‘He’s Fast but He Really Doesn’t Have Any Great Qualities’: Rare Video Shows Mike Tyson Giving His Honest Opinion on Muhammad Ali

People in the 1980s suddenly turned their attention to boxing because a new boxer was displaying some out-of-the-world performances. The young boxer was none other than ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’, Mike Tyson. He was known to throw his opponents to the canvas in the starting seconds of the first round. Now the veteran athlete is 56 years old, and he revealed one fighter that he can never think of defeating. 

Mike Tyson has never shied off from showing his adoration and respect toward ‘The Greatest’, Muhammad Ali. While talking in an interview, Tyson was asked, “You at twenty, Muhammad Ali at twenty, who wins this fight.?”

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Iron Mike replied, “There’s no man like him. There just isn’t, uh, he’s fast, but he really doesn’t have any great qualities that you can really see besides his agility. Not afraid to let punches fly. Other than that, he never threw a body punch in his life. He doesn’t have a good defense. His speed was his defense, to move and stuff. A f**king animal. He looks more like a model than a fighter. He’ll take you to deep water and drown you. He’s very special, the best in the world. I can’t beat that man, hell f**king no, hell f**king no, no f**king way.”

Why did Bob Arum stop promoting Mike Tyson? 

Top Rank Boxing boss Bob Arum is one of the most senior and experienced personalities in the boxing industry. The promoter even promoted one of the greatest boxers of all time, Mike Tyson. However, he stopped promoting the champ for a certain reason. 

Arum appeared on the Rich Elsen Show, where he revealed, “He (Tyson) had established this reputation of being this real killer. And so it was hilarious you put him in with a fairly good professional and you could see the opponents’ knees shaking. And so Tyson would walk across the ring, throw one punch, knock him out and that was that.”

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The veteran further added, “But when it goes on repeatedly four quick knockouts, we weren’t getting the air time that was required and we stopped promoting him.”

Tyson was ending fights so quickly that promoters couldn’t ensure the advertisers the air time required to make any real impact. As a result, Arum had to take the decision to stop promoting Mike Tyson.

What do you think about Tyson’s remarks on Ali? Share it in the comments below.