A legend of the heavyweight division says he regrets walking away from the sport instead of continuing with his professional career.
It was June 11th 2005 when Mike Tyson suffered a shock defeat to Ireland’s Kevin McBride, signalling the end of the former undisputed heavyweight champion’s professional career.
Whilst he had been the subject of a number of personal issues outside of the ring during the later stages of his career, there was a time when Tyson was considered to be the most formidable heavyweight on the planet.
‘Iron Mike’ became the youngest world heavyweight champion of all time in 1986 when he defeated Trevor Berbick, an exceptional record that remains unbroken to this very day.
He would go on to achieve undisputed status shortly after, adding the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles to his collection with respective victories over James Smith and Tony Tucker.
In a recent interview with Hardrock Bet, Tyson admitted that he actually wishes he didn’t walk away from the sport when he did, hinting that he regrets his decision to retire following his defeat to McBride – a fight in which he did give up on his stool.
“I said, man, I wish I didn’t quit. So you just keep training right now, and keep fighting because you’re going to want to do it when you’re 40. If you quit now, when you’re 40, you’re going to say, wow, I wish I could… I wish I didn’t stop fighting. Keep fighting until you can’t fight anymore.”
‘Iron Mike’ did make a controversial return to the ring in November 2024 when he faced YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in an eight round bout in Texas, although he would suffer a unanimous decision defeat in what was his first ring appearance in just shy of 20 years.
The 59-year-old is now said to be in negotiations for an exhibition bout with former pound-for-pound superstar Floyd Mayweather, with reports suggesting that the legendary duo will share the ring in January 2026.
