The Larry Holmes of the Gerry Cooney fight vs The Mike Tyson of the Trevor Berbick fight,?

Question

15 rounds, who wins?

Answer 1

i think larry would've won on points, only because tyson would hold a lot.

holmes' jab would be the dominant factor and when tyson gets inside, he finds that larry can hold his own.

the more tyson gets frustrated, the more he gets tired, but if it's his first championship fight, he'll be motivated and listen to his corner, but larry does more than enough to take the decision.

Answer 2

The Mike Tyson that beat Berbick was still with Kevin Rooney as his trainer.  When Mike had him he was unbeatable.   He would have had problems with Holmes jab but Holmes wouldn't have hurt him & Mike would have hit Holmes just like he did when he KO'd him when Holmes came out of retirement.   Holmes was a great champion but when Tyson 1st came on the scene he was incredible.   Tyson by 8th round KO.

Answer 3

First,  I'll take Larry as he was against Ali in 1980.  Although Ali was in no shape to put up much of a fight,  Larry didnt know that.  He was in his BEST condidion because EVERYONE brought their "A-Game"  against Ali.  

I am amazed at the number of people I talk to who think Tyson would win late.  Even in his prime you have to consider his performances after round 6.  How many times has Tyson actually scored a KO after round 6?  Another thing people often overlook is the fact that even as an old man,  Larry took the fight WAY too soon.   Jacobs later admitted to those condidions.  He was a smart man and KNEW Larry couldnt possibly be ready by fight time.

Holmes' Strengths:  Great jab,  above average power and speed,  Experience,  Ring savy.   Late round Stamina.

Weaknesses:  vulnerable to right hand.  

Tyson's Strengths:  Speed and Power in both hands.  Best chin in boxing.  Good combination puncher in early rounds.

Weaknesses:  Poor stamina and balance.  Becomes unrattled.  Deviates from game plan.  

The FIght

Larry would fight carefully in the first two rounds while Tyson would try to take him out early.  Larry would land his first hard right in round 3 and Tyson would bore in and land a few body shots and a right of his own.  Larry now knows he can survive Tyson's best.  

Larry's reflexes allow him to avoid many of Tyson's early rushes.  Tyson has marginal success in round 5, after losing round 4.  Before the bell ending the 5th,  Mike lands a wild right and floors Larry.  Holmes rises just before the bell.  

Larry comes out fresh and ready in round 6.  a right catches Tyson flush on the face.  Mike rushes in again, no longer trying to pick his shots carefully.  Although Tyson has a slight edge in speed,  Larry keeps things equal with his reach and timing.  He is now content to tie Tyson up as often as possible.  Tyson is beginning to show signs of weariness.

Round 8:  Larry is landing the jab more regularly now.  Tyson's eye is beginning to swell and he is now throwing one punch at a time.  Jab-Jab-RIGHT.  Holmes rocks Tyson with a 3 punch combination.  Tyson is still coming but still not throwing many punches.  Whenever he comes in Larry ties him up.  Its easier to do now that Mike has slowed down a bit.

Round 9 - 10:  Tyson bores Holmes to the ropes in in a corner.  Holmes is covering up while Mike is trying to find an opening.  He's still not throwing a lot of punches because he's getting tired.   Tyson opens up with a series of body punches but Larry blocks many of them and lands a hard uppercut.  Tyson wobbles and Larry slips out of the corner, landing a right to the top of the head.  More jabs,  occasional rights.  Larry is now landing at will.

At the beginning of round 11  Tyson is sporting a huge swelling above his left eye.  Larry focuses on it.  Tyson cant get close now, without taking a hard right for his troubles.  Larry's best shots on the chin, while still havent put Tyson down, shake him.  Larry misses a wild left but Tyson is unable to capitalize.  Here is where Larry knows he has him.  A right lands FLUSH on Tyson's face.  He takes two steps backwards and Holmes advances.  Tyson is now against the ropes and Larry is sizing him up  and landing one right hand after another.  

An uppercut hurts Mike badly as he stumbles, back still to the ropes, to the corner.  Larry is now raining one right after another when the referee finally steps in to stop it.  Tyson never left his feet.  There is no protest at the stoppage.  

Holmes by TKO in 11

Synopsis:  Tyson's greatest weapon,  his power can KO a man.  However,  Holmes has survived the power shots of big punchers on numerous occasions.  Shavers, Weaver and Snipes are all in Tyson's class.  He's faster than all of them but, unless he puts Holmes away early he has no shot at winning late.  

Even against less active fighters than Holmes,  Tyson has shown poor late-round stamina.    Larry would keep him quite busy in the early going.  

Before 6,  Tyson could win by KO  30% chance.

After 7-8, Holmes by TKO     70%-80% chance

Not many would beat Holmes in his prime.

Answer 4

A lot of people would want to say that larry would win but the reality is that Mike would win this one why? In his prime mike was faster, technically sound and extremely powerful, in his fight with berbick he made no serious mistake and his defense was top class, Holmes had a great left jab and possibly one of the best defenses in the game,but tyson was much faster and meaner than holmes and sooner or later he would have landed one of those dealy uppercuts on larry's chin.

A lot of guys here criticize tyson because he lost against holyfield,lennox and douglas.......but fail to realize that Tyson lost against douglas because he had not trained very hard and had taken douglas lightly, and by the time he fought lennox and holyfield his personal problems had already taken their toll on his boxing skills, but if larry holmes had met tyson in his prime,the same tyson that knocked out trevor berbick.....then holmes would have been knocked out before the end of the 10th round, that is just a fact in their primes,tyson was alot more dangerous and stronger than holmes.

Answer 5

Larry would knock the little punk out.  Holmes had the reach, footwork and ring smarts to make Iron Mike turn into the temper tantrumming little child we saw against Holyfield 2, and the prefight against Lewis.

Holmes, tko 12.

Answer 6

A young Mike Tyson would have bobbed and weaved his way underneath Larry's jab and thrown hooks to the head, pretty much like he did against an older Holmes. I see the result being pretty much the same, with maybe Larry making a bit more of a fight of it while he was in there. Tyson wins by KO inside 5 rounds.

Answer 7

As much as I hate to admit it, I think Mike would still win, instead of 5 rds, it would go 10, then Holmes would be knocked out.

Answer 8

Iron Mike Tyson

Answer 9

Tyson after Berbick was 20 yrs old. He was raw, strong and inexperienced. Holmes after Cooney was 32 pretty much at his peak.

Larry's jab would dictate the fight. Larry generally fought a similar style to  Buster Douglas with a far superior jab and right hand. Since Larry was out on his feet against guys like Weaver and Snipes, I think Tyson would have a punchers chance. Larry did recover well but he could be rocked.

When Tyson was challenged, he always lost! He never beat someone that was his equal! Therefore I'll take Holmes.

A lot of people are impressed with Tyson, while he was with Cus, Jacobs and Rooney. What they fail to realize is that Mike was marketed by his handlers. That is what good management is there for. They pair their fighter as they are coming up, against fighters that make their fighter look good.

It was done with Leonard, Ali, Oscar, RJJ and many others. Eventually if their fighters are great, they have to succeed against all the other fighters in that particular weight class. Tyson failed to do that! Weather his management changed or he failed to train doesn't matter! He failed! Thats the bottom line! To speculate how good he would have been or how he would do if he trained properly is just your opinion! Based on how you feel, it's not based on any accomplishment Mike achieved!  All the greats overcame whatever they had to, to be known as great. Mike didn't!