Melvin was the one to crack the chin but before that he was not KOable. He took a full strength Mirko LHK to the head. Shin to head and didn’t get KO’d. I would take Mike because of his quickness but if he doesn’t get it done really quickly…….he doesn’t do well against guys who are durable and not afraid of him.
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Green didn’t get KOd in that street tumble and Tyson ran after landing that wig splitter.
Tyson broke his hand on Green’s dome, was HW champ with nothing to gain and lots to lose from that fight, and was the one confronted by Green. Why would he stick around?
We are talking about a hypothetical fight. I’m assuming there is no running away in this dream match up. It goes to show his mentality. He said he punched Green out of fear as well.
To be clear I picked Tyson
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I’m probably crazy but I think Mike has real problems dealing with Hunto in a street fight.
This is a myth.
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He might have ran after these pictures, but this doesn’t look like a guy running away after he dropped Green. Looks like he’s ready to do it again..
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Jesus.
If I had a sister and my father ever laid a hand on her, especially in this manner, he’d be dead. I actually told my father one time he’s lucky he never laid a hand on my mother (that I know about) or he’d be dead
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I’d pick Tyson.
Too fast and crisp with his combinations, and Hunt is a big target.
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OG ALWAYS seems to act like women are the only violent abusers and “equal lefts, equal rights” bla bla bla.
But I’ve heard stories from a couple of my dads friends about horrible abusive fathers and step fathers that they ended up standing up to.
I’ve heard Terry Crews telling his story about being terrified of his father, and then coming home to visit as an adult and his dad mom his knocks tooth out to show him he was still the boss. So Terry Crews said he beat the shit out of his dad. And told this on Tyson’s podcast, about how it brought him no happiness, no nothing.
I also know another friend of my dads that was a crazy bully asshole, that my dad ended up unfriending after he found out that the guy beat his wife.
I remember one time when my dad wasnt around that guy grabbed my stomach and twisted my skin and told me he would kill me if I kept mouthing off to my dad. I was probably 13. I remember him telling stories about how he killed a bunch of people and buried them in the woods. I believed him. He was a crazy asshole and lived off grid in south america for a while.
Evander beat him up bad in the first fight and he essentially quit in the second fight because he was getting bullied. Douglas fit the description in his fight. Even when he was smashing everyone he did not end Bonecrusher Smith or Tony Tucker the way he was other boxers. They were durable and fought back.
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He was getting headbutted.
Late 90s Tyson isn’t prime Tyson.
Different animals.
During Tyson’s peak run he was mentally focused and didn’t show the mental frustrations we would see from him later.
Substance abuse is a hell of a thing.
Regardless, the statement that he
Didn’t do well against durable fighters that weren’t afraid of him is indeed a myth. It’s an often parroted talking point that lacks context.
Tyson fought and beat plenty of though guys who were game enough to fight back.
You mentioned Tony Tucker who Tyson beat by unanimous decision. Tucker was undefeated going into that fight and had just beat Buster Douglas. He wasn’t afraid of Tyson.
And speaking of Douglas, Tyson was up all night partying before that fight, and still likely would have beat Douglas if not for a long count. He just didn’t have the stamina because his training camp was a party and his handlers had him convinced he was unbeatable.
Frank Bruno wasn’t afraid of Tyson, and even rocked him. Razor Ruddick certainly wasn’t afraid.
Etc..
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Tyson wpuld murder Hunt in the street.. Manhoef crumbled Hunt and Tyson is like Manhoef x4
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If only we had smart phones back then - we could see this classic brawl ftom 14 different angles in HD
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This.
Post Prison Tyson was a slugger.
Prime Tyson was super fast defensively too.
Good point with Ruddock. That guy lost early in his career and then in his last fight but in his prime he only lost to Tyson twice, Lennox Lewis and Tommy Morrison. Good call.
I mentioned Tucker because Tyson was squarely in his prime and did not blow him out like he did other guys. Douglas straight up refused to be bullied. Green wouldn’t be bullied; decision. James Tillis went full on stand and bang with him against the ropes, not afraid, no KO. Actually, had Tillis not went ape with a leaping left hook where he got knocked down and suffered a 10-8 round, that fight would have been a draw. So there you have Smith, Tucker, Douglas, Tillis and Green, guys that were not afraid of him and durable. You have no knockouts. Only ONE knockdown, one he was one knockdown away from a DRAW, and a KO loss. These are in his prime and against non-greats. If we extend that to
So I’m surmising that you are narrowing down Tyson’s prime to 1986 to 1990? The above information is in that time frame. Otherwise you extend it to BEFORE the disastrous showings against Holyfield and you have Ruddock who bucks the trend / description. You mentioned Frank Bruno, he had been knocked out multiple times before he fought Tyson. He was not that durable. Bonecrusher Smith and Tim Witherspoon knocked him out (who I think had an underrated career)
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Tyson was never in trouble against any of those guys and the decisions were never in question.
And Tyson’s trainers wanted him to pace himself in some of those early fights so he could experience going the distance. Tillis is one of those instances.
The Douglas fight is an outlier for obvious reasons I won’t repeat.
And for the rest of them, it’s just evidence that you can’t KO everyone you fight.
You’re saying he “didn’t do well” in fights he won just because he didn’t knock them out?
Seems like a stretch to me.
Also, he dropped Green quick on the street, which supports the reality that it’s not the same thing.
IMO you can’t really say Tyson struggles against durable/game fighters anymore than that would apply to anyone else.
It’s almost like saying a particular bicycle racer has been known to “struggle” when riding uphill lol.
I still think a street fight between Hunt and Tyson would be decided in 1 or 2 brief exchanges, and that situation plus no gloves and the speed factor favors Tyson.
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If not for the one knockdown (which Tillis got up at like 1 or 2) that fight ends in a draw. You can say all the why’s and the whatevers but those are not top tier competitors that he did not look that great against. Only one knockdown out of ALL of those fights, and a KO loss. In his prime. It would be different if he had knocked the crap out of them and scored a few knockdowns or had near stoppages.
I don’t disagree with your thoughts on how the fight with Hunt would go but if it didn’t end quick, I’m taking Hunt. To be clear, I think it would end quick. Street fights are vicious, violent and short.
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After living in Hawaii for 3 years, I just know two things: Samoans are the genetic equivalents of tanks and NEVER say oofa.