Larry Holmes refused to mince his words when asked who would win between Mike Tyson and George Foreman.
When it comes to fantasy matchups, many have highlighted a prime-for-prime heavyweight encounter between Tyson and Foreman as being one which, stylistically, would have only delivered fireworks.
Holmes, of course, had the misfortune of experiencing the full force of ‘Iron Mike’ during a time in which the 21-year-old seemed almost invincible.
In contrast, Holmes was well past his best at the age of 38, and so it came as no great surprise when he suffered a fourth-round stoppage defeat in 1988.
At the time, Tyson had already made four defences of his WBC world title, a belt he claimed with a two-round demolition of Trevor Berbick in 1986.
Then, after coming away from his victory over Holmes with three major titles, the formidable puncher suffered a shock defeat to James ‘Buster’ Douglas just over two years later.
But while that version of Tyson was, indeed, a force to be reckoned with, Holmes suspects that the Brooklyn man would have encountered several hurdles against Foreman.
In fact, the heavyweight legend doubts that his former foe would have lasted more than two seconds against ‘Big George’, whose peak is thought to have been around 1973.
Back then, Foreman made a monumental statement against Joe Frazier, stopping him in the second round, before losing to Muhammad Ali in October 1974.
In an interview on Sky Sports’ Ringside show, Holmes was quick to suggest that this version of Foreman would have orchestrated an even more devastating outcome against Tyson.
“George Foreman – two seconds. He hit too hard. You gotta box George, like [Muhammad] Ali did, like I would do.
“You can’t stand there with George Foreman and take punches. George will tear your head off. I mean, ‘Bang! Bang!’
“It’s like the kitchen sink he’s hitting you with.”
A bout between Tyson and Foreman was rumoured to have been in negotiations during the early 1990s, but it was never able to come to fruition, with Tyson’s shock loss to James ‘Buster’ Douglas playing a big part.
