Alright Planeteers, I've been arguing on message boards with people about this off and on for a couple years now and I want to get CP's input on it. The question is this: Who would win in a fight between Bruce Lee and Mike Tyson in his prime? Let's hear it! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Coochie liquor:
I’d go even prime Mike vs Fury I think would be a mismatch. Fury is just to hard to even get to. Especially from someone Iron Mikes height. I love watching Fury fight like I used to love watching Mike fight. Mike 5’10 Fury 6’9
Looks like the tallest fighter Mike fought was Buster Douglas at 6’4. I think Fury is much better than Buster.
By the time Tyson fought Douglas, he'd become lazy, both in his prep and in his actual technique. He wasn't using his jab hardly at all, didn't work the angles, he just walked into people and tried to get the uppercut to connect. That was his whole gameplan by the time he got to Douglas. And Douglas fought the fight of his life; he never looked that good, or even close, ever again.
go back to when Tyson was still actually boxing at a high level, and I think he could beat anybody I've ever seen. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Coochie liquor:
I watch boxing , but obviously don’t have the knowledge of the ins and out you do. But Buster Douglas was the tallest guy he fought at 6’4. And he lost. Fury is 5 inches taller with a longer reach. And I don’t know what the outcome would actually be. But I just think it would be a hell of a problem for Mike. And I was a big Mike Stan back in the day.
I mean, that's just not right.
David Jaco was 6'6" and not far removed from beating Razor Ruddock. Tyrell Biggs was 6'5" and the undefeated #1 contender at the time. Jose Ribalta was a rummy but he was 6'5" and beat Leon Spinks!
Thomas knocked the shit out of all 3 of those guys. Tony Tucker and Mitch Green were both 6'5" and lost to Tyson.
And then there was Lennox Lewis who is 6'5" and fairly well whupped him. But by then he was washed. He was the caricature you're portraying him as now. So he couldn't dodge those jabs to get inside and he was slow enough that if he did get in there, fighters just leaned on him because he couldn't do that little deke and drill 'em with the uppercut anymore; just wasn't fast enough.
Tyson fought plenty of tall fighters and handled all of them when he was in the prime we're talking about. When he got to the latter half of his career and tried to be a puncher, he struggled against them. But again, I just think that's the version you remember of him - not the version of him in his prime. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I mean, that's just not right.
David Jaco was 6'6" and not far removed from beating Razor Ruddock. Tyrell Biggs was 6'5" and the undefeated #1 contender at the time. Jose Ribalta was a rummy but he was 6'5" and beat Leon Spinks!
Thomas knocked the shit out of all 3 of those guys. Tony Tucker and Mitch Green were both 6'5" and lost to Tyson.
And then there was Lennox Lewis who is 6'5" and fairly well whupped him. But by then he was washed. He was the caricature you're portraying him as now. So he couldn't dodge those jabs to get inside and he was slow enough that if he did get in there, fighters just leaned on him because he couldn't do that little deke and drill 'em with the uppercut anymore; just wasn't fast enough.
Tyson fought plenty of tall fighters and handled all of them when he was in the prime we're talking about. When he got to the latter half of his career and tried to be a puncher, he struggled against them. But again, I just think that's the version you remember of him - not the version of him in his prime.
I’m sure you’re right. I only googles the question and looked at the results. Didn’t really go in depth. But yeah now that you mention it I think I remember that.
Edit: also just re googled the question and must have not looked properly earlier. Yeah you’re very correct. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
By the time Tyson fought Douglas, he'd become lazy, both in his prep and in his actual technique. He wasn't using his jab hardly at all, didn't work the angles, he just walked into people and tried to get the uppercut to connect. That was his whole gameplan by the time he got to Douglas. And Douglas fought the fight of his life; he never looked that good, or even close, ever again.
go back to when Tyson was still actually boxing at a high level, and I think he could beat anybody I've ever seen.
After reading this and DJ’s post I’ll admit you guys are probably closer to right than I am. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Coochie liquor:
After reading this and DJ’s post I’ll admit you guys are probably closer to right than I am.
I remember the Douglas fight pretty well, because my brother and I ended up getting into a pretty good fight over it. Few hands were thrown after the decision.
Bottom line, I saw the fall off in Tyson, my brother hadn't. We put $200 on the fight, and Douglas ended up winning. I was being a poor winner, laughing and carrying on, and he lost it.
But we'd watched every Tyson fight except his first one? together. Tyson was a monster. All that speed, power and an absolute assassin. Maybe the best boxer i ever saw, and my favorite fighter was Ali. Then he just stopped being a boxer at some point, and was just a thug. Had seen enough of Douglas to know that he wasn't great, but he had that jack-hammer jab. Some fights anyway. Between that length and jab, and the erosion of Tyson's skills/technique, i thought it was a good bet. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
I remember the Douglas fight pretty well, because my brother and I ended up getting into a pretty good fight over it. Few hands were thrown after the decision.
