By Bolish Gudgworth: Your browser may not support display of this image. This is perhaps the most talked about and most debated over fantasy fight of all time. It is of course, easy to see why. Who wouldn’t want to pit the speed, grace and incredible talent of Muhammad Ali against the ferocity, menace and explosive dynamite that is Mike Tyson? If only a prime Ali ( I would say late 1960’s or in particular 1966 when Muhammad gave Cleveland Williams a boxing lesson) were to come up against a 1986-1989 era Mike Tyson.
If that fantasy fight actually took place in 2009, there is no question that it would propel boxing out of its deterioration and right back on to the centre stage of sports and easily generate over $100 million along the way. In fact, this fantasy match up has such interest it is more or less the selling point of the new EA Sports Fight Night Round 4, which has been No.1 on Game Charts across the world. There is no question that a prime Ali verses a prime Tyson would make a huge cultural impact, but who would win?
I know that boxing forums across the Internet have almost debated the outcome of this fight to death, but nonetheless…my prediction: Muhammad Ali wins by unanimous decision over 15 rounds. I am now going to explain why.
To the casual boxing fan Mike Tyson looks like the clear winner. Watch any fight from Tyson’s early pro career (i.e. against Robert Colay, Hector Mercedes etc) and all we see is Tyson bombarding his opponent with furious and devastating uppercuts and hooks. The opponent of course collapses to the floor like some delirious crook in a Hollywood B-movie and Tyson is the victor usually in the first round. So how can Ali possibly go fifteen rounds with Mike and actually come out the winner? Although not fully apparent to us in 1986, there were flaws to Tyson’s game. Some unsuspecting fighters were showing us the blueprints hazily as to how to beat Tyson. Fighters like Mitch Green, Quick Tillis, James “Bonecrusher” Smith had all gone the distance with Kid Dynamite and had done so by jabbing and not letting Tyson get command of the inside. Along the way to Tyson’s unification of the heavyweight crown (which was completed by his UD over Tony Tucker to claim the IBF crown to his already WBC and WBA Heavyweight Championship Belts), he still looked unsinkable. Tyson had an enormous marketing campaign based upon that invincibility, but when James “Buster” Douglas knocked him out in February 1990 I became convinced Muhammad Ali could defeat Tyson. After all if a 42-1 underdog with previously questionable motivation and dedication could defeat the “Baddest Man on the Planet” then surely the Greatest, Muhammad Ali could do the same. I don’t think Douglas won by outclassing Tyson physically (although this was a major factor in Buster’s victory) but he won through determination. Buster Douglas stood up to Tyson and when Tyson couldn’t KO Douglas he lost his momentum and in turn was KO’d.
Now Muhammad Ali is mentally the strongest fighter that ever laced a pair of gloves on. Muhammad Ali would win because he would get into the ring and play with Tyson’s mind. Ali would wear Tyson down not with devastating KO blows to the head every five seconds, but using words would wear Tyson down. Not to mention, Muhammad Ali had one of the greatest chins of all time.
Ali had fought Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Earnie Shavers and Ken Norton. Not only could Ali take the crushing blows that these men dished out (particularly at the “Rumble in the Jungle” and “The Thrilla in Manila”) but he had a way of beating them all…and Mike Tyson would be defeated in a similar fashion.
But Muhammad wouldn’t just win because of his mental strength, determination and chin, but the tale of the tap makes it look like Ali could slap Tyson all across the ring with one hand. Ali at 6 ft 3 inches towers over the smaller Tyson (5 ft 11 inches), and with that kind of height advantage, I can see Ali pushing and bullying Tyson away from him and with Ali’s superior reach, he would keep Tyson completely at bay and unable to do damage on the inside.
Ali, over 15 rounds would jab, dance and flurry towards the ends of the rounds keeping Tyson distant. Although Tyson was an extremely mobile puncher who could move quickly, Ali is the fastest heavyweight of all time, and in Muhammad’s prime, he could dance and flurry for 15 rounds no problem. Finally, Ali was never a great knockout artist and that is why the judges would have to crown Ali the winner of this fantasy fight, rather than Ali scoring a KO despite (I predict) landing more punches.
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