Larry Holmes, the former heavyweight champion, thinks Tyson Fury could beat Mike Tyson in his prime. Holmes shared his thoughts recently, as both Tyson and Fury get ready for their upcoming fights.
Holmes believes Fury's size and skills give him a chance against a young Tyson. In an interview, Holmes said:
"I've got to give [Fury] a chance because he's long and tall he has long arms and he can jab. He can do a lot of things. If he trained hard enough I think he's going to beat Mike Tyson."
Holmes knows firsthand how tough Tyson was. Tyson stopped Holmes in 1988 when Holmes came out of retirement.
Right now, both Tyson and Fury are getting ready to fight. Tyson, who's 57, will face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in an exhibition. They'll fight eight two-minute rounds with 14-ounce gloves. Tyson retired in 2005 after losing to guys he used to beat. He came back in 2020 for an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr., which ended in a draw.
Paul, who's 28, has had 11 fights so far. He's gotten a few quick wins against weaker opponents.
Fury's got a big fight coming up too. He'll face Oleksandr Usyk in December in Saudi Arabia. It's a rematch for the undisputed championship. Usyk beat Fury in May to become the undisputed champ, handing Fury his first loss.
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There's a lot going on in heavyweight boxing right now. Fury wants to beat Usyk and maybe fight the winner of another big match. Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will fight for the IBF title at Wembley next weekend. The winners of these fights might face each other to unify the titles.