A retired heavyweight champion once admitted his regret in facing ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
At the peak of his powers, Tyson was the most feared and formidable heavyweight on the planet. His explosive style earned him 19 consecutive knockout victories in his first 19 professional fights, with 12 of those coming inside the very first round.
His crowning moment came in 1986 when he blasted Trevor Berbick out in the second round of their bout, capturing the WBC world heavyweight title and becoming the youngest ever heavyweight champion in boxing history, a record that stands to this very day.
Victories over WBA champion James Smith and IBF champion Tony Tucker saw Tyson become the undisputed heavyweight champion, going on to make six defences of his crown before he was beaten for the first time by James ‘Buster’ Douglas in 1990.
One of the fighters he defeated during his reign as undisputed champion was Larry Holmes, who himself held the world heavyweight championship between 1978 and 1985.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Holmes spoke of his regret over going ahead with a fight against ‘Iron’ Mike, but claimed he would have defeated him during his prime years.
“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.
He would stand in front of you, try and push you against the ropes, but he wouldn’t have been able to do that to me in my prime. I would have beaten him.”
After being defeated by ‘Iron’ Mike in 1988, Holmes would continue his career right up until 2002 when he finally retired from the sport, winning his 75th and final career bout against Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch.
