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Hello all. This is my first post on the forums. I've visited a lot before this and have seen lots of interesting discussions and debates. For my first post I'd just like to start a discussion of my own about my two of my favorite fighters.
Here's the fantasy scenario: Although Mike Tyson doesn't really fight anymore, what if he got his conditioning and skills as good as he could right now and he faced off against James Toney at heavyweight. Who would win? This is a fight that I don't think I could bear to watch, with one of my two favorite fighters inevitably having to lose...
However, if I had to pick who would win between the best possible Tyson right now Vs the best possible Toney, I'd go with Tyson. Of all the current big name heavies, I think Toney would be the kind of opponent best suited for Tyson, physically and stylistically. Tyson's abilities are no longer great enough to allow him to overcome the physically advantaged opponents that he once could. However, Toney has none of the physical advantages over Tyson that other heavies do. Furthermore, Tyson is really only vulnerable against opponents with heavy punching power, which is something Toney lacks at heavyweight. Tyson's best work is of course on the inside, where he can throw single power punches or combinations of them, while slipping at the same time. Toney's best work is also on the inside, where can land tight couterpunches at all sorts of angles. However, I think that Toney's inside counterpunching would be least effective against Tyson’s incredible inside dynamics and movement and his ability to deliver fast and accurate combinations of power shots. Finally, Toney would lack the means to prevent Tyson from getting on the inside, or at least punish him for doing so the way a bigger opponent could. I think that Tyson might be the only kind of opponent who could legitimately outpoint Toney but I would even venture to guess Tyson by late TKO/stoppage.
Anyway, I think this would be a very interesting matchup to see, or at least think about. Who do you guys think would win this fantasy scenario?
Here's the fantasy scenario: Although Mike Tyson doesn't really fight anymore, what if he got his conditioning and skills as good as he could right now and he faced off against James Toney at heavyweight. Who would win? This is a fight that I don't think I could bear to watch, with one of my two favorite fighters inevitably having to lose...
However, if I had to pick who would win between the best possible Tyson right now Vs the best possible Toney, I'd go with Tyson. Of all the current big name heavies, I think Toney would be the kind of opponent best suited for Tyson, physically and stylistically. Tyson's abilities are no longer great enough to allow him to overcome the physically advantaged opponents that he once could. However, Toney has none of the physical advantages over Tyson that other heavies do. Furthermore, Tyson is really only vulnerable against opponents with heavy punching power, which is something Toney lacks at heavyweight. Tyson's best work is of course on the inside, where he can throw single power punches or combinations of them, while slipping at the same time. Toney's best work is also on the inside, where can land tight couterpunches at all sorts of angles. However, I think that Toney's inside counterpunching would be least effective against Tyson’s incredible inside dynamics and movement and his ability to deliver fast and accurate combinations of power shots. Finally, Toney would lack the means to prevent Tyson from getting on the inside, or at least punish him for doing so the way a bigger opponent could. I think that Tyson might be the only kind of opponent who could legitimately outpoint Toney but I would even venture to guess Tyson by late TKO/stoppage.
Anyway, I think this would be a very interesting matchup to see, or at least think about. Who do you guys think would win this fantasy scenario?
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