I just can't see someone dancing (ali style) around Mike Tyson in his prime. Tyson gets mischaracterized as some sort of 1-dimensional slugger, but have you guys watched him dodge punches or seen his brutal combos? Mike Tyson had lightning fast hands, feet and insanely powerful punches.
He could go rounds without eating a serious hit while the other fighter was bleeding his eyes out. Andersen Silva looks like an evasion amateur next to Tyson.
And going into a slug fest with mike Tyson?
not gonna work.
I think Mike Tyson had the punching power of a guy at least 40+ pounds heavier than him. He wasn't just putting guys on the floor, they were out cold before they hit the ground.
Mike may have been small for his weight class but I think that gave him the ability to run bigger, taller guys down. Not the mention, his stamina in his prime was unreal.
You couldn't rely on Mike getting tired because if he was tired you were tired and he'd win a slug fest easily.
I respect Ali a lot but I think Tyson was the evolutionary step after Ali. Nothing Tyson did would have been possible without Ali's contributions to the sport, but Ali would have gotten devoured by a Tyson in his prime. No contest.
I don't really think Tyson in his prime had any real holes in his game. You stepped into the ring, you lost, Mike won and that was that.