Mike Tyson truly changed the sport of boxing forever as he is one of the most monstrous punchers the world has ever seen.
As one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, Tyson has countless knockouts over worthy competitors.
His record of being the youngest heavyweight champion of all time may never be beaten as Tyson will be remembered for centuries.
Tyson officially retired from the sport in 2005 before making an unorthodox return to the ring in 2024 to face internet star Jake Paul. Losing the bout, this would make ‘Iron Mike’s’ professional record 50-7.
However, one of Tyson’s former opponents believes that in his prime, there would have only been five men who could defeat ‘Iron Mike’.
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Larry Holmes lists the five men who could have beaten Mike Tyson
Larry Holmes, a former opponent of Mike Tyson, has named the five fighters he feels could have beaten Mike Tyson in his prime.
Holmes himself was on the losing side of a bout with Tyson, as he came out of retirement in 1988 to face the then-champion. Tyson would win the bout via 4th round knockout.
Speaking to Gareth A. Davies, Holmes listed himself as one of the fighters who could have beaten Tyson, if he fought him in his prime. “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.”
As well as himself, Holmes said, “[Muhammad] Ali, Joe Frazier, [Ken] Norton, and George Foreman,” when listing out men who could defeat Tyson.
Mike Tyson has officially lost to six fighters
Although Tyson has not faced any of the fighters that Holmes mentioned, except Holmes himself, he has officially lost to six individuals in his professional career.
His first official loss came to James ‘Buster’ Douglas in 1990, losing by knockout. However, Tyson described his Douglas as one of the best fights of his career to date.
Then, Tyson lost back-to-back matches against Evander Holyfield, with the second match involving the famous ear-biting incident.
Tyson would then lose four of the last five fights of his career. Lennox Lewis, Danny Wiliams, and Kevin McBride all stopped Tyson between 2003-2006, before his loss to Paul in 2024.