“Imma Avenge Ali” – 35 Years Later, Mike Tyson Still Considers Larry Holmes Knockout as His Favourite

Published 09/06/2023, 2:44 PM EDT

For many, Mike Tyson may not be the greatest boxer of all time, but they can’t ignore the fact that he is certainly many, many people’s favorite. And since he retired nearly one and a half decades ago, chances are most of his newer fans have never seen one of his fights in full length. But such is the charisma and magnetism of Tyson, that people are drawn to the youngest heavyweight champion in the world.

After a torrid life, he has mellowed somewhat over the past few years, putting his wilder days behind. He seems to have found his calling after becoming Francis Ngannou‘s coach for his upcoming boxing match against Tyson Fury on October 28. And the two picked their favorite knockouts recently.

Mike Tyson and Francis Ngannou

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Francis Ngannou and ‘Iron Mike’ had an in-depth discussion on the YouTube channel ‘Complex’ in an interview aptly dubbed ‘Goat Talk’. They discussed a variety of subjects during this interesting conversation on a wide range of topics from their favorite animals to favorite rappers. And one question was about what they considered their ‘GOAT knockout’.

“My favorite knockout is Larry Holmes. Listen, when I was a young kid, he fought Muhammad Ali in 1980, and he kicked Ali’s a** really bad. So I said I’m gonna take revenge for Ali. I was like 14 and I was like ‘I’ll take revenge on you.’ And he had never been knocked out before,” Tyson said.

Mike Tyson picked his knockout of Larry Holmes in 1988 as his favorite knockout since it let him avenge Muhammad Ali, whom Holmes had defeated earlier. Ngannou named his knockout over Alistair Overeem as his favorite.

“I think mine is Alistair Overeem. I mean, he’s the most decorated fighter, I was very confident, like I’m going to knock this guy out and the first combo gets connected, and boom! Knock out,” he said.

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Francis Ngannou to face Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia in October

Francis Ngannou will face heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a ten-round professional boxing match on October 28 in Saudi Arabia. The bout will be held under the official Queensberry rules on boxing, complete with three ring-side judges to score the match. Fury’s WBC title, however, will not be on the line.

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Francis Ngannou may not be given much of a chance in his first boxing match against the heavyweight champion of the world. But, the Cameroonian had begun his fighting career wanting to become a boxer, after his idol, Mike Tyson. And, whatever the result, he gets to train under his idol and hero Mike.

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Written by:

Kanishk Thakur is an MMA writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in political science from Delhi University, his love for writing and MMA made him want to be part of telling the story of the sport. His journalist mother and love for philosophy and research inculcated a staunch rationalism in him, and the need to substantiate every statement he makes with good evidence.

Edited by:

Abhishek Das

“Imma Avenge Ali” – 35 Years Later, Mike Tyson Still Considers Larry Holmes Knockout as His Favourite

Mike Tyson and Francis Ngannou

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