Like most others in the sport, Mike Tyson has not been shy to say that Muhammad Ali inspired him.
Both are legendary in their own right, the pair represent an exciting period in the sport of boxing when the world’s heavyweight champion was something of a near god.
A three-time world champion known simply as ‘The Greatest’, Ali officially hung his belt in 1981. Tyson ascended to the heavyweight belt in 1985, going on to become the non-championship champion. disputed from 1987 to 1990.
Never has Tyson’s appreciation for Ali been clearer than in a podcast with Michael Rapaport back in 2019. ‘The ugliest man on the planet’ spoke emotionally about their differences.
“I always like to think that I am a bad mother, a bad mother, I don’t care. It’s the part of Ali that he appreciates me, for I can’t understand a man who would actually die for this.
I talk about it, but he’s a real person. Ali is a giant. There’s no way other fighters can match him. He’s gonna die for this damn thing. He will die. I will not die for this. That’s telling the truth. Ali is a barbarian. He is an animal. Another kind of person. He’s not like us.”
Ali, all things considered, has surpassed boxing – becoming a global icon in the entire sports world and in wider conversations about role models and humanity. He passed away in 2016 after his battle with Parkinson’s syndrome, leaving behind a legacy like no other.
Tyson retired in 2005, and still comments on the sport and its stars to this day – though in a less evil and mellow way than he was known in his day.
Both men are considered two of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
