Boxing legend Mike Tyson wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather if the former pound-for-pound king was a heavyweight.
During an old resurfaced interview with Showtime’s Steve Farhood, Tyson named Mayweather a dream opponent. However, the former ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ said it would be impossible not to foul the ex-welterweight star if they fought.
“Well, I would love to have fought him. I wish he were my weight. I would fight a guy like Floyd differently if he were a heavyweight,” Tyson told Farhood. “We can never fight, of course, because of the weight difference, but I wouldn’t fight him the way they fought him.
“I would be mean, I would be dirty because you’d have to do everything to fight him because he’s just so good. You can’t, as it’s almost impossible to fight him cleanly. But you can’t fight him clean. You can’t fight this guy clean. It’s just so hard to beat him.”
Mayweather and Tyson are both still active in boxing despite being 47 and 58, respectively. Mayweather fought in Mexico last month, beating John Gotti III by a wide margin in an exhibition.
Tyson will go one better than that when he returns to the professional ranks to fight YouTuber Jake Paul on November 15. Iron Mike is currently training for the televised clash on Netflix.
Due to losing six times in his career and his last two fights via knockout, it’s hard to see how Tyson would be able to defeat Mayweather if they did campaign in the same weight class. Mayweather was a formidable force with one of the best ring IQs ever seen by any boxer.
Wins over Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, and Arturo Gatti made Mayweather a first-ballot Hall of Famer who undoubtedly would have figured Tyson out in the early stages.
Whether he’d have gotten Tyson out of there is a different story entirely.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
