Larry Holmes Names The 5 Heavyweights That Would Have Beaten Mike Tyson At His Very Best

Tyson was the unified heavyweight champion at the time, while Holmes had previously reigned as heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985, before back-to-back losses to Michael Spinks.

Holmes had been out of the ring nearly two years when he met Tyson, and it turned out to be a dominant victory for ‘Iron Mike’ as he knocked out Holmes inside four rounds to retain his titles.

During his peak, ‘The Easton Assassin’ claimed wins over fighters such as Muhammad Ali, Earnie Shavers and Trevor Berbick, and he told Gareth A. Davies that he’d have beaten Tyson if they had met a few years earlier.

“I shouldn’t have come out of retirement against him. I fought Mike Tyson and I lost. He stopped me. Tyson could punch, you can’t take that away from him.

“He would stand in front of you, try and push you against the ropes, but he wouldn’t have been able to do that to me in my prime. I would have beaten him.”

Along with himself, Holmes then named the other four fighters who he believes would have defeated ‘Iron Mike.’

“So would Ali, Joe Frazier, [Ken] Norton and George Foreman. But you should quit while you are ahead.”

Tyson retired from the sport in 2005 with a record of 50 wins, 6 defeats and 2 no contests, but did return last November for a controversial bout with Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, which he lost by unanimous decision after eight rounds.

As for Holmes, his final record stood at 69 wins and 6 defeats, having hung up the gloves for the last time after his final bout in July 2002.