Can “Iron” Mike Tyson withstand the beating Rocky Marciano puts on his arms with a peek-a-boo defense?
Two of anyone’s top ten list should include unbeaten at 49-0 with 43 stoppages, Rocky Marciano and “Iron” Mike Tyson, the same before his battle with drugs!
Tyson was 37-0 when he was upset by James “Buster” Douglas, 28-4-1! He goes on to win his next eight fights, with six by knockout, and looks like the old Mike. Then meets his match with Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, 33-3 by TKO and by DQ in rematch.
Then Tyson has four stoppages and two NCs over opponents Frans Botha, 39-1, Orlin Norris, 50-5 nc, British and Commonwealth Champion Julian Francis, 21-7, Lou Savarese, 39-3, Andrew Golotta nc, and stopping “Super” Brian Nielsen, 62-1. Then in losing to Lennox “Lion” Lewis, 39-2-1, looking shot entering the ring.
Tyson stops Clifford “Black Rhino” Etienne, 24-1-1, and loses to a pair of club fighters like of Danny “Brixton Bomber” Williams, 31-3, who ends his career with a 55-33 record! Then, he was stopped by Kevin “The Clones Colossus” McBride, 32-4-1, who then went 2-6 in his next and last eight fights.
Marciano took 43 fights to get the title fight. On the way in his closest fight up to then, winning a split decision over Roland LaStarza, 37-0, whom he stopped three years later in a title defense in eleven rounds.
Then Marciano stopped one of the, if not the greatest, in Joe “The Brown Bomber” Louis, 66-2. In an eliminator, he stopped Harry “Kid” Matthews, 81-3-5, to earn the title fight against champion “Jersey” Joe Walcott, 49-18-1, behind going into the thirteenth round, landing a crushing blow stopping Walcott.
It was so vicious Walcott was told “never to fight again” due to a broken bone under his eye. Mob put him into rematch, and he was knocked out in the first round.
Marciano then stops LaStarza and, in a close fight, stops former champion Ezzard “The Cincinnati Cobra” Charles, 85-10-1. In the rematch after being dropped twice with his nose split down the middle and given one more round per the ring, physician Marciano comes out in the eighth round well ahead, knocking Charles out!
Marciano then stops British Commonwealth champion Don Cockell, 66-11-1, and ends his career against the light heavyweight champion and “king of the knockouts” Archie “Old Mongoose” Moore, 149-19-8, after coming off the canvas to score four knockdowns and retiring with a 49-0 record.
I can just see the opening bell with Marciano and Tyson meeting in the middle of the ring before the fireworks start. Marciano, the big puncher and a “thinker,” how to defeat his opponents by beating on their arms, and Tyson, the quicker of the two, out of the peek-a-boo defense.
So who wins this one?
