How well would a 20 year-old Mike Tyson do today in boxing?

[Will69]

I was just wondering, how well would a 20 year-old Tyson do if he entered boxing today?  Your opinions?

[Duggerman]

Good question. And you know what? I think it'd be the same as the '80s.

Guys in general are bigger now, but that doesn't change Mike's skillset. I personally think the same thing would happen all over again. He would probably have a good five-year stretch of knockout success, but then lose focus and start a decline.

Also look at it this way; do you think any of the top heavyweights of today would beat a peak 20 year-old Iron Mike? I don't. They're big, but not a threat to him. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

[Will69]

I think it's a bit more complicated than that.  I'm a Tyson fan, so it's hard for me to be completely objective, but if I put my boxing nerd-hat on, there are a couple of points I see.
Boxing styles have become a lot more strategic and defensive.  No one goes in to try and blast anyone out right away anymore.  A lot of guys will test each other and take it to later rounds to put the pressure on.  Boxers know that if someone comes at them right away, you keep them away until the later rounds or you see openings or weak spots.

Tyson struggled with bigger guys and never fought a big guy with top skill until Lewis.
Tyson blasted a lot of guys in the 80s who were average sized with average skills.

I think Tyson would beat a lot of contenders who are 6'2" or under.  But, his chances go down against a modern belt holder, and it's even less likely he'd unify the title.  The top guys in the business are all giants now.  On the other hand, as I 've stated in the past, guys like Joshua, Wilder, and Fury are not really tested yet.  Fury's biggest win was against Chisora, who is average.  Joshua did not breeze through Takem who was old, average skilled, small-average sized (6'1.5"), but had a lot of heart.  That fight went 10 rounds.  Wilder has only fought average guys at best.  So, there is a lot of room for speculation.  Certainly Tyson would be a different animal, but with their long reach and modern tactics, they may well be able to keep Tyson at bay till the later rounds and start dropping bombs.

I wonder if Tyson could be trained to gain stamina, or is that something you're born with?  If he could increase his stamina, that would help him a great deal.  As well, having a good solid team behind him that would keep him focused like a Klitschko would also be a great long term benefit.

In the end, I see a lot of his fights go like Tyson-Ruddock II, or like bone-crusher smith, with him possibly winning a title, but not likely holding onto the title for long.  Whatever the case is, he would be exciting to watch.

[Entaowed]

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[Duggerman]

Like I said, he would probably have a short stint of success just as he did from 1985-90. It’s arguable if he would unite the belts in this era; I wouldn’t bet my house on it, mainly because the top guys are not tested. But I would favor Tyson over them.

[Zorro]

I agree with Duggerman. Tyson would have similar success. Maybe a little bit less, but he'd still wind up being the star of the division and having more wins than losses. Wilder does not come across as the kind of guy that could be intimidated, but I think Tyson would break his spirit in the ring when he lands.

[Zombies Ate Me]

The media created Mike Tyson, making him appear more scary than he really was. Would he still have the same fear factor today? Yes. Would he self sabatoge his own career again? Yes. I agree with AJ. The same thing would happen, more or less. It's a wide open heavyweight division for Tyson to conquer and if I had to bet money I'd pick him to beat the top guys, especially if they feared him.

[Urban Legend]

Guys know how to fight Mike. He isn't busy enough on the inside. He always had problems with bigger men that knew how to use their size and reach sufficiently. All you have to do is clinch Mike and he'll allow it, and he gets frustrated the longer the fight goes.

He would still do damage. Don't get me wrong! But he would lose more often than he did. Guys nowadays are just too big, and Mike was too predictable.