Iroh. Would. Win. Maybe it's because he is my fave character in the whole series (call me wierd) but he seems skilled and studies the other nations as well. He is more powerful and smart than he makes himself out to be sometimes. Personally I think Iroh would win, but consider that Iroh is not getting any younger and Ozai is his little brother so Iroh's skills may not be as powerful as he could have been.

Iroh's an amazing fighter. He could beat Azula with ease, he has traveled everywhere, is very wise... He even understands the spirit world! Come on, he rocks. But Ozai has the amazing power of the firelord. He could easily defeat Aang. And he would be unstoppable.

this seems somewhat like a similar discussion my friends and I had after watching the movie, Cradle to the Grave. Who would win in a fight, Jet Lee, or Jackie Chan? Jet Lee has youth, but Jackie Chan has skill, so which is better? Basically, Ozai is Jet Lee and Iroh is Jackie Chan. My friends and I decided that Jackie Chan would win if he was the same age as Jet Lee, but because he is not, Jet Lee would likely win.

I mean, come on! in "The Chase," Iroh uses his gut to knock down Azula. Conclusion: Iroh is kinda fat.
When they tell you about the Ozai uses the power of the comet to win the war, you see a dark picture of him. Conclusion: Ozai is ripped.
I realize that if they fought, they would be firebending, but physical strength can have some role in a bender's power. Most avatar's were untouched by other benders, but since Aang has only the strength of a 12 year old, he can be beaten when not in the avatar state. And he can probably be beaten in the avatar state, though it has not occurred yet because then the avatar cycle would be broken.

Ithink Irph would win Like all of you said Iroh studied all bending and like knows about all of it and face it Iroh's wiser and his mind isn't about all power and single minded.

((For the record: Jet Li is 43, Jackie Chan is 52. Maybe a year younger for each, but that's only because I looked at their birth years only. So there's no real "youth" factor involved; they're both getting kinda old XD))

Also, simply concluding Iroh is fat makes very little difference in terms of physical strength. Look at the Strong Man competitions for example. These guys may LOOK overweight, and yet they can pull semi trucks behind them >.<

Plus, there are fighting styles suited to larger body sizes (Sumo wrestling anyone?).

I think Iroh would win, as he does have wisdom on his side, as well as a great deal of power. I imagine the only reason he did not challenge Ozai was because he felt that his father's dying wish really WAS to make Ozai the next Fire Lord.

Iroh would definately win. He is older so he has more experience and understanding. Also he is Ozai's brother so he knows how Ozai thinks. Also he has studied all elements and has created new fire moves based on different elements. If he didn't win it would have been close.

Iroh

reasons:
1) Wisdom and knowledge of not just firebending, but also the other nation's bending.
2) He was hit by Azula ONLY because he glanced over at Toph and then the Avatar trying to piece together why they knew each other (go a head and look at the episode
3) He knews many aspects of lightning so if Ozai used lightning it wouldnt make a difference he could channel it off or even back at Ozai which Ozai doesn't know about
4) Muscle doesn't determine strength. Firebending is about breathing
5) Iroh isn't risking anything except ensuring that Zuko is safe. Ozai is Firelord, Iroh is an uncle of Zuko
6) Though iroh doesn't look the strength there is a reason he is called Dragon of the West and i'm sure its not COMPLETELY because he was a great general though that could be the obvious statement

hmmm I think Iroh would probably would win becuase he has that mystic feeling about him like he is really strong remember in at the end of the book of water Iroh said something along the lines if Zhoh(sp) killed the moon spirt he would unleash a fury of tenfold anything he could imagine so that leads me to think he could easily defeat Ozai. For the people who said Iroh was fat so what....in the episode where he taught Zuko about lighting he said Firebending is about breathing correctly and having stomach to channel your chi. So basiclly bigger stomach more chi.