Muhammad Ali Said There Was Only One Heavyweight Who Could Beat Him When In His Prime

After capturing a gold medal at the 1960 Summer games in Rome, Ali made his professional boxing debut in October of the same year. In just his 20th professional contest, Ali defeated Sonny Liston via sixth round stoppage to achieve his dream of becoming the world heavyweight champion.

Ali made a number of successful title defences before he was forced to vacate his crown in 1967, when he refused to participate in the Vietnam War. He made his return to the sport several years later and would eventually reclaim world honours in that historic showdown with George Foreman in 1974, which is best known as ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’.

In a resurfaced Youtube clip, ‘The Greatest’ gave an honest assessment of his chances against none other than Mike Tyson, as he backs ‘Iron’ Mike to defeat him even when he was at his unmistakeable best.

“I’m scared of him. He’s a real champ. [Tyson would have won], I was a dancing master. You are that powerful and so fast, if you hit me [then I hit the canvas].”

Tyson’s professional career began in 1985, and it would take him just 1-year to become world heavyweight champion for the first time when he made quick work of Trevor Berbick to capture the WBC heavyweight title and become the youngest heavyweight champion ever, a record that remains unbroken to this day.

Having not fought as a professional in just shy of two decades, Tyson made a sensational return to the sport last November when he was defeated by Jake Paul in a controversial 8-round contest at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.