Holyfield weighs Tyson’s chances against Usyk in fantasy showdown

Evander Holyfield believes a prime Mike Tyson may have had the power and speed to defeat Oleksandr Usyk, but he is not confident enough to select a winner in the hypothetical heavyweight contest. The former undisputed champion considers the matchup far too difficult to call.

Holyfield has faced Tyson twice, beginning with an 11th-round stoppage victory in 1996. He also won their rematch in the third round after Tyson was disqualified. That version of Tyson was not regarded as the strongest stage of the American’s career, yet Holyfield still rates him highly against heavyweight opposition from different eras.

Tyson’s case would be built around his explosive offence. He won his first 19 professional fights by knockout and became a dominant heavyweight champion during the late 1980s. Although he was not among the division’s biggest men, his speed and punching power enabled him to overwhelm opponents quickly.

Usyk presents a very different challenge. The unbeaten Ukrainian became the leading fighter at cruiserweight before moving to heavyweight and establishing himself at the top level there as well. He defeated Anthony Joshua and later beat Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion.

Those victories over Joshua and Fury have strengthened Usyk’s standing among the sport’s greats, with Holyfield, Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis among the names associated with that level of achievement. Usyk has also overcome a significant size disadvantage throughout his heavyweight career.

Against Tyson, however, Usyk’s technical skill would face one of the most dangerous punchers in boxing history. Holyfield’s view is that the Ukrainian would need an almost flawless performance to avoid Tyson’s speed and explosiveness, leaving the fantasy bout too close for him to predict with certainty.