Mike Tyson Gave ‘Honest’ Answer When Asked If Evander Holyfield Would Beat Him In His Prime

In the eyes of many, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson is the most formidable heavyweight of all time.

Tyson made his professional debut back in 1985, where he would go on to defeat the first 19 opponents of his career via knockout, with 12 of those coming inside the very first round.

His crowning moment came on November 22 1986 when he knocked out Trevor Berbick to capture the WBC world heavyweight title, breaking the record of becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history.

Tyson went on to become the undisputed champion in the years that followed, defeating WBA champion James Smith and IBF champion Tony Tucker to achieve this feat.

It wasn’t until 1990 when ‘Iron’ Mike tasted defeat for the first time as a professional when he was knocked out by James ‘Buster’ Douglas in what is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

Another fighter who got the better of Tyson was Evander Holyfield, who knocked ‘Iron’ Mike out in the penultimate round of their WBA heavyweight title showdown in 1996.

Speaking on Larry King Live, Tyson made no mistake in admitting that the result of the bout against ‘The Real Deal’ would have been different if they had clashed during his prime, claiming he ‘wouldn’t have stood a chance’.

“To be honest, the way I’ve been, those guys know I sleep, I lose interest sometimes and things happen in my life and I lose my incentives, and these guys slip by they get wins here and there, but they know truly if they ever could assess me at my best or if I fought them at their best, they don’t stand a chance.”

Tyson and Holyfield fought in a rematch just seven months later, although ‘Iron’ Mike would go on to lose once again in the infamous ‘ear gate’ controversy, where the referee declared ‘The Real Deal’ the winner after Tyson bit his ear during the third round.