Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Tyson Fury vs Mike Tyson fight would be ‘no contest’, claims Bob Arum

Tyson retired with a professional record of 50-6, while Fury is 31-0-1

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Friday 03 December 2021 13:12 GMT
Comments
Tyson Fury trains brother Tommy for Jake Paul fight

Bob Arum has weighed in on how a dream match-up between boxing icons Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury would play out.

Tyson reigned as undisputed heavyweight champion between 1987 and 1990, while current WBC title-holder Fury also previously held the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts.

Tyson, 55, retired in 2005 but has competed in exhibition bouts since – most recently drawing with Roy Jones Jr almost exactly one year ago.

Meanwhile, 33-year-old Fury last fought in October, stopping Deontay Wilder for the second time in a row to conclude their trilogy.

American Tyson retired with a professional record of 50-6, with 44 knockout wins and five defeats by KO. Briton Fury’s record is 31-0-1, with 22 of his victories coming via stoppage.

“[Fury] was named after a famous heavyweight in Mike Tyson,” Fury’s US promoter Arum told talkSPORT this week. “You know fight fans love to play mythical match-ups…

“If we ever saw a peak Tyson Fury against a peak Mike Tyson, how does that fight go down?

“Well, there’s no contest. Tyson Fury would beat him, he’s way too big for him. What’s Mike Tyson going to do, jump up and land a punch on Tyson Fury?

“Heavyweights now are so tall and agile, which they weren’t before, that smaller heavyweights like Mike Tyson wouldn’t be competitive with him.

“I always felt that if Mike Tyson got in the ring with George Foreman, who was taller but not as tall as Tyson Fury, that Foreman would just hit down on Tyson and knock him out.

“And that’s what George thought! He always was after me – this is when he came back after 10 years away [in 1987] – to make a fight with Mike Tyson. And I thought it would be an easy fight for Foreman.”

Fury has said he is set on returning to the ring next spring at the latest, with compatriot Dillian Whyte among his possible opponents.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in