I'm not a tyson hater, I loved him as a kid and have met him once too, but I really do think that Foreman would have had the physical and mental tools to have beat him. After the shame of the Ali fight, Foreman would have died in that ring before he gave in. He wouldn't have been swayed by tyson's intimidation factor....Foreman and Liston had mastered that act long before mike. He also had the Height, reach and strength advantage. Foreman was without doubt, one of the hardest hitting boxers of all time.
We seen what he did to Frazier...a short guy who used that bobbing and weaving style to try and get in close...Foreman took him off his feet. Tyson's peek-a-boo style was different, and more skilled than Frazier's, but it would have played right into Foremans strengths. He also had a chin of solid granite...Tyson would most definitely have tested it, and George would take a serious beating in the early rounds, but Tyson would tire and i believe, he would likely get caught similarly to the Buster Douglas fight.
Regarding Cus, this is an excerpt from a story by someone in their circles, I can't guarantee it's validity though:
"Throughout the lunch Goodman, Duva, Benton, and myself shared stories and thoughts on the fight game. Out of the blue Goodman said, "Oh I remember why else Tyson wanted no parts of Foreman. He said that King had found out from Steve Lott that Tyson and Cus D'Amato used to watch the Frazier-Foreman fight over and over." He continued saying that Tyson loved that fight because he was awed by Foreman's power and Frazier's toughness and how he kept getting up after every knockdown. He also said that Lott told King that Cus sat alongside Tyson saying, "It's suicide against Foreman if you're short and fight a swarming attacking style like Marciano or Frazier,"
This is of course, all speculation...there's endless debates about this lol, and when i look at it closer i can definitely see how it could go the other way for a Prime Tyson too. It's a shame we never got to find out.
Correct... Foreman is probably the hardest hitter heavyweight ever, confirmed by people who sparred him and others, and no doubt the physically strongest, with a steel chin, iron will and heart, a tough matchup for pretty much everyone in history, even boxing and circling/running is 50-50 mostly... Bad matchup for Tyson, i'd say prime Foreman over any version in the early rounds, old Foreman depends on what version of Tyson shows up, certainly more competitive, old Foreman was slow/too slow, with more patience...