Few heavyweights were able to survive Mike Tyson’s power at the peak of his career.
The youngest heavyweight champion of all time brought a frightening power to the division that would see him earn 44 knockouts in his career.
From Michael Spinks to Frank Bruno, fans were often expecting a Tyson stoppage from one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
However, one of Tyson’s former opponents feels as if even during the prime years of his career, he would have been stopped early by one man.
Larry Holmes names the heavyweight who would have knocked out Mike Tyson
Larry Holmes took on Tyson in 1988, after ‘Iron Mike’ was making his return to the sport after a short absence.
However, Holmes was past the prime of his career when he met Tyson, being 17 years his senior.
The fight would end in the fourth round, with a 21-year-old Tyson scoring a TKO victory. However, Holmes feels his fight with Tyson would have gone differently if they had both fought in their prime.
Not only does Holmes feel as if he could have beaten Tyson in his prime, but he also thinks George Foreman would have been victorious over his previous opponent, in a brutal fashion.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Holmes said that Foreman would have just possessed too much power for Tyson.
Describing Tyson as “Too little,” Holmes said that Tyson would not have survived in an earlier era of boxing. “I ain’t knocking Mike Tyson, [but] no.”
Holmes would name five opponents who could beat Tyson: himself, Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton, and Joe Frazier.
However, when asked by the interviewer about Foreman’s chances of beating Tyson, Holmes replied, “Two seconds. He hits too hard.”
“You can’t stay there with George Foreman and take no punches, he’ll take your head off!”
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Why did Mike Tyson never fight George Foreman?
In terms of their career timelines, Tyson and Foreman did have some overlap.
Foreman made history by becoming the oldest world heavyweight champion in 1994, with Tyson also competing for world titles throughout the 90s. As well as this, both men were very active in the late 80s.
So why did the power-punchers two not face one another?
According to a 2005 report from Boxing Scene, American boxing matchmaker Bob Goodman said, “Tyson is scared —-less of Foreman and wants no part of him,” after being asked why the two aren’t fighting each other.
“Tyson got up and screamed at [Don] King saying, ‘I’m not fightin’ that —-in’ animal. If you love the mother—-er so much, you fight him!'”
However, Foreman also told ESPN that he did not have any interest in fighting Tyson. “He [Tyson] was a monster. If he missed you with his left, then missed you with his right, he’d bite you. I didn’t want any part of that guy.”