Muhammad Ali vs. Mike Tyson

Ali would have come into this fight knowing what Tyson's every move would be. Could the man who invented the rope-a-dope have found a bigger dope to fight?

I would like to think a prime Ali 21 years old could have beaten a 21 year old Tyson if he could have been as successful with the style he used against Liston and other aggressive opponents that constantly pressed him, and the fact that he was very fast for a heavyweight ,but I just don't see a young Ali surviving the big bombs of Tyson and would have to be on the go non stop and not get caught. People have to remember that even though foreman and shavers were some of the biggest heavyweight punchers and caught Ali plenty of times, someone like Tyson was very fast himself and had the power and skills to go with it . You could see in some of Tyson's early fights he would often get as low as possible like rocky Marciano looking for different angles to reach opponents who were always on the move and difficult to reach and was a constant pressure fighter with a rock solid chin ,so I cant see Ali actually hurting Tyson easily and would most likely have to win on points . While Tyson was abl... Read more

At their respective peaks, I don't think this is much of a contest.  Ali is quicker, smarter, and would turn Tyson's mindless rage against him.  Tyson hit hard, without question, but Ali showed he could take a lot of punishment, and deliver it too.

We more or less saw this fight in 1964 with Sonny Liston playing the Tyson role.

A Muhammad Ali vs. Mike Tyson fight during each fighter's peak in their career does look good on paper. But the fact is that Mike Tyson would only have a puncher's chance at best. And with a constantly moving Muhammad Ali jabbing and throwing a flurry of combinations, it would have been difficult for the comparatively-stationary Tyson to land one of his haymakers. I see this fight being possibly a wholly-lopsided decision with Ali cruising to the decision OR Ali winning by knockout during the middle rounds because, given Tyson's historic nature and disposition, the younger fighter would have become increasingly frustrated and unfocused.

I don't think Ali vs. Tyson would be a watchable fight. As over-rated as I believe Ali to be, he would make quick work of Tyson through movement and precision combinations. Also, Tyson was a very short heavyweight and would lose a lot of his vaunted power punching up on Ali. I also question Tyson's focus, whereas focus was one of Ali's strengths.

I think this would be one of the greatest match ups ever and they fought in their prime, although if they fought ten times in their prime, Muhammad Ali would win 7 or 8 of those matches. I think Ali would have gotten into Tyson's head with his taunts, trash talk and other psychological ploys to go along with his speed but Tyson could definetly win some fights with his sheer power which would result in a KO or TKO victory.