Mike Tyson has a great eye when it comes to his favourite boxers.
‘Iron’ Mike is always a trusted voice in the sport because of his honesty when it comes to fellow fighters and his career, as Tyson named his favourite career bout as a loss.
Floyd Mayweather Jr is arguably one of the greats of modern boxing, and in his ‘Money May’ era, he dominated varying levels of competition for millions of dollars.
But when asked in 2013 who he enjoyed watching, he snubbed the American in favour of a well-loved eight-division king.
Mike Tyson picks oldest welterweight champion over Floyd Mayweather as ‘most sensational’ boxer in 2013
During an ESPN ’10 Questions with Mike Tyson’ special in 2013, the heavyweight was keen to share his love for a particular fighter who had just competed in Macao.
He said: “Out of the big-time fighters right now? (Manny) Pacquiao just looks sensational in that fight. No fighter, with you as my witness, no fighter looks more sensational than Pacquiao looked the other night.
“That just shows you know nothing about boxing, no one said who was better, there is nobody in boxing and fighting that looks better.”
The victory against Brandon Rios preceded the anticipated Mayweather bout by two years, a bout which Manny Pacquiao would go on to lose.
Even with names like the two-time unified champion Gennady Golovkin brought up as counterpoints for the former champion, he was not interested.
“GGG, that man doesn’t make those moves, it was masterful in side movements, (Brandon) Rios couldn’t get a punch off.”
Manny Pacquiao landed more than double the punches of Brandon Rios in 2013
When you talk about dominating wins, nothing can beat a performance like this from a 2013 Pacquiao.
While former Manny rivals worry after his comeback draw, 12 years ago, he was still trying to compete at the sport’s highest level.
‘Bam Bam’ tried to put up a fight but was overwhelmed by the quick hands and feet of the ‘PacMan’, so much so that the Filipino landed double the number of punches of his opponent.
It was all about accuracy when he fought the man seven years his junior, with 281 punches landed across the fight compared to just 138.
Unfortunately for the oldest welterweight champion, he would have the opposite fate when he was dominated by ‘Money’ Mayweather.
34% of punches were landed by the undefeated icon, but ‘Pac’ could only muster a 19% connect rate, unusually low for one of the best to ever lace them up.
Those demons will be behind the 46-year-old, whose return to the sport has drawn critics, but after his performance in the Mario Barrios draw, it is likely he will return against a younger world champion.