(*No comments on Detroit sports teams, wise guys! LOL!)
In the circuses of Ancient Rome, exotic beasts were commonly pitted against each other. The contest of the Asiatic Lions, the smaller version of the African Lion, against the tiger was a classic pairing and the betting usually favoured the tiger. A mosaic in the House of the Faun in Pompeii shows a fight between a lion and a tiger. At the end of the 19th century, the Gaekwad of Baroda arranged a fight between a lion and tiger before an audience of thousands. The Gaekwad favoured the lion, and as a result had to pay 37,000 rupees as the lion was mauled by the tiger.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_versus_lion
I’d bet on the tiger. Bigger, stronger, used to operating as a solo predator (rather than a pride), etc.
Plus, tigers are just plain *cool*, so I have to root for ‘em. :-)