Mike Tyson has shared the ring with some of the very best names that the sport of boxing has ever seen.
The history-making Tyson is one of the most influential figures in the sport and is one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.
The youngest heavyweight champion in history remarkably even continued to compete at the age of 59, when he took on internet star Jake Paul.
Among his best-ever wins include the likes of Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, and Frank Bruno. However, when it comes to what Tyson considers to be one of his best performances, he surprisingly chose a loss.
Mike Tyson says his first-ever loss is one of his best fights
When it comes to choosing the best Tyson performance, boxing fans would likely have a tough time given the volume of options. However, when Tyson was asked about his feelings toward his loss to James ‘Buster’ Douglas, he gave a surprising response.
Tyson had been on an incredible 37-fight run before meeting Douglas. However, Douglas proved to be the toughest test of the knockout artist’s career.
Despite knocking Douglas down in the eighth round, Tyson himself would be the fighter who was stopped, as he was knocked out two rounds later.
In an interview with Joe Budden, Tyson was asked about his feelings on the fight. However, Tyson described it as ‘one of his best’ fights.
Explaining why he felt this way about the loss, Tyson said, “Because I took some f—— shots. Nobody would have [taken] those shots.”
He would also go on to give props to Douglas, as opposed to pilling blame on himself. “He fought a great fight that night,” Tyson said.
The former heavyweight champion would then describe the fight as ‘ironic.’ “Everybody he beat, I knocked out.”
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Evander Holyfield on Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas
Evander Holyfield is the only man to defeat both Tyson and Douglas and shared his thoughts on the meeting between the two in Tokyo.
Despite both Tyson and Douglas feeling one another were given a slow count for their knockdowns, Holyfield said he didn’t agree with the statements. “[They] didn’t seem slow to me,” when speaking to VLAD TV.
Holyfield would go on to say that he felt “nothing” when Tyson was knocked down by Douglas despite being a huge favorite in the bout.
The former champion would also make a point that Buster was a significantly larger heavyweight than Tyson.
Douglas weighed in 11 lbs heavier than his opponent Tyson for the bout.