Ah, the age-old boxing debate of 'who could beat who' from different generations, it's something fans have done since the dawn of the sport.Mike Tyson established himself as one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time, as he became the youngest ever world champion at the ripe age of 20. Tyson, amongst the likes of Muhammad Ali and George Forman, is always compared to the heavyweights of this generation. However, Tyson recently provided the answer we were looking for on his latest YouTube live chat. The former world champion was quizzed on his show 'Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson' by his co-host Eben Britton, a former NFL star. Britton asked Tyson if he believed he could beat the heavyweights of today if they fought during his prime. To nobody's surprise, Tyson responded, "Yes! There's no doubt."Britton then asked a follow-up question which provided the juiciest response. The former NFL man asked Tyson which heavyweight would he be slightly worried to share a ring with and listed off the usual culprits such as Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jnr. Tyson told Britton and his viewers that he believes Joshua would have provided him with the toughest competition.The 53-year-old was fairly complimentary of AJ but did point out that he believes that Joshua hasn't realised his full potential yet. “If I was training Joshua, Joshua would be. He has had it all, he still doesn’t know it though. You have to know it,” Tyson shared.
In the past, Joshua has spoken highly of 'Iron Mike' and claimed that Tyson would be capable of beating boxing legend Muhammad Ali. AJ pointed out on an Instagram Live Q&A that Ali's toughest opponents would be considered welterweights during Tyson's era.
"It’s quite interesting because in the era of Muhammad Ali’s heavyweight reign, the heavyweights were ranked as the cruiserweights of the Mike Tyson era. So Muhammad Ali wouldn’t have been a fully-pledged heavyweight," Joshua said.
"So let’s say we bulked Muhammad Ali up and put size and strength to him, I truly believe Mike Tyson would’ve won."