Tyson admits he could never beat Ali

Iron Mike puts Ali above himself and pays tribute to one of boxing’s all-time greats.

Mike Tyson believes there was a certain heavyweight who even he, at the peak of his career, would have had a very hard time defeating.

Mike Tyson made his professional boxing debut in 1985 and first caught the public’s attention. With his highly aggressive style, he quickly established himself as one of the top title contenders. In 1986, he finally won a title when he stopped the then-WBC champion Trevor Berbick with a brutal knockout. The following year, he added the WBA and IBF belts to his collection. At the age of 21, he finally became the undisputed heavyweight world champion and is still considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. In a recent interview with ThisIs50, however, he himself spoke about a boxer he would never have been able to defeat.

“There is no man like him, there just isn’t. Everything we have he supersedes us in. He was an animal, he looked more like a model than a boxer. He’s like a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a pretty face, he’s mean, he’ll take you to deep waters and drown you. He’s very special. The best. Nobody beats Ali. I can’t beat the man, hell no”

he said about Muhammad Ali.

To this day, Ali is considered by most to be the greatest boxer in history—and quite rightly so. That said, both were incredible fighters, and we can be glad that we can still look back on those moments today, even if the video quality isn’t the best. What do you think of Mike Tyson’s honest opinion?

I think it’s good that no one is painting him as the enemy here, but rather that he’s being shown respect. I think that when you’re frequently drawn into the GOAT debate yourself, it’s not that easy to call someone else the GOAT. I think that’s a cool move.