A boxer who was knocked out by Mike Tyson twice during his career has named three different fighters who hit harder than the former heavyweight champion.
Four years after his last fight, former boxing heavyweight champions Tyson has come out of retirement to face controversial YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul later this month.
During his impressive career, Tyson made a name for himself as one of, if not the, most dangerous and hardest-hitting men alive, as demonstrated by his highlight reel of brutal knockout victories.
But one boxer who was beaten by the American on two different occasions snubbed him when naming the hardest hitting boxers he had ever faced.
Former British heavyweight boxer Frank Bruno faced Tyson twice during his career, losing both encounters by technical knockout, and yet doesn’t believe that Tyson was the hardest-hitting opponent he fought.
When asked by The Sun in 2021 to name the three strongest opponents he has fought in the ring, Bruno said: “I’ve got to go for Jumbo Cummings, [James] Bonecrusher Smith and Tim Witherspoon. All of them had different punches, all had different ways, when they hit you it hurt.”
“Tyson’s quick and he’s powerful, he hits like a whip, but it’s a different variety. Tim Witherspoon, he wore you down, Bonecrusher Smith, he was a different cup of tea. Lennox Lewis was a different cup of tea, everyone’s got their style and how they can punch, different skills.”
Tyson and Bruno first met in the ring in February 1989, with ‘Iron Mike’ successfully defending his WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight titles after securing a fifth round TKO victory via a combination including a right uppercut and left hook .
Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno faced each other in the ring on two occasions. (Image: Getty)
Seven years later in March 1996, the two men clashed again, but this time the roles were reversed as Tyson had lost all of his titles and Bruno held the WBC strap.
However, the result remained the same as a series of hooks and uppercuts from Tyson secured another TKO victory over Bruno, this time in the third round.
Tyson, who is now 58 years old, will be hoping he can turn back the clock and produce a similar result when he faces American YouTuber Paul on November 15 at the ATandT Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The fight is being exclusively streamed on Netflix and will be free for all subscribers to access.