Prime Mike Tyson vs Prime Muhammad Ali

They're fighting for the championship

12 Rounds

Both have gone through the absolute best training camp possible with 100% injury free results and are 100% healthy and hungry for fighting

Who wins?

Tough one, but I'd have to go with Ali. Tyson was a great fighter and could hit a ton, but Ali would be very hard to hit. He was incredibly agile and could hit almost as hard moving backwards as he could leaning into a punch. Eventually, I think Tyson would get frustrated, go for a clinch and bite part of Ali's ear off.

tsyon Via Ko

Tyson

Ali 100%. He fought big hitters like Foreman Shavers etc and in his prime was untouchable. Plus Tyson was 4"- 5" shorter and Ali loved to jab down a big hitter.

Prime Tyson would beat a prime Ali. He was already having problems facing Frazier, who had a style somewhat similar to Tyson himself. People also seem to forget that Tyson wasn't a stupid fighter- he spent hours looking at old fights with dudes like Ray Leonard and even Ail himself, so he knew how they worked and how to counter their styles when facing taller opponents who were around 6'5 or 6'6.

Tyson's technique was more refined due to the teachings of Cus. Hell, there's a old video of him with Ail around about the start of the 70's, and he's trying to say to him that Frazier was dangerous, that he would get in close and batter him, etc. Ail shrugged it off, saying that Frazier was clumsy and wouldn't be able to do that with his technique of punching outside. Fight comes up- Ail loses.

Tyson could take on Ail and knock him out clean. He has the advantage of having more knowledge and technique available to him unlike Ail and will be more focused going in.

Ali

They called him Iron Mike for a reason. I just hope Ali makes a full recovery after Tyson wrecks him. Wanna make this interesting? Throw Rocky Marciano in there and let him fight them both at the same time. ?

Tyson would wreck Ali in my opinion unless it came to decision. Wouldn't be a one round knockout but it wouldn't go all twelve either.

Ali would nearly blitz Tyson through sheer talent, but if Tysons got a hit it'd level the playing field instantly. Noone can eat what Tyson's got on a good day. Between the micro bunny hops and rising from his low stance, the dude's uppercuts are basically superhuman.

But I don't think he'd get that hit. Ali, 7/10

Tyson was as strong as anyone Ali fought but he was as fast as Ali in his prime. His strength/speed combo is nothing Ali has ever seen. The rope a door wouldn’t work against Tyson. This really just depends on how durable Ali really is. Tyson should win via KO inside 3 rounds. Obviously if it goes deep, Tyson has no chance but I don’t see it lasting that long.

This is not even close. Ali is faster, longer arms/ better reach, better foot work, more technical, as much as he stays, the better for him, cuz Tyson's stamina has always been questioned, not to mention the trash talk that will literally drive Mike crazy.

This is a stomp for Ali, I know very well what Tyson's fanboys are like, and I realise the upcoming eruption, but Muhammad is from a different universe compared to Mike.

Ali

Ali is the GOAT

Tyson's punches far far harder than Ali .. And his speed nearly equal Ali .

Tyson was great

Ali was the grestest

Tyson

Ali would frustrate Tyson. Tysons style (around medium range and involves mostly counter punching) would be a bad match against Alis great reach, jab, and his excellent movement.

Ali. People like Quick Tillis and Evander Holyfield gave Tyson absolute hell. Ali is alot better at being able to stick and move than both of them.

Tyson with the knockout

I've already said everything I could on this fight, lol. Tyson knows everything about Ail, while Ail's never fought someone like Tyson. His style was one in a million.

Prime Mike Tyson’s raw punch could hit with 1,600 joules of energy. He is physically stronger than Ali but anybody with ring experience will tell you that timing is so important when throwing shots and being on the other end of them.

Ali had impeccable timing. Add all the other gifts he possessed, speed, physical and mental toughness, footwork etc you can see why he KO'd people.

He would tire Tyson out then go in for the kill, he was a good tactician. Waiting until George Foreman and Ron Lyle were tired to come in with the quick flurries against them when they were exhausted was fantastic imo. He didn't have awful power but I think his knockouts were more a combination of his opponents exhaustion and frustration combined with the sheer number of punches he could throw. Maybe not a power puncher but certainly capable of getting knockouts on Tyson.

Ali fights similar to a Wolf. Wolves tend not to go in for big strikes when facing large animals like Ox and do little jabs while comstntly dodging and moving to get the prey tire out and bleed enough to tire them out then the wolf goes in for the kill. tire out the opponent by having them move a lot and waste their own energy before

I'd say Ali would win. Sure Mike Tyson definitely has more power and more knockout power, but he still has to actually hit Ali. Ali had almost impeccable defense, also would have a huge reach and height advantage. Ali would win via decision, or wear Tyson stamina out then KO Tyson.

Ali

Don't be fooled by the flashy knockouts. Ali is the better fighter.

Could Ali slip up and get KO'd? Sure. But more often than not, Ali is going to win this fight.

