Mike Tyson has never been one to mince words when it comes to Floyd Mayweather.
In a characteristic display of candor, the former heavyweight champion once asserted that in a street fight, his prime self would prevail over Mayweather.
Tyson, widely regarded as one of boxing’s greatest, didn’t hold back in criticizing Mayweather’s comparison of himself to the legendary Muhammad Ali.
“He’s very delusional,” Tyson remarked. “Listen, if he was anywhere near that realm of greatness like Muhammad Ali, he’d be able to take his kids to school by himself.
“OK, he can’t take his kids to school by himself, and he’s talking about he’s great? Greatness is not guarding yourself from the people. It’s being accepted by the people. He can’t take his kids alone to school by himself.
“He’s a little scared man. He’s a very small, scared man.”
The ongoing feud between Tyson and Mayweather has yielded numerous entertaining moments, none perhaps more memorable than their encounter at a WBC convention in Las Vegas in 2015.
During the event, Tyson, known as “The Baddest Man on the Planet,” playfully feigned a punch towards Mayweather, who, then the WBC welterweight and junior middleweight champion, remained composed and greeted Tyson warmly.
This incident was just one in a series of eyebrow-raising interactions between the two boxing icons. Tyson once confidently asserted that in his prime, he would emerge victorious in a street fight against Mayweather, yet he conceded that in a boxing match, Mayweather’s size advantage would likely lead to his victory.
Mayweather, with an impeccable 50-0 record, has not shied away from declaring himself the best boxer in history, even placing himself above the likes of Muhammad Ali and Tyson in terms of skill and achievement.
