Evander Holyfield opened up about trading leather with Mike Tyson years before their fights.
At the peak of his powers, ‘Iron Mike’ was nothing short of terrifying, with the power puncher rendering his opponents unconscious with his ferocious combinations.
Tyson avenged Muhammad Ali by knocking out Larry Holmes, captured the imagination of the fans, and became the undisputed heavyweight world champion.
However, before his days as a professional, he was apparently humbled by the man who’d go on to become his biggest rival.
WOW: Mike Tyson confessed he was rocked by a heavy hitter in a dramatic opening round
Evander Holyfield says he got the better of Mike Tyson in sparring
Evander Holyfield sparred Mike Tyson at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
And ‘The Real Deal’ claims he did the better work during their session.
In an interview with Box Nation from 2016, he explained: “Tyson was knocking out his sparring partners all the time, so he had no sparring partners.
“I said, ‘Do you wanna spar’? He said, ‘You’re my friend, I don’t want to hurt you’.
“I was kind of offended by it because he was 17 and I was 21. I said, ‘What are you talking about’? I said, ‘Do you want to spar or not’?
“Eventually, we get in there and they say, ‘Tyson is strong, we’re just letting him use his left hand’. I was like, ‘He’s going to need both of them’.
“We get in there, and I get him in the corner — he can’t get out. The Olympic coach said, ‘Stop this, they’re going to get hurt’. So, they stopped it.
“Tyson said, ‘You’re good’. I said, ‘You’re the one who’s good. You’re a kid and I’m a grown man’.”
Mike Tyson was brutally knocked out by surprise boxing star
His spar with Holyfield wasn’t the only time Tyson came off second best while he was still an amateur.
During his early years in the sport, the warrior had to face some serious adversity.
In an explosive contest, Tyson was knocked out by a surprise fighter.