Mike Tyson said he couldn't decide who would win in a fight between a prime version of himself and current multiple-belt heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

Like all sports, match-ups of past and present are a frequent topic of discussion and perhaps none more so than in boxing, which never fails to offer generational greats which spark debate. 

And one such topic is that of a fight between Iron Mike and AJ, both of whom are owners of multiple sanctioned boxing belts. 

By the time he was nearly 22, Tyson had claimed all the major divisional titles; the WBC, WBA, IBF and The Ring belts all belonged to the American. 

Joshua won his first major championship belt when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2018 to claim the vacant WBA title. He has since gone on to claim the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles. 

Speaking on his Hotboxin' Podcast, Tyson was asked about who would win in a fight between the two if they'd met during the 54-year-old's prime. 

"Hey, I really like him. You know what he is? He’s really a breath of fresh air.

“He’s really clean, he really looks clean, he’s a clean guy, he’s a clean fighter, he’s a good puncher.

“You just wish the best for him.

I don’t know. My ego says, ‘nobody would beat you’.

“But you look at him and…,” Tyson paused before hilariously adding: “He just looks beautiful!

“He just looks like a fighter, you know? He looks like he was born to do what he has to do.

“He needs more experience of course, but that will come in life.”

They're big words of praise for AJ, and perhaps even bigger praise is that Tyson didn't outright believe himself capable of victory. 

Joshua's record of 21-1 still needs some work to catch up to Tyson's 58-6, which was blemished by a string of losses late in his career. 

Joshua will have the chance to extend it to 22-1 on December 12, when he takes on Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev, who is the mandatory IBF challenger.