For the people arguing for Frazier/Tyson similarity:

• Ali just came back from a 3 yr suspension and had been in the ring very little since then, even limited practice
• Ali was WELL past his prime and by the time he rumbled with Foreman everyone was saying he was washed up.
• Frazier could take waaaaaaay more punishment than Tyson, Foreman bodybagged him and he was on his feet before the ref could get to 3 like nothing happened. Twice.
• Frazier threw absolutely everything at Ali and lost 10 pounds in the fight only to win by decision(though he did drop Ali the last round)
• Frazier was a brawling machine built for 15 rounds. This is 12.

Tyson was fast but not Ali fast......Peek a Boo would get Tyson hurt badly and by the time Ali had the trilogy with Frazier he had mastered a counter against it. Ali's confidence would shatter Tysons edge the longer the fight. Also the fact that the people Ali studied...... Sugar Ray Robinson >>> Sugar Ray Leonard

Ali by KO in the 6th round. The greatest of all time.

What is this absolute shite I'm reading? Tyson never fought anyone that let's him beat Ali in his prime. Pipe down.

Ali made a living beating fighters like Tyson.

Ali

I think this would be similar to Tyson vs Holyfield fight.

bump

Tyson spent the vast majority of his career fighting journeymen. Ali would humiliate him.

I think you could say he fought a few decent guys before he went to jail. He just had that aura back then and those guys other than Ruddock I think would crumble beneath those body punches he'd throw. I would definitely pick Ali but I'd give Tyson a small puncher's chance the first few rounds. After that Ali would mentally wreck him. Also, people talking about Ali like's invincible but even young Ali(before the boxing ban) when he was at his absolute quickest got tagged really hard by that British boxer and some would say a few extra seconds or else it would have been a ko. So he could get hit but he had a very strong chin and great endurance. So Tyson would have a chance. He did lose a few times after that as well.

Ali

Tyson wins this. Ali was the greatest boxer. But things change, you cannot put people of different generations up against eachother. This goes for all sports. Many consider Maradona the greatest of all time, but put him in a fotball match today and he would not seem that good. But against other people of his time he was far ahead. Putting Messi or Ronaldo in when Maradona was at his best, they would be unstoppable, like actually unstoppable.

I don't think that Tyson would keep up with Ali's self-developed Boxing style, as mentioned by @heroup2112, Ali was very specialized at dodging in hand with his unparalleled reflexes and quick back-steps strong counterattacks, his head movements to the sides were very flexible and dynamic in case any improvisation was required.

According to Grappler Baki's writer, Keisuke Itagaki, who is a huge admirer of Muhammad Ali, he theorized that Ali wasn't really working on a unique supposed Boxing style, rather it was supposed to be his own created Martial Art style, specialized in counteracts, those including punches, kicks and grapplings, but it was unfinished, the famous 'Muhammad Ali's Mixed Martial Arts'.

Ali not only had a superior brain, but he was also more durable and led a superior technique overall.

Ali for the simple fact punching him was like trying to land a successful slap when swatting a fly

Ali hands down, rope-a-dope FTW.

Nice!

@abstractraze: Ali did do some things that were very unorthodox for boxers to do back then and probably even now. So I agree that in some ways he did create his own style which is part of his greatness as a boxer. He would improvise based on just his own innate instinct as a fighter. He could adapt to almost anyone and usually find a way to beat them.

Generations don't matter if you're great. I agree with what u said that Maradona wouldn't be that good today but I'm sure he can adapt because he can benefit from today's training and nutrition. Same with Wilt Chamberlain. He scored 100 points in a game in his time but he wouldn't score that many if he played in the 70s to today . There was no proper defense in his time but I'm sure he will still dominate in any era.

As far as I know, Tyson is too slow to respond to Ali's punches. I'm not sure why people think he will win this fight. The only advantage he got is his size and durable chin but the rest goes to Ali from height advantage to footwork. Heck even the undefeated American boxer Rocky Marciano would lose to Ali because he fought mostly nobodies and Hall Of Famers that were way past their primes.

Ali blitzes but its not a ko, raw power isnt enough and this is coming from a tyson fan

Still Ali lectures him. Mike has the greatest raw power, the cleanest technique from close, but apart from that it all goes to Cassius. And he fought some of the heaviest punchers of all time. And we all know(or at least the ones that know the boxing) that he got them. He will school tyson as well.

Tyson wins.

Tyson would have to win by knockout, Ali would be up on points. I think Tyson would have him up against the ropes and knock him out.

Tyson wins if he can score the KO early on, otherwise Ali most likely wins if it goes the distance.

Ali. Tyson was overrated as hell. He was good at knocking out tomato cans, but lost to anyone who wasn't a complete scrub.

Either could win but I think it’s likely that Ali would wear Tyson down.

The longer the fight goes on, the more of a chance Ali has of winning. I can see Tyson scoring an early KO though.

We have to remember that although prime Ali had great footwork and crazy speed for heavyweight, he didn't yet have the clinching skills which Old Ali developed to wear down guys like Foreman and Frazier.

He was also very, very vulnerable to a left hook. Henry Cooper dropped him, Frazier dropped him, he even got dropped in the Amateurs with a left hook.

Cus D'Amato (Tyson's trainer) had a video where he was slap boxing with Ali and he showed some weaknesses in Ali's style.