Boxing icon Mike Tyson spoke exclusively to Hard Rock Bet and provided an update ahead of his upcoming fight against Floyd Mayweather in 2026 before promising to produce a stunning knockout.
The youngest undisputed heavyweight champion of all time also opened up on his fight against Jake Paul, hopes for a rematch, Oleksandr Usyk being a generational great and how Terence Crawford is the best fighter of his generation.
‘Iron’ Mike also spoke about his upcoming ‘Return of the Mike’ one-man show exclusively at Hard Rock Live venues across the country and revealed why he loves being part of the Hard Rock Bet family.
‘Return of the Mike’, Hard Rock Bet
We’ve seen you collaborate with the Hard Rock brand frequently between the Hard Rock Bet Party campaign and your upcoming ‘Return of Mike’ tour, what’s been your favorite part about working with the brand?
Mike Tyson: “Hey, it’s a no-brainer, they’re winners, I want to hang out with the winners.
“You can’t find somebody, at least I can’t, that has a bad thing to say about the Hard Rock.
“I can get a bunch of people say things about a bunch of casinos that is not nice, but you can’t say nothing bad about the Hard Rock. 100% [the people are great].”
What can fans expect at the upcoming ‘Return of the Mike’ shows?
Mike Tyson: “Self-deprecation, a little bit of fun, It’s going to be a bunch of everything, it’s going to be so difficult to explain.
“It’s going to be about legacy, it’s going to be about health, it’s going to be about family, it’s going be about children, it’s a variation of a bunch of stuff.”
On facing Floyd Mayweather Jr.
How did the fight get made with Floyd Mayweather?
Mike Tyson: “I have no idea, Floyd wanted to fight me.”
Do you have a good relationship with Floyd Mayweather?
Mike Tyson: “I don’t know, I think I got a pretty decent relationship with him. I don’t hate him, you know what I’m speaking. I don’t have any harsh feelings.”
When will it take place?
Mike Tyson: “I have no idea, maybe in March or April.”
With a record of 50-0, Floyd considers himself as the greatest, where does he rank alongside the all time greats?
Mike Tyson: “Well, he’s big time, there’s no doubt about it.”
There has been rumors of Floyd fighting Manny Pacquiao in March, is there any truth to this – can you clear things up as to where your fight with Floyd stands?
Mike Tyson: “I wish I could give you some input, but I have no idea what you’re talking about as far as those two guys fighting. He definitely reigns with the greats, there’s no doubt. He put in his work.”
Where will this fight rank in your career as big fights?
Mike Tyson: “I’m going to tell you where it’s going to rank, though. I don’t know, it’s going rank… it probably supersedes all my fights I ever have. It’s capable of doing that. And this is really serious.
“It’s going to supersede all the fights and all the glory he had before this. This is taking boxing to a new level. Almost God status.”
Do you knock Floyd Mayweather out?
Mike Tyson: “It looks that way, as I anticipated. It looks like he’s going to get knocked out.”
Future fights, staying in shape, Jake Paul
Do you see yourself fighting again afterwards? A Lennox Lewis rematch?
Mike Tyson: “I don’t see that. No, I see Floyd, maybe somebody else, I don’t know. Anything’s possible, you know? I don’t want to fight those guys, but if money can be made [then why not].
“I fight people because they’re my friends, you know. How are people going to get this money? How are we going to go to do business together?
“This is what fighting’s all about. It’s about business. He’s [Floyd] going be a fighter for so long, he’s going to be a businessman forever and when you combine the two, you know, you’re very lucky.”
You looked in incredible shape against Jake Paul, what is it like to train now compared to when you was at your peak?
Mike Tyson: “I just keep moving, I don’t stop, you know what I mean? Big wheels keep moving, they don’t stop and I was really ill,
“I didn’t want to use that for an excuse, but I had some real bad health problems, but I’m fine now. I have no excuses.
“I feel good right now, this is the best I’ve felt. I can’t wait to start getting in the ring. I learned [a lot] from my last fight.
“I left a lot of my fight in the gym. I worked too hard. I was too intense; I was too extreme. I need to relax more. That’s what I always believe. I need to relax more.”
Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
You continue to inspire millions of people around the world, it must feel good?
Mike Tyson: “I don’t look at my life as being inspiration, I look at my life as just somebody passing through. Like, everyone else, we’re just passing through.”
How do you reflect on your fight against Jake Paul?
Mike Tyson: “I’m getting more and more confident, and I believe I’ll be better in the next fight coming up.
“But this fight right here, I think I’d be more adapted, because I had my other two experiences. I realized how to train this time, then other times.
“That was the first time he trained, and that’s, you know, an older guy, like, 60 years old, that intense. And I think I trained a little bit too intense, and I left most of my fight in the gym.
“I’m just hoping, after this Floyd fight, maybe we can have a rematch. Yes, I would, I would be interested in that.”
What was Jake Paul like inside the ring?
Mike Tyson: “He did well, but I want to try it again.”
On Oleksandr Usyk, legacy
What do you make of Oleksandr Usyk?
Mike Tyson: “I’m very impressed. Anybody can say whatever he wants. He’s the greatest heavyweight of his time right now.
