Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield are three of the best heavyweights in boxing history.
Despite the best efforts of Tyson, he fell short in bouts against Lewis and Holyfield, albeit they came at the back end of ‘Iron’ Mike’s storied career.
The 58-year-old from New York had two memorable fights against ‘The Real Deal’, with the first coming in November 1996 in an eleventh round stoppage defeat, with Tyson surrendering his WBA heavyweight title to Holyfield.
Their rematch came seven months later, with the highly anticipated second meeting between the pair ending in utter chaos after Tyson bit the ear of the WBA champion, forcing the referee to disqualify ‘Iron Mike’.
‘Iron’ Mike challenged Lewis for the Brit’s WBC and IBF heavyweight titles in June 2002. After an intense build-up, with both fighters clashing on multiple occasions during fight week, it was ‘The Lion’ who scored a brutal eighth round knockout of Tyson, who was way past his formidable best at the time.
Speaking to the Ring Magazine, the 58-year-old heavyweight icon spoke fondly Lewis and Holyfield, but made no mistake when asked who was the better out of the two.
“Holyfield. Great champion, chin, heart, determination, work ethic, demeanour.”
Tyson made a sensational return to the sport back in November when he faced Youtube star turned professional boxer Jake Paul. The eight round contest took place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas, with a physically exhausted ‘Iron’ Mike going the distance with Paul who is over 20 years his junior. The 58-year-old has recently announced his retirement from boxing, after initially revealing his intention to continue fighting.
