Evander Holyfield was unsure who to favour in a fantasy showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and one of his former rivals.
Like Holyfield, Usyk became the consensus top dog at 200lbs before moving up to heavyweight and, once again, cementing himself as the very best.
Even while contending with a notable size disadvantage, the Ukrainian was able to dethrone Anthony Joshua before eventually becoming the undisputed king against Tyson Fury.
Having twice beaten the two Brits, Usyk is now widely regarded as one of the all-time greats, among the likes of Holyfield, Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis.
At the same time, though, Holyfield is not convinced that the unbeaten southpaw would have defeated a prime Mike Tyson.
‘The Real Deal’ fought ‘Iron’ Mike in 1996, causing a sizable upset by stopping the formidable puncher in round 11, before winning their immediate rematch via an infamous third-round disqualification.
And while this was not even the most formidable version of Tyson, Holyfield would nonetheless back his former foe to defeat the majority of heavyweights throughout history.
When it comes to a clash with Usyk, however, the American has told Daily Mail Boxing that he would struggle to predict a winner.
“I don’t exactly know [who would win] that one.”
Like Usyk, Tyson was never the biggest heavyweight but, because of his speed and explosiveness he was able to win his first 19 fights by knockout and become a dominant world champion during the late 1980s.
Usyk, on the other hand, relies more on his technical prowess and, against Tyson, would need to be almost punch-perfect in order to emerge victorious.
