Ring Observer Boxing by Scoop Malinowski
I once asked Kevin Rooney what would be his strategy for Iron Mike Tyson if he were to face prime Muhammad Ali…
“I would want him to put tremendous pressure on him. Cut him off. Get him on the ropes,” said Rooney. “Winging body shots and those uppercuts. Step to the side and if you got lucky enough, hit him with a right hand or a left hook and he would be gone. But see, Muhammad Ali was a great, great, great fighter. People couldn’t… we call him the greatest fighter ever… he took a helluva shot, he never dogged it, he never quit. But the Mike Tyson that I was training – coming off of Cus D’Amato – I just think that Mike Tyson would have won. Because he punched fast and hard. That’s a difficult combination to deal with… a guy that punches fast and hard… you got a guy that punches fast, well, you’re a tough guy all right, well, so what? But when you got a kid that punches hard AND fast, then all the sudden you’re like whoa, damn, wait a minute, Right away your hands are gonna go up. You’re gonna be on the move. You’re gonna wanna do this, you’re gonna wanna do that. You’re not gonna stand there and say hit me again. So Mike had that.”
Art by Bud Boccone.
