Former world champion David Haye snubbed Mike Tyson when naming his top five heavyweight fighters of all time.
‘Iron Mike’ is still the youngest ever heavyweight champion after beating Trevor Berbick at the age of 20 years old in 1986. The New York native ended his career with a record of 50-6 and earned a reputation in his prime as one of the most fearsome fighters ever seen in the sport.
With his world title win, Tyson established himself as an all-time great from a young age. However, a shock defeat to 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas marked the start of problems both in and out of the ring.
Shortly afterwards, Tyson was convicted of rape, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison. Although he would once again become world champion after defeating Frank Bruno in March 1996, Tyson lost his title to Evander Holyfield later the same year. The rematch went even worse for the controversial heavyweight as he was disqualified, and later suspended, for taking a chunk out of his opponent’s ear.
Tyson returned, but never recovered the form of his prime. He initially called time on his professional career in 2005 after a loss to Kevin McBride, but later came back for an exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr in 2020 and a pro loss to Jake Paul in November 2024.
Despite the latter years of his career, Tyson is still considered by many to be among the greatest heavyweights ever. ‘The Hayemaker’, though, doesn’t agree.
Speaking on the BBC’s Costello and Bunce podcast, Haye explained Tyson’s absence from his top five as he pointed out: “How many fights did Tyson have where he was behind on points?
“Where he got put down, hurt and came back, that’s the question. The moment he started to lose or it started to get tough, it seemed to go the other way.
“Many fighters have had tough fights where they are on the brink of losing and found a way to win, I’ve never seen that with Tyson. I find it hard to say someone’s in the top five of all time if they’ve never had a fight which they were losing and they came back to win.”
Haye admitted Tyson’s early career potential could have taken him to the heights of other greats if he had remained focused on his boxing career:
“If he’s 21, he’s a baby in boxing terms. He was only going to get better and better. But what happened was, he peaked at 21 and didn’t get better, he got worse every fight. He did less training, less sparring, had less discipline, more money, different women. He got worse and worse until he lost.”
While Tyson didn’t make the cut, below is a look at Haye’s top five in full.
5
Larry Holmes
Holmes kicks off Haye’s top five, with a record of 69-6. The American held the WBC heavyweight title from 1978 until 1983 and the IBF title from 1983 until 1985. Holmes called time on his career in 1991 after a loss to Tyson.
4
George Foreman
‘Big George’ enjoyed a career spanning 30 years and a record of 76-5, with an astonishing 68 knockouts. Foreman lost to Muhammad Ali in the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ despite being a heavy favourite and undefeated champion in 1974. The late Foreman would later make history as the oldest heavyweight champion of all time after beating Michael Moorer in 1994 at the age of 45 years old.
3
Evander Holyfield
‘The Real Deal’ is the only four-time heavyweight champion in history. Holyfield was 44-10 in his career, which includes his two victories over Tyson. He is most famous, though, for losing part of his ear in his second fight with his fierce rival.
2
Lennox Lewis
A three-time world champion, Lewis lost just two fights in his career. First, lost to Oliver McCall in 1994, before being knocked out by Hasim Rahman in 2001. He avenged both losses in rematches. Lewis also defeated Tyson and Holyfield during his legendary career.
1
Muhammad Ali
Famously nicknamed ‘The Greatest’, Ali was beloved for both his unique charisma and skills in the ring. He amassed a record of 56-5, but his legacy is far greater than numbers. His most famous fights included the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ and ‘Fight of the Century’ with Joe Frazier and the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ with Foreman.