“This Guy Hit Me in the Jaw and Cracked My Rib”: Mike Tyson Reveals the Hardest Punchers He Has Ever Faced

Published 09/04/2021, 3:00 AM EDT

Dubbed as ‘The Baddest Man On the Plant’, Mike Tyson is known for his highlight-reel KOs that cemented him as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. His torrid punches, impeccable speed, and lion-heart combined to produce a scary puncher who dominated the sport for over two decades.

However, it wasn’t rust-free all the time. Coming across some of the best men in his division, Tyson fell prey inside the ring several times, suffering sheer heat from the other end. In a pro career of 50 wins and 6 losses, Tyson, who scored 44 KOs, suffered the same five times. Post-retirement, ‘Iron’ Mike connected with Michael Franzese and named the puncher who had planted the biggest shots on him.

He said, “Lennox, Holyfield. There are some guys that hits hard. This guy hit me in the jaw and cracked my rib. I said, how is that connected?”

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Both Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield had stopped Mike Tyson on their respective chances. While these two were the biggest names in Tyson’s resume, ‘Iron’ also suffered the scratchiest losses of his career against them.

However, the chapter is all over now and Tyson doesn’t hesitate to admit that Lennox ‘Lion’ Lewis and Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield planted the biggest shots on him. These statements can interest several modern-day fight fans.

VIDEO: Mike Tyson Reveals What Drives Him in Life

Mike Tyson and his spinal injury

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In the dusk of his career, Tyson had one of the biggest rivalries against Lennox Lewis in 2002. ‘Iron’ had infused a lot of bad-blood, passing personal comments about Lennox Lewis in the build-up to the clash. However, the Brit rival outclassed him in the ring and stopped him in round eight to clear all doubts. The massive loss doomed Tyson’s fighting aura.

Tyson made some uncanny revelations in the post-fight interview that raised many questions. He claimed that he faced Lennox Lewis with a broken spinal cord. However, as boxers aren’t generally allowed to fight under such conditions, people continue to raise questions regarding the interview. But there’s no denying that Lewis had been one of the toughest tests of Tyson’s career, which we continue to talk about.

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Who do you think has been the toughest rival for Mike Tyson?

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Written by:

A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.

“This Guy Hit Me in the Jaw and Cracked My Rib”: Mike Tyson Reveals the Hardest Punchers He Has Ever Faced

Mike Tyson and his spinal injury

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