Carl Froch has admitted that he would back Mike Tyson to beat Tyson Fury at their respective peaks in a dream bout. The American hung up his gloves back in 2005 after establishing his reputation as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time.
After his era-defining unified title showdown against Oleksandr Usyk was postponed until May, Fury’s attentions will be firmly fixed on getting himself ready for one of the most significant bouts of his career. Previous to this, the 35-year-old was left with no option but to push back the original date from February after sustaining a gash to the face while sparring.
With his rival from Ukraine currently boasting the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO straps, Fury is eyeing adding those belts to his WBC title in the first fight of its kind in over two decades. As he aims to emulate Lennox Lewis in etching his name into history, former boxer Froch has confessed he would still have Tyson ahead of Fury – even if the latter is to make history in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to Lucky Block, Froch admitted he would back Tyson all the way to beat his younger namesake in a fantasy bout. Waxing lyrical about the legendary ‘Iron Mike’ at the peak of his powers, he confessed: “Mike Tyson knocked out a few big lumps and tall guys too.
“I think Tyson Fury would be able to keep him out of the way for an amount of time but you’re talking about a peak Mike Tyson, who was world champion at 20,” he said. “I think a peak Mike Tyson beats almost anybody.
“Just the way he used to be in the ring he was a dangerous, dangerous man. He didn’t stop throwing punches. He used to roll his way into range. If they tried to grab him, he’d push him off and he’d throw big hooks and big uppercuts and he’d land on the chin and render them unconscious. I think the answer to that question for me would be Mike Tyson beats Tyson Fury.”
The closest the pair have ever came to an unlikely face off, however, was the instance when Fury’s father John challenged the man he named his son after to an exhibition fight. This came about when Tyson was helping Francis Ngannou to prepare for his bout versus the ‘Gypsy King’.
Clearly bemused by the ordeal, however, the man once known as ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ just shrugged off the overtures of the former bare-knuckle fighter. Unmoved by the exchange during the press conference before Fury versus Ngannou, Tyson confessed: “He’s out of mind about the exhibition.
“I’ll tell you what has impressed me so much at the weigh-in and press conference, normally they have to be tough but it was all love in there. It was a majestic sign of ‘We’re fighting each other’, just amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
As for Fury, it appears that his preparations are moving along nicely as he gets himself ready for his clash with Usyk in the coming months. Previous to this, the cut he sustained back at the start of February required 15 stitches – rendering the original date an impossibility to fulfill.