The legendary personality of the world of boxing and without a doubt one of the bravest boxers in the entire history of boxing – Evander Holyild, told how Mike Tyson was in his youth.
“We have known Mike since the days when both were amateurs. When I first saw what combinations he was holding on the bag and with what strength and speed, I thought, what is it all about? Who is he and how does he do it “I was very impressed. I never saw anyone train like this again. He was a real beast with superhuman strength.”
In the literal sense, everything was excellent with him, not only in striking power, but also in technical terms. He is very skillful and gifted with fantastic speed. In those teenage years, Mike and I sparred and I thought, “Wow, what speed and strength.” I was fast enough, skilled and already experienced enough, but my sparring with him was something new and never before experienced by me. When I hear from other boxers that they were able to defeat or outbox young Mike, I just shrug my shoulders, because they do not understand at all what they are talking about. When you box with a young and motivated Mike, your whole body is pushing your limits to survive.
When I met Mike in the professional ring, he was still very dangerous and strong at that time, but still it was not the same Mike Tysonon with whom I sparred even in the amateurs. I will say about Mike that he is a real champion, and that he was a real nightmare for the heavyweights of that time, but I was never afraid of him. I knew from a young age that one day I would meet with him and defeat him. “
And so it happened, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson met twice, and in two meetings Evander Holyfield defeated Mike Tyson. I would also like to draw attention to the words of Holyfield that “When you box with a young and motivated Mike, then your whole body goes to the limit of your ability to survive.” This is me to the fact that it is possible back in that distant 1990, when Mike Tyson faced Buster Douglas and unexpectedly and loudly lost by knockout in the 10th round.
It is likely that Buster at that moment, as Holyfield says, had his whole psyche and body at the limit of survival, which led to a certain well-known result. Yes, Buster looked not scared and worked with Mike as if he was just practicing his punches in training sparring, but this is only on the surface. Perhaps Douglas pulled himself together in the best possible way and made the biggest fight of his career.