Ali had the most trouble against short, stocky-built guys like Chuvalo, Frazier, Patterson (in their 2nd fight), etc., etc. Look how many times Joe Frazier was able to sock him in all three of their fights. Tyson was twice as skilled and powerful as Frazier and Ali could not have let a prime Tyson hit him that much or he would have been hit flat on the canvas. Think about it.
Let's elaborate on every comparable aspect, regarding both in their prime.
Power: Tyson
Speed: Tyson (anyone who denies this needs to just leave the argument)
Footwork: Tyson (Keyword: footwork, not running/dancing)
Defense: Tyson (Ali's defense was running away or holding)
Counter-punching: Tyson
Combinations: Tyson
Reflexes: Tyson
Stamina: Tyson (see below, Ali begging Angelo Dundee to cut his gloves off in Frazier III, and the fact that Kevin Rooney would always make sure Tyson could go 15 rounds, even if training for a 5 round fight.)
Heart: Ali
The only thing Ali can do better than Tyson is run away in the form of dancing, and clinch his opponent whenever they get close.
Just look at Ali's fights with Joe Frazier for an idea. Despite the decisions on the Frazier-Ali fights, Frazier was arguably the best opponent Ali ever faced and defeated him in their first fight and non-officially in their other two fights. Anyone who has seen HBO's Thrilla In Manila will see that Ali was outclassed when fighting Frazier in all three fights, and that showed. They break it down bit by bit in that documentary and it was even more of an exposure on how overrated Ali really was. In their third fight, Ali said to his fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco in the tenth round "I think this is what dying is like". Even after that Ali himself was begging Angelo Dundee to cut his gloves off so he could get a break. The fight was stopped by Eddie Futch (Frazier's trainer) not for Frazier's sake but for Ali's sake, as he was literally close to death. After that decision was made, Ali collapsed, all while Frazier was disappointed that he couldn't continue. All of this and more can be seen in HBO's Thrilla In Manila documentary, don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.
If Joe Frazier can do all that, imagine what a prime Mike Tyson (pre-1989), a Joe Frazier 2.0, can do. Far more superior in every aspect, Tyson was twice as fast, twice as powerful, had twice the skills, had twice the game plan, and was twice as hard to land a punch on. All of that and he prayed and hunted taller fighters like Ali by cutting off the ring and using relentless pressure, game plan, and skills. If Ali did manage to win, it would be by running and holding all night and Mike might fold due to his lack of heart. Skill-wise, it's not a comparison.
Boxing historian and writer Bert Sugar said there was a 70% chance of a 1988 Tyson KOing a prime Ali. That says something right there. Unfortunately whenever you bring out the truth about Ali, people can only respond with "You're living in a dream land, son" or "Get real", instead of bringing up the facts. Maybe that's because the facts have already been brought up and they just don't like them.
Even at Tyson's best, Ali takes this one. Look at what he did against Foreman and Liston who were very maen and powwerful! Ali was very tough mentally and could take a good shot obviously and this is where he has the edge. He also knew how to not take the full force of a punch and when to tie up the other fighter and this would have frustrated Tyson. Also Ali's great jab and footwork would have served him well against the aggressive and hard hitting Tyson. Ali by unanimous decisuion.
Muhammad Ali without question. Tyson was vastly overrated and a product of his environment. Ali fought in the golden age of heavy weight's. While Tyson came up and looked dominant against a bunch of nobodys. Whitch wasnt his fault,. There was just no one worth remebering besides Tyson in the heavy weight division at that time. I personally believe Tyson was a talented dude, who completely lost it once Cus Dimiadio passed, whitch led him to the route of Drugs. And not to mention, Don King jerking him surely didn't help. But Ali was just on another level and fought guys on a completely different level such as Frazier, Foreman!!!!!! ( everyone expected him to loose ), Ken Norton, and Sonny Liston. Ali would have frustrated Tyson, because he would have been much quicker and out boxed him. And importantly OUT THOUGHT him
ali would win on pts in his early yrs but tyson would of given him trouble when ali was older note joe frazier knocked ali down with a left hook if tyson hit him he wouldnt of gotten up but if it was the ali of 1964-67 tyson wouldnt of caught him note tyson in his prime was faster than both frazier and foreman and hit as hard as foreman
Let's elaborate on every comparable aspect, regarding both in their prime.
