Muhammad Ali vs Mike Tyson: who would have won in their primes?

It's a question that has been debated by boxing fans for decades and arguably the man best placed to answer is Larry Holmes, one of just two fighters to box both men in the professional ranks.

"Mike Tyson would get beat up 'cause he's a face fighter. He comes in down low, and Muhammad Ali is a jabber," Holmes decreed, according to the Daily Star.

"He'd get that jab in there just like he did with Joe Frazier. So, Mike Tyson would have to get around that jab, and he'd have a lot of problems getting around that jab."

It's arguably an unexpected response when you consider Holmes actually defeated Ali in 1980, whereas 'Iron Mike' knocked him out inside four rounds in 1988. 

Ali vs Tyson?

And considering how little Holmes' comments have done to neutralise the debate, we've looked for alternative means to imagine who would win an Ali-Tyson blockbuster.

Enter 'Fight Night.' The video game series certainly isn't the most scientific way of addressing the question, but it's undoubtedly the most visual method.

And YouTuber 'TheIgorotWarrior07' ran the simulation in question as long ago as 2012, racking up more than 390,000 views for putting Ali and Tyson head-to-head on the highest difficulty.

'Fight Night' simulation

So, what happened when the computer was left to its own devices? You can check out the full video down below, but keep scrolling for our breakdown of the fight.

Fight report

The first half of the fight was incredibly competitive. Ali largely controlled the action, but regularly absorbed high-volume bursts from Tyson that largely focused on the body.

And that clearly took its toll on Ali by the sixth round, suffering a hefty uppercut in the neutral corner and slumping to a heavy knockdown. However, he returned to his feet by the count of five.

Ali quickly regained his composure and dished out a flash knockdown in the seventh, catching Tyson flush on the chin with a right hook, only to watch his rival recover with surprising ease.

However, there was no such recovery when Ali sent Tyson to the canvas twice in the tenth round, forcing the referee to wave off the fight after 'Iron Mike' fell flat on his face while trying to recover.

GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

If we're talking about both boxers in their prime, the winner has to be Ali.

While the late-1980s Tyson was formidably powerful, I'm confident that a younger Ali would be able to keep his shorter opponent on the end of his jab and display a superior ring IQ.

If a 32-year-old Ali can survive seven rounds playing round-a-dope against George Foreman - who was arguably more powerful than Tyson - then he can avoid a stoppage in this bout, too.

Ali simply has more tactics in his arsenal and once the fight entered the second half, I'm sure that the three-time champion would hoover up the late rounds to secure a unanimous decision.

Come on, his nickname is 'The Greatest' for a reason.