At lunch, boxing is a big subject as our friends usually bring up two people and debate who would win if they fought. At first, Max Cook, Jack Olohan, and myself argued over the top five boxers of all time. Then, we got into the fictional boxing universe in which we picked two people and argued who would win in a fight. In this instance, we talked about the Rocky Balboa franchise and combined it with Mike Tyson in one argument. The prompt of this quarrel is who would win a boxing match: Rocky Balboa or Mike Tyson? 

The purpose of this debate is to answer this question without using bias. For example, if one who loved Tyson were to write this essay, one might pick Tyson over Balboa just because one loved him. However, I will use sheer facts to pick the winner of this fictional boxing match. 

Balboa

Rocky Balboa, a former two-time heavyweight champion of the world, beat many opponents through his unmatched work ethic, his iron face, and his ability to never give up. 

Tyson

Mike Tyson is one of the best boxers of all time, and is an athlete who was feared by all of his opponents. Tyson dominated the boxing game for almost twenty years, in which there were different forms of him. He was not as feared at first in which he was a bit smaller than he was at the end of his career. When he came out of prison, Tyson looked rather bigger, as well as looking like he would beat anyone who came into contention. Tyson finished with a record of 50 wins and 6 losses, while establishing himself as one of the best boxers of all time.

Who Would Win (Jack Olohan and Ben Gaffney)

But who would win in a fight? The clear answer is the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa. First of all, Rocky beat Apollo Creed, who is based on Muhammad Ali, who most consider as the greatest boxer of all time. But even then, Balboa was nowhere near his prime, and it wasn’t his hardest fight. His hardest fight was Ivan Drago. Drago was a 6 foot 5 heavyweight who killed Apollo Creed. He could punch at over 2,000 pounds per square inch (PSI). Mike Tyson’s PSI reached 900 at his peak. Balboa went 15 rounds and took over a hundred hits from Drago all while fighting back and tiring him out. Balboa ended up beating Drago by knockout in the 15th round. But if all of this doesn’t convince you, maybe a quote from Tyson will. When asked about who would win in a match between him and Balboa, Tyson said that the Rocky IV version of Rocky (the fight against Drago) “would win, yeah.”

Who Would Win (Max Cook)

-Tyson was stronger than Rocky and had more of a killer instinct. Tyson was also much bigger and when compared to Rocky he was less of a defensive fighter. With Rocky being more of a defensive fighter, it would allow Tyson to gain more offensive ground and not play as much defense. Tyson was much more stronger, allowing his punches to tire Rocky out and give him the win.