Heavyweight great Mike Tyson believes one Mexican star in particular was a better fighter than Floyd Mayweather.
In a professional career that saw him capture world titles in five weight classes, ‘Money’ Mayweather proved himself to be arguably the greatest fighter of his generation, and in many people’s eyes the greatest fighter of all time.
The Michigan-native remained unbeaten for the duration of his 21-year career, defeating the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao before announcing his retirement from the sport back in 2017.
Another fighter that left a huge impact on the sport was former undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson, who has actually been linked to an exhibition bout with Mayweather in 2026.
Despite the outstanding achievements of Mayweather, Tyson believes there is one fighter that emulates the former pound-for-pound superstar.
In a resurfaced interview, ‘Iron Mike’ spoke fondly of retired three-weight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, who is considered to be arguably the greatest Mexican fighter of all time.
“[Julio Cesar Chavez Sr] was 89-0 before he lost. Don’t tell me about, ‘You’re the greatest fighter,’ with 50-0. “You’re great, no doubt about it, but 50-0? Chavez had 90. He was fighting like, what? Eight times a year? Against whoever was in the rankings. He wasn’t picking, it was, ‘Whoever you want, come on.”
Chavez, who suffered just a handful of defeats throughout the course of his 115 fight professional career, took the sport by storm during the height of his tenure which came between the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Mexican icon held world titles at super-featherweight, lightweight and light-welterweight along the way, defeating the likes of Hector Camacho and Meldrick Taylor amongst a number of other great champions.
