Mike Tyson believes only one of his opponents was able to survive the full extent of his punching power.
‘Iron’ is widely regarded as one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time after a Hall of Fame career that saw him compete 58 times between 1985 and 2005.
The larger-than-life American suffered six defeats in boxing, but he insists that Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Buster Douglas, and co. didn’t feel his punching power at its blistering best.
Only one man was able to take Tyson’s biggest shots and keep on moving forward.
Mike Tyson names his toughest opponent
Two fights before he knocked out Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history at just 20 years old, Tyson squared off against José Manuel Ribalta in August 1986.
Almost 30 years later, Tyson claimed that Ribalta had the best chin of anyone he fought.
Speaking in 2014 to Ring TV, he said: “I hit Jose Ribalta with everything, and he took everything and kept coming back for more. Jose Ribalta stood toe to toe with me. He was very strong in the clinches.”
A glance at the highlights and it will become clear why Tyson thought so highly of Ribalta after their fight.
The 6ft 5in Cuban went toe-to-toe with Tyson for ten rounds when he was at his absolute peak. Ribalta was floored three times as he took 220 punches in a late TKO defeat.
Ultimately, the referee waved the fight off with 83 seconds left on the clock.
Ribalta was expected to have a very good career after his fight with Tyson, and he won nine successive fights to put himself on the brink of a potential rematch.
However, between 1990 and 1992, Ribalta’s career fell apart as he lost five fights in a row, including a second-round KO against future Tyson KO victim Frank Bruno.
Ribalta retired in 1999 with an unimpressive 38-17-1 record, which includes nine knockout losses that suggest he didn’t give other opponents the trouble he gave Tyson.
Mike Tyson hopes to roll back the years against Jake Paul
Tyson will return to professional boxing for the first time since losing to a journeyman in 2005.
Fight fans are concerned that Tyson could get seriously hurt when he takes on Jake Paul, who is 31 years his junior, at AT&T Stadium in Texas on November 15.
Despite all the noise surrounding his comeback bout, the man himself is confident he can cause an upset after completing an epic body transformation in recent months.
Muhammad Ali’s legendary manager Gene Kilroy was initially worried about Tyson facing Paul, but things changed after he visited the gym and saw that his long-time friend was in spectacular shape.
“This is the strongest I’ve ever seen you, the strongest I’ve ever seen you and I’ve known you since you were 13 years old,” Kilroy admitted to Tyson.
“I think this is so (amazing), this impressed the s*** out of me. Nothing impresses me. You know what, I’m gonna tell you the truth, I don’t lie. I was worried about him traveling here, traveling there, I can sleep now at night. This is great,”
“I’m proud of you, Mike. I’m proud of you, it’s a new generation. You have done more workouts than what I’ve seen you do the whole time you fought Lenox Lewis.”