'Nobody has a chance' – Mike Tyson names the only boxer he would be 'afraid' to fight

07/09/2024 13:34

Mike Tyson was one of the most feared fighters in his heyday.

The American boxing icon’s ice-cold stare, destructive punching power and quotes about wanting to drive 'nose bones through brains' made him one of the most intimidating and ferocious fighters of his generation.

Tyson left Michael Spinks physically shaking after punching holes in a wall before he went out to fight while a nervous Frank Bruno could be seen frantically making the sign of the cross on his way to the ring for their rematch.

But ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ admits there is one current fighter that even he would be ‘afraid’ to face: ‘The Mexican Monster’ David Benavidez.

"He's so underrated but so over-polarised here,” Tyson told ES NEWS of Benavidez.

“Listen, I'd be afraid to fight him too if I was in that division.

“No one even has a chance against him, and I'm talking facts."

Benavidez is a former WBC super middleweight champion and one of the most avoided fighters in the sport today.

Boxing fans have been clambering to see him square off against Canelo Alvarez but the super middleweight king has shown little interest in making it happen.

Canelo previously suggested he would require an extortionate purse of $200million (£158m) for him to duke it out with Benavidez despite the Mexican-American puncher being his WBC mandatory for one whole year.

Benavidez’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, claims Al Haymon’s PBC had made a $55m (£43m) offer for the pair to duke it out on May 4, but Canelo chose to face Jaime Mungia instead.

That being said, Canelo’s trainer and manager Eddy Reynoso denied that any such proposal had been made while Lekowicz’s tweet has since been deleted.

Growing tired of waiting for his shot at Canelo, Benavidez moved up to light-heavyweight in June and scored a dominant unanimous decision victory over Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC ‘interim’ trinket.

As a result, he is now mandatory to face whoever emerges victorious from the inaugural undisputed 175lbs clash of the four-belt era between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol – which has been rescheduled to October 12.

Delivering his verdict on the all-Russian showdown, Benavidez told Sean Zittel: “They're both extremely talented fighters. Two different types of fighters, though.

“Bivol is a boxer. He moves around a lot but he's solid. Beterbiev is a f***ing train. He just comes at you and takes shots to give shots.

“So what I'm looking at for this fight is… Bivol has the power to hurt Beterbiev, because Beterbiev has been hurt by Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

“I've sparred both and Bivol cracks harder than Oleksandr. It's gonna be a really interesting fight.

“I think if Bivol stays on his feet the whole night, uses his jab, and then when they exchange he stands his ground, I think he has a really good chance of winning.

“But, also, when Beterbiev gets his engine going, that motherf***er's a train. He has, what 19 fights, 19 knockouts? It's 50/50. A great fight."

According to Lekowicz, the plan now is for Benavidez to take a stay-busy fight in December before landing a fight with the winner of Beterviev-Bivol on Cinco de Mayo weekend – a date that has become synonymous with Canelo fights.