“Nobody can beat him. He beat everybody. He beat everybody, so you have to give him his flowers.”
How does Usyk perform against your era of fighters, including yourself, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield etc.?
Mike Tyson: “I don’t know, maybe he would have done good with some of us and bad with some of us, too. You know, it’s tough for me seeing him dominate that era.
“Fighting was different then, too, you know? It was all about being aggressive. The boxer didn’t get much, they didn’t get much entitlement, once we’re in the ring the aggressive fighter got more of the points.
“Even if he got hit more, because he was making the fight, they would give him the rounds. It’s all about excitement.
“If you’re an exciting fighter, you bring the people in the arena, you’re the man. You could be the greatest fighter in the world, but you could be boring, nobody wants to see you. Beat everybody, but nobody wants to see you fight, and you’re boring.”
On Tyson Fury and retirement
One fighter who isn’t boring is Tyson Fury… should he return to boxing?
Mike Tyson: “Look, take a couple of months off and come back. Yes, come back. You’re going to want to come back when you’re 40-something, so start doing it now.
“I said, man, I wish I didn’t quit. So you just keep training right now, and keep fighting because you’re going to want to do it when you’re 40.
“If you quit now, when you’re 40, you’re going to say, wow, I wish I could… I wish I didn’t stop fighting. Keep fighting until you can’t fight anymore.
“That’s what I do. Keep fighting until you can’t… if I can’t… I want to keep fighting until I can’t breathe anymore. Keep fighting. Knock me out, f*** it.”
What about Tyson Fury the man…
Mike Tyson: “He just needs to rest his mind, alright? You just need to relax his mind, and go back and do what he does better than anything else, and that’s fighting.
“He’s going to be very unhappy when he’s 40 and say, I could’ve fought them, guys, I shouldn’t have stopped fighting. He needs to just take a little breather, and then come back.”
Who should Tyson Fury fight next?
Mike Tyson: “I think he should get two warm-up fights, you know, but good money fights, and then fight those guys. He can make a lot of money fighting the contenders, up-and-coming guys. Get warmed up with those guys and go right for the title.”
Terrance Crawford, Canelo Alvarez
How impressed were you with Terence Crawford during his win over Canelo Alvarez?
Mike Tyson: “That was beautiful, incredible. You have got to give him all the respect in the world. He climbed the mountain, and he conquered it. He’s like Henry Armstrong.
“Henry Armstrong won the welterweight title at 126 pounds. Can you imagine that? At 126 pounds, he won the welterweight title, he beat the welterweight champ.
“That’s never been heard, that’ll probably never be done again in modern boxing. The featherweight champion beating the welterweight champion.”
Should Canelo have a rematch against Terence Crawford?
Mike Tyson: “That’s not bad, yeah, I picked that rematch. I went with Canelo the last time, I have to go with Crawford this time.
“I want to see, Crawford fight Jaron Ennis Boots. I want to see him fight one of the Charlo brothers too. I want to see Boots take a test. Charlo, one of those guys. The Charlo brothers, he went up to 154 pounds.
“Let him challenge one of those guys. I want to see him be tested. I want to see him knocked down. I want to see him go to his corner and take a deep breath.”
UFC vs Boxing
Is the UFC bigger than boxing in America?
Mike Tyson: “Well, listen, you know what’s interesting about boxing? It’s almost like it can’t be canceled. It has this primary group of fans, that they can live on forever.
“Even if it went on boxing on a hiatus, it had the hardcore fans that’s enough that they could survive off.
“Like, no doubt about it, the UFC has more entertainment and excitement. When there’s no fight, when the fights are over, it’s a party until the fight till they start another fight.
“In boxing, they’re waiting around, people are looking at each other’s face, talking, and the UFC is constant activity going on”
Dana White is entering boxing, can he be a success?
Mike Tyson: “I think he would do well to have more options, and I think if he hired me, he would win totally. I knew Dana when he had hair.
“What he does, the UFC [is great]. Now we’re going to get him over to boxing and help him become the greatest promoter at all time.”
Can Dana White fix boxing?
Mike Tyson: “Boxing was created broken, and it’s going to die broken. If Dana can fix it, I want to see it. He has to understand the kind of people he’s dealing with. I think he dealt with Turki [Alalsheik] but I don’t think he actually dealt with the… the core of boxing people.
“He’s going to have to crush every one of them, because they’re all going to have their opinion, as far as what he wants to do with the boxing world. I’m with Dana, I like his audacity to challenge boxing. I tried that before, and they all jumped on me, so I’m going to like this journey.
“Listen, this is what I found out in boxing. Everything in boxing is not on the table. There’s always something underneath the table that we don’t know about. That’s what I know. That’s the golden rule in boxing.
“Everything’s not always on the table. There’s always something underneath the table that we don’t see, and that’s boxing.”
Who is the No. 1 pound for pound in boxing?
Who is the P4P No.1 in boxing?
Mike Tyson: “Terence Crawford drew 40 million people. How much did, Usyk draw? Crawford is the greatest fighter of his generation. You know who the greatest fighter is?
“The greatest fighter’s not the best guy with the technique. The greatest fighter is who can put more a**** in the seat. That’s the greatest fighter.”
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