Who Would Win? Mike Tyson vs. George Foreman Argument Rekindles on Facebook
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Mike Tyson versus George Foreman remains a timeless heavyweight championship riddle. Who would win? You Tubers have computer simulated the dream fight, the modern day successor to Muhammad Ali versus Rocky Marciano. Ali versus Marciano had two film endings, but-as only Ali and Marciano knew-they had filmed dozens of possible endings.
In reality, an actual fight has only one ending. Tyson and Foreman. Knockout. Understood.
More recently, Facebook boxing junkies have debated, and called George Foreman versus Mike Tyson a question of speed versus power. This is not so. Both combatants, Big George and Iron Mike, certainly had power on their size. Foreman, a king of the boxing seventies, and Tyson, a king of the boxing eighties, both had great confidence in their titular primes.
Their Achilles heel was in losing to themselves. Foreman had decisions losses to Jimmy Young, Shannon Briggs, Evander Holyfield and Tommy Morrison. Foreman stopped Gerry Cooney in two, who had beaten Young. Tyson lost to the likes of Lennox Lewis, Buster Douglas, Danny Williams, Evander Holyfield, and Kevin McBride. Holyfield was the common denominator. Yet, Foreman was more inspired in his comeback than Tyson was. Another element was the absence of trainer Archie Moore for Foreman, and Kevin Rooney for Tyson, in their later heavyweight boxing stages.
The majority of experts pick Foreman over Tyson. In a grand historical perspective, I respectfully disagree. Iron Mike and Big George would have the ultimate respect for each other. The key had to do with stamina and the right kind of training. Foreman went the distance with the like of Levi Forte, Lou Savarese, Everett Bigfoot Martin, Alex Stewart, Alex Schultz and Crawford Grimsley. Tyson took out Savarese and Stewart in one round. The difference in power is obvious. Tyson, in his prime, could close the door against more inferior opponents, including the use of psychological warfare, long a Foreman weakness as exposed by Ali.
My prediction would be Tyson would knock down and knock out Foreman in eight, nine or ten rounds of a 15 rounder. Much as Ron Lyle took down Foreman twice in their epic seventies battle. I believe Tyson would finish Foreman. Lyle and Ali exposed too many holes for Foreman to survive Tyson. Tyson versus Foreman would have been a blockbuster bout along the lines of Floyd Mayweather Jr. version Manny Pacquiao, and Ali versus Smokin’ Joe Frazier. In fact, Foreman versus Larry Holmes almost took place, much like Tyson versus Tommy ‘The Duke’ Morrison almost took place.
Woulda shoulda coulda. Boxing experts from Bert Sugar to Teddy Atlas can continue to speculate on what might have been. The only general consensus on which all agree is Foreman versus Tyson would end in a knockout, one way or the other. I mean, fireworks. Two men would have stepped into the ring, and only one would have walked out. Tyson versus Foreman would have been meant for Las Vegas. It should be recognized this reporter is referring to the versions of Tyson and Foreman in their fighting primes. The reality is if the bout had taken place for real, Tyson would have fought the older version of Foreman, the older Foreman who regained the heavyweight title and beat Michael Moorer, so it would have been a much different bout than the theoretical matchup just analyzed.
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