Power: Tyson
Speed: Tyson (anyone who denies this needs to just leave the argument)
Footwork: Tyson (Keyword: footwork, not running/dancing)
Defense: Tyson (Ali's defense was running away or holding)
Counter-punching: Tyson
Combinations: Tyson
Reflexes: Tyson
Stamina: Tyson (see below, Ali begging Angelo Dundee to cut his gloves off in Frazier III, and the fact that Kevin Rooney would always make sure Tyson could go 15 rounds, even if training for a 5 round fight.)
Heart: Ali
The only thing Ali can do better than Tyson is run away in the form of dancing, and clinch his opponent whenever they get close.
Just look at Ali's fights with Joe Frazier for an idea. Despite the decisions on the Frazier-Ali fights, Frazier was arguably the best opponent Ali ever faced and defeated him in their first fight and non-officially in their other two fights. Anyone who has seen HBO's Thrilla In Manila will see that Ali was outclassed when fighting Frazier in all three fights, and that showed. They break it down bit by bit in that documentary and it was even more of an exposure on how overrated Ali really was. In their third fight, Ali said to his fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco in the tenth round "I think this is what dying is like". Even after that Ali himself was begging Angelo Dundee to cut his gloves off so he could get a break. The fight was stopped by Eddie Futch (Frazier's trainer) not for Frazier's sake but for Ali's sake, as he was literally close to death. After that decision was made, Ali collapsed, all while Frazier was disappointed that he couldn't continue. All of this and more can be seen in HBO's Thrilla In Manila documentary, don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.
If Joe Frazier can do all that, imagine what a prime Mike Tyson (pre-1989), a Joe Frazier 2.0, can do. Far more superior in every aspect, Tyson was twice as fast, twice as powerful, had twice the skills, had twice the game plan, and was twice as hard to land a punch on. All of that and he prayed and hunted taller fighters like Ali by cutting off the ring and using relentless pressure, game plan, and skills. If Ali did manage to win, it would be by running and holding all night and Mike might fold due to his lack of heart. Skill-wise, it's not a comparison.
Boxing historian and writer Bert Sugar said there was a 70% chance of a 1988 Tyson KOing a prime Ali. That says something right there. Unfortunately whenever you bring out the truth about Ali, people can only respond with "You're living in a dream land, son" or "Get real", instead of bringing up the facts. Maybe that's because the facts have already been brought up and they just don't like them.
Even at Tyson's best, Ali takes this one. Look at what he did against Foreman and Liston who were very maen and powwerful! Ali was very tough mentally and could take a good shot obviously and this is where he has the edge. He also knew how to not take the full force of a punch and when to tie up the other fighter and this would have frustrated Tyson. Also Ali's great jab and footwork would have served him well against the aggressive and hard hitting Tyson. Ali by unanimous decisuion.
Muhammad Ali without question. Tyson was vastly overrated and a product of his environment. Ali fought in the golden age of heavy weight's. While Tyson came up and looked dominant against a bunch of nobodys. Whitch wasnt his fault,. There was just no one worth remebering besides Tyson in the heavy weight division at that time. I personally believe Tyson was a talented dude, who completely lost it once Cus Dimiadio passed, whitch led him to the route of Drugs. And not to mention, Don King jerking him surely didn't help. But Ali was just on another level and fought guys on a completely different level such as Frazier, Foreman!!!!!! ( everyone expected him to loose ), Ken Norton, and Sonny Liston. Ali would have frustrated Tyson, because he would have been much quicker and out boxed him. And importantly OUT THOUGHT him
ali would win on pts in his early yrs but tyson would of given him trouble when ali was older note joe frazier knocked ali down with a left hook if tyson hit him he wouldnt of gotten up but if it was the ali of 1964-67 tyson wouldnt of caught him note tyson in his prime was faster than both frazier and foreman and hit as hard as foreman