When it comes to bone-crushing, jaw-shattering knockout power, no two fighters in heavyweight boxing history possessed as much fistic dynamite bottled in their fists as did Big George Foreman and Iron Mike Tyson. With the combined punching power of a small nuclear warhead, both of these guys left a trail of battered, prone, lifeless bodies in their wake.
For most die-hard boxing fans, who love nothing more than to sit around and hypothesize about how various all-time great fighters - both past and present - would do against one another in mythical match-ups, pitting two all-time great sluggers from different eras against each other in a fantasy fight is as good as it gets! There's something about punching power and punches thrown with bad intentions that riles up the competitive juices of hard-core boxing aficionados like nothing else!
And when it comes to pitting two all-time great sluggers against each other in a mythical match-up, it doesn't get any better than “Big” George Foreman, the holy terror of a wrecking ball from the 1970's, swapping bombs with “Mighty” Mike Tyson, that swarming, terrorizing ball of speed and power from the 1980's and beyond. Would Foreman be able to launch Tyson into the air with a mighty uppercut the same way he did to Joe Frazier, or would Tyson send Foreman sprawling to the canvas like he did to Trevor Berbick? One thing's for sure - this fight would not go the distance!
So, how would this fight play out if both guys fought each other in their respective primes? Although opinions vary greatly, and a strong case can be made for either fighter emerging victorious, I think the fight would play out something like this:
Mike Tyson, with his superior hand speed and explosiveness, would get off to a fast start and probably nail George with some pretty big punches - he may even send him to the canvas once or twice. Mike Tyson was no Joe Frazier; he was much faster and much more explosive, so any comparisons to the Foreman/Frazier fight in analyzing a Foreman/Tyson fight would be irrelevant in my opinion. Foreman was a fairly slow starter, and he wasn't the fastest, most elusive guy around, so Tyson would have his best moments early in the fight.
I readily concede that a quick Mike Tyson victory would definitely be possible. It wouldn't surprise me if Tyson were able to overwhelm George within the first two or three rounds and blow him out with his short, quick, and deadly precision punches. Mike Tyson was deadly, and his combination of both hand speed and punching power was phenomenal. But if Foreman were able to weather the early Mike Tyson storm, the fight would drastically turn.
Style wise, I think this would be a bad fight for Tyson. George Foreman was a master at fighting “tall” and keeping shorter opponents at bay. And Foreman's huge hooks and crosses thrown from the outside would no doubt land on Tyson. And Tyson, although he'd manage to get in close and land the occasional big shot, would have a difficult time maintaining his position without getting hurt himself.
George Foreman was very durable and overwhelmingly strong. And I think it is this innate toughness on George's part that would help him immensely in a fight with Mike Tyson. He would undoubtedly get hit, but I think he would be able to take Tyson's early assault. And, he would be clubbing back at Tyson, and he would no doubt nail Tyson with some big, powerful uppercuts and short hooks on the inside. And this would be very bad for Tyson.
Tyson, in my opinion, was not as durable - both mentally and physically - as was George Foreman. As soon as Foreman starting landing his big punches, Tyson would quickly wilt; he'd get hurt, and he'd get discouraged. And as soon as that happened, the fight would be just as good as over.
Call it a mid-rounds knockout win for George Foreman. Tyson would probably hit the canvas for good courtesy of a Foreman uppercut or sweeping left hook, but he'd no doubt finish the fight on his back. And Foreman, probably a bit swollen and hurt, would have his massive arm raised in victory!
