Boxing

Mike Tyson says one man is his toughest opponent ever

Published

11 months ago

December 6, 2025

Mike Tyson says one man stands alone as his toughest ever opponent

Mike Tyson would be on many opponents’ lists if asked to name the toughest opponent they have ever faced.

“Iron” Mike crushed his first 19 opponents before moving up in class and facing stiffer opposition from the likes of James “Quick” Tillis, Mitch “Blood” Green, Jose “El Nino” Ribalta and James “Bonecrusher” Smith – the first men to defeat the heavyweight phenom at the distance.

This story takes us back to 1987, when Tyson was approaching his 21st birthday and was already the unified heavyweight champion. More belts were on the horizon, but not before he faced the man he now describes as his toughest opponent. In the clip posted by Calf clipsthe famed Up-to-date Yorker explained that he was the warrior who deserved this distinction Pinklon Thomas.

“He was my toughest opponent…

I hit him with 17 punches right in the face and he went down, but it was 17 straight punches – all as challenging as possible. And with the last one he just fainted. I thought, “God, this is my hardest fight.” He took 17 on the chin.”

The Tyson vs. Thomas fight took place on May 30, 1987, as part of a whirlwind heavyweight unification series broadcast on HBO to determine the undisputed champion. Just a few years earlier, Thomas was one of the top heavyweights in the world, holding the WBC title and preparing for a large fight. Confident of what was happening, he even told Tyson that he would have to “replace the gold in his mouth.”

With Angelo Dundee in his corner, Thomas insisted he would not be another statistic on Tyson’s growing resume. However, from the first bell, the adolescent champion showered the former belt holder with a hail of blows. Chopped in the first round, Thomas tried to take a more evasive approach as the fight progressed, but a constant barrage of hooks and uppercuts ultimately ended his challenge in the sixth round.

Mike Tyson’s machine simply rolled over to the next man in line.

Boxing

Robert Garcia Analyzes Tim Tszyus Odds Against Erislandy Lara | Boxing News

Published

2 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Robert Garcia Analyzes Tim Tszyu's Odds Against Erislandy Lara | Boxing News"

Tim Tszyu seeks to become Australia’s third multi-divisional boxing world champion when he competes for Erislandy Lara’s WBA middleweight title next month, and ahead of the action, trainer Robert Garcia has offered his thoughts on the fight.

Tszyu lost his WBO super-welterweight title in a defeat to Sebastian Fundora back in 2024 and twice failed to reclaim 154lb honours, both against Bakhram Murtazaliev and in a rematch with Fundora.

Since then, the Aussie has stepped up to middleweight and scored a career-best win over Errol Spence Jr earlier this yearand now, the 32-year-old could join lead trainer Jeff Fenech and Liam Paro as his nation’s third two-weight world champion, if he can trump 43-year-old.

Speaking with ProBox TVRobert Garcia, who trains a potential future Tszyu opponent in Vergil Ortiz, admitted that he is leaning towards the home fighter, but noted that Lara will not be phased by competing in the challenger’s backyard.

“We can probably lean towards Tim Tsyzu because he is fighting at home, in front of his hometown, but Lara is not the fighter that brings in a lot of fans following him.

“He doesn’t have a following, he is not one that is going to sell out arenas, so even if it is in the United States, it is likely that most of the people are going to be [there] for Tim Tszyu because Australians do travel and Tim Tszyu has a lot of fans.

“For Lara, going to Australia is like going to Las Vegas or going to New York because he never has that following anyways. Anywhere he goes, he is going to be against the crowd. So, I think for him it is going to be one of those performances where it doesn’t make a difference if he is going to Tim Tsyzu’s hometown.”

Tszyu-Lara takes place at the Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland, Australia on Sunday 13 December.

Boxing

Malik Scott Predicts Knockout Victory for Jai Opetaia in Upcoming Fight

Published

2 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Malik Scott Predicts Knockout Victory for Jai Opetaia in Upcoming Fight"

Deontay Wilder’s former head coach Malik Scott has delivered a knockout prediction for the American’s upcoming showdown with Jai Opetaia.

The pair will square off at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11, with Opetaia making his heavyweight debut on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.

Despite him being the naturally smaller man, many are favouring the Australian – a former two-time world cruiserweight champion – to defeat his 10-years-older opponent.

It is, after all, generally accepted that Wilder has declined significantly since his trilogy bout with Furywho survived two knockdowns and scored an 11th-round knockout in their 2021 encounter.

Back then, Wilder had just joined forces with Scott, his former opponent, and the pair maintained their fighter-trainer relationship through subsequent defeats against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.

With Wilder now operating under different coaches, though, Scott has shared a balanced view of the Opetaia fight with Seconds Out.

“The fight’s got dynamite written all over it. Jai Opetaia is very dangerous, but he’s a smaller man that’s been hurt by smaller men than Deontay, slower men than Deontay.

“I’ve never seen Opetaia get hit by nobody like Deontay; I’ve seen Deontay get hit by bigger punchers than Opetaia. [But] one thing we can expect in this fight is a knockout.

“The name of the fight is ‘bad intentions’ – at least that’s what I’m calling it, because that’s what they share in common. What they share in common is mentality – they both are trying to hurt you.”

While he stopped short of predicting a winner, it is perhaps telling that Scott, despite his relationship with Wilder, has not explicitly favoured him to win by knockout.