Mike Tyson has taken a swing at Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s claim of being better than Muhammad Ali. The former heavyweight champ called Mayweather "delusional" and "a very small scared man" in a recent YouTube interview.
Tyson, who burst onto the boxing scene at 18, knows a thing or two about greatness. He won his first 19 fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. In 1986, at just 20 years old, he became the youngest heavyweight champion ever by defeating Trevor Berbick for the WBC title. By 21, he'd unified the WBC, WBA, and IBF belts, becoming the undisputed champ.
Mayweather, now 48, retired in 2017 with an undefeated 50-0 record after beating MMA star Conor McGregor. The Michigan native won world titles in five weight classes and earned the nickname "Money" for his lucrative career.
But Tyson isn't buying Mayweather's self-hype. In the interview, he said:
"He's very delusional, he can't listen. If he was anywhere near that realm of great Ali he'd be able to take his kids to school by himself, 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, greatness is being accepted by the people, he can't take his kids alone to school by himself, he's a little scared man, a very small scared man."
Tyson's words pack a punch. He's saying true greatness isn't about protecting yourself from the public, but being embraced by them. The fact that Mayweather can't do everyday tasks like taking his kids to school without security, in Tyson's view, shows he's not in the same league as Ali.
It's worth noting that Tyson's own career had its ups and downs. After his meteoric rise, he suffered one of boxing's biggest upsets when Buster Douglas knocked him out in 1990.
Mayweather hasn't responded to Tyson's comments yet. But given his track record of defending his legacy, we might hear from "Money" soon.
