre-Prison Tyson MOIDERS Tua Middle Distance...FRESH Outta Jail Tyson STOPS Tua Late or DECISIONS Him... The Tyson that Fought Lennox Lewis LOSES to Tua in Similar Fashion to Tyson vs. Danny Williams... REED:ant:
I think prime Tua would beat any version of the post-96 Tyson. Mike's stamina was simply shot by then.
A young Tyson had more than enough foot speed to pivot off of Tua's fat ass, and create the proper distance to rip Tua with uppercuts, and hooks to the body. Crazy Ike had a lot of success off doing this, and Ike had nowhere NEAR Tyson's speed.
Mike could & would do that once or twice a round but he'd spend most his time on the inside doing fuck all as always. While Tua worked.
Not sure I agree with that... Tua could win against a 1996-97 Tyson, but to me if he did so it would be by simply still being there after 7 rounds or so... He might stop Tyson simply from Tyson being tired and frustrated by not having stopped him... but I don't see Tua just beating the shit out of Tyson out of the gate, he wasn't that good and Tyson still had fast hands, serious power and the ability to hit a stationary target
Tua wouldn't be opening up as much after getting hit consistently with Tyson's firepower. Mike already faced a bigger puncher than Tua in Ruddock, he handled his left hook FINE. Tua never fought anybody with Tyson's power, except Lewis, who made him go into a shell. Tua was a loser, and Tyson was a great fighter. That's basically what it comes down to.
I definitely don't see Tua beating the Tyson of the Bruno rematch. That was the LAST time that Mike looked vintage. That version of Tyson still had far too much handspeed for Tua, and Mike even showed good headmovement in that fight.
It's not about taking the occassional hard shot in a fight he's winning tho - it's about getting outworked and beat up on the inside round after round because he can't fight there for shit. Much more like vs Holyfield than vs Ruddock. Tua's a loser and Mike isn't? I'd have more faith in Tua coming through fire in a tough two way fight, personally. I'd pick Tyson to win at his absolute peak.....Tua vs early 90s Tyson might go either way and I'd probably pick Tua over any post prison version.
Good headmovement on his way in. Pursuing a moving target & attacking from range with speed & elusiveness. That's Tyson's game.
Hmmmmm, let's see....... a guy who never won ANYTHING substantial, and who struggled mightily against several bums vs a two-time heavyweight champion who had one of the most dominant 3 year runs in the history of the division. Yup, Mike's some loser.......... There's several guys on Mike's resume who could have easily ended up beating Tua. Whereas I struggle to see Mike going life and death with Oleg, Rachman, Fres Oquendo, and David Izon. Tua was a myth. He wouldn't beat ANY heavyweight great.
Refer to post 5: I didn't say Tua was a better fighter. It isn't even close, Tua is one of the most limited fighters to ever approach world class. But Mike has no means of exploiting Tua's limitation and Tua is custom built to expose Mike's.
Mike never lost to ANYBODY who just simply traded with him. One of the MAIN keys to beating Tyson was to tie him up, to nullify his offense. Tua was a midget, who never clinched a day in his life, and had ZERO jab to speak of. Tua had zero tools to exploit Mike with. His toughness wouldn't be enough. I mean, Tua was PHYSICALLY tough, but mentally he was a bigger midget than Mike. I think Tyson had more willingness to accept pain, and violence than Tua had. An OLD, SHOT Tyson tried harder against Lewis than a YOUNG, PRIME Tua did.
