For some, Mike Tyson might be regarded as one of the best to have entered the boxing ring in the last century. But the former fighter once known as ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ is picking legendary multi-weight champion Floyd Maywather as the greatest pugilist of the last 100 years.
On his own Hotboxin’ podcast, ‘Iron Mike’ was praising former UFC champion, Conor McGregor, for going 10 rounds with Mayweather, who he described as “the greatest fighter in the last 100 years of boxing”.
“Proper 12. Connor [McGregor]. He’s a spectacle, but listen, this is where it’s not a spectacle.
He never really had a boxing match in his life, right? He went 10 rounds with the greatest fighter in the last 100 years of boxing. He scored punches. Look what he did.”
Tyson is right in that Mayweather-McGregor had a huge commercial crossover appeal. The fight recorded the second-highest pay-per-view buy rate in history after another Mayweather fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
And not many would argue with his choice as Mayweather as the greatest of a century. The self proclaimed ‘Best Ever’ retired with an undefeated record boasting 50 wins from 50 fights. He was an 11-time, five-division world champion with 26 consecutive wins in world title fights along the way.
Although he hasn’t competed in a professional contest since his victory over McGregor in 2017, Mayweather has been seen in the ring for several money spinning exhibition fights against influencers and, most recently, the grandson of one of American’s most notorious gangsters, John Gotti. The night finished in a mass brawl.