Bottom line, I saw the fall off in Tyson, my brother hadn't. We put $200 on the fight, and Douglas ended up winning. I was being a poor winner, laughing and carrying on, and he lost it.
But we'd watched every Tyson fight except his first one? together. Tyson was a monster. All that speed, power and an absolute assassin. Maybe the best boxer i ever saw, and my favorite fighter was Ali. Then he just stopped being a boxer at some point, and was just a thug. Had seen enough of Douglas to know that he wasn't great, but he had that jack-hammer jab. Some fights anyway. Between that length and jab, and the erosion of Tyson's skills/technique, i thought it was a good bet.
I was in your brothers head space at that point. I thought Mike was unstoppable. But I’ve been known to live in the past some. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Post-prison Mike Tyson superseded the savage killer 'Kid Dynamite' Tyson in most of their memories.
There just wasn't an area he didn't excel. The only fighter that might have given him trouble was the nuclear experiment gone awry, Klitschko. Because he was just so goddamn bit.
But young Tyson was a force of nature.
No doubts. People were so enamored with Tyson’s power that they think he was some black Rocky Balboa. Prime Tyson was arguably one of if not the most complete fighters of all time. [Reply]
Originally Posted by CoMoChief:
Tyson is 220lbs and built like a brick shit house.
Lee is probably 135lbs soaking wet.
Lee would get destroyed.
If it was a sanctioned fight with rules, Bruce would have a chance as long as he didn’t get hit. If Tyson gets a solid shot in that’s it. He would break Lee. Non sanctioned Tyson wins even faster. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
You think Mike Tyson didn't fight guys that were bigger than him? Everyone he fought had a reach advantage - he knew how to deal with it.
As has been noted, he was so damn hard to keep out of your kitchen because he'd just keep coming. He'd get that head down behind his gloves and keep you from landing anything square then he'd just pursue, pursue, pursue. If you tried to stand there and keep him back with jabs, that would work - for awhile. But he was cat quick and the moment you missed with a jab, he inside on you. Now you're trying to back up to re-gain the space you lost be he's not letting you. Because again - he just kept coming.
And here's one of my favorite things about Tyson and I've alluded to it before - he's one of the best displays of the kinetic chain in action you will ever see. Tyson could step and delivery a punch that used that step to his advantage. He was able to use that step to help rotate his hips and in so doing take all that energy, put it into his back and then rotate his torso through and put a TON of energy into the punch.
So sure - try to keep him at distance. It can work if you're pristine in your execution or if he's not on his game. But you're not trying anything that hasn't been tried. He knows how to deal with length; he's been doing it his entire career. He's GOING to get inside you at some point and he's probably going to deliver serious damage when he does. So you'd better be able to take a wallop and then you'd better hope you catch him off balance and put one on the button.
Because you're not gonna stick and move your way to a win against prime Tyson. He was in too great a shape, he was too fast, he was too powerful and he was, in a seemingly impossible convergence, a relentless technician. It's hard to be as persistent AND as sound as he was. A war of attrition isn't gonna work.
This is an excellent write up. Tyson would get inside of Fury which neutralizes that reach advantage and due to size differences would just wear that body out with power shot after power shot. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tredadda:
If it was a sanctioned fight with rules, Bruce would have a chance as long as he didn’t get hit. If Tyson gets a solid shot in that’s it. He would break Lee. Non sanctioned Tyson wins even faster.
How exactly do you think a man is not going to get hit inside a caged environment?
I dont give a fuck how much faster you think Lee is than Tyson, a man on the level of Tyson is going to land punches.
Didn't Bruce Lee only have 1 official fight? We are sitting here discussing whether or not a man who built his accolades in the movies and demonstrations at 130lbs could beat one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Holy shit balls. [Reply]
Originally Posted by AdolfOliverBush:
Yes, but he was a grown man who weighed 135 pounds. Versus a regular guy on the street? Of course Lee would dominate. Against Tyson? 135 pounds isn't close to enough to stop a prime Mike Tyson from doing whatever he wants.
I had an issue with your comment claiming Tyson would simply peel Lee’s hands off his neck like a grown man would against a 12 year old lol that’s too much
Lee was a small dude but anyone who can do two-finger, one-handed push-ups is definitely going to be able to maintain a chokehold if you give it to him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ThaVirus:
I had an issue with your comment claiming Tyson would simply peel Lee’s hands off his neck like a grown man would against a 12 year old lol that’s too much
Lee was a small dude but anyone who can do two-finger, one-handed push-ups is definitely going to be able to maintain a chokehold if you give it to him.
