Mike Tyson swung at Floyd Mayweather in fiery meeting before branding him 'scared little man'
11/05/2024 08:51 AM
Tensions almost boiled over between Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather when the pair came face-to-face in 2014.
The legendary heavyweight was appearing on stage at a WBC convention in 2014 when he got to meet Mayweather, with whom he had a testy relationship. Both men are considered legends of the boxing game, and at the time, the welterweight great was still competing at the highest level.
Tyson had previously named Mayweather his dream opponent, despite outweighing the smaller man by as much as 100lb. And while it seems that tensions have thawed in recent years, the pair almost came to blows that one night in Las Vegas.
Mike Tyson swung a punch at Floyd Mayweather in intense meeting
To celebrate 52nd annual WBC convention in 2014, 112 world champions graced the famous Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. This included a number of major names including Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya.
But perhaps the biggest story of the night came when the iconic two-time heavyweight champion Mike Tyson met five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather. The pair came face-to-face on stage, and it very nearly came to blows as an angry Tyson charged the stage.
He appeared to swing two punches in Mayweather’s direction after being offered his hand, although he held back from actually coming any way close to his rival. He then offered the famed welterweight an intense handshake and hug.
For his part, Mayweather appeared to find the entire ordeal funny, and famously didn’t even flinch. Many commenters noted that even at the age of 47, Tyson’s speed was such that he likely didn’t even see the punches in time to flinch.
Immediately after the swing, Tyson stared Mayweather down before eventually offering the handshake. And he continued to give an intense look at his rival until eventually being distracted by other legends on the stage.
Mike Tyson named Floyd Mayweather his ‘dream opponent’ despite massive size difference
The feud between Tyson and Mayweather seems to date back to an interview the heavyweight gave that April. He was ringside for Rod Salka and Alexei Collado’s showdown, and was discussing the future prospects of then-undefeated Sammy Vasquez who was competing on the night.
And during the broadcast, he was asked which fighter he wishes he could have faced throughout his career. “Floyd Mayweather,” he replied, before noting that “I would have loved to have fought him, I wish he was my weight.”
He then named Roberto Duran as his favourite fighter of all time. But he noted that Muhammad Ali was the greatest fighter, which may have led to the future issues that arose between he and Mayweather over the years.
Mike Tyson slammed Floyd Mayweather as ‘scared little man’ over Muhammad Ali comment
By 2015, the legendary Muhammad Ali was approaching his final days after a lengthy battle with Parkinsons disease. But despite the reverence with which he was held by all in the boxing world, the brash Mayweather reckoned he was the greatest of all time, even above the icon.
This enraged Tyson, who was interviewed by UK RBGs at the time, and gave a legendary response. “He’s very delusional,” he said. “If he was anywhere near that realm of greater than Ali, he’d be able to take his kids to school by himself.
“He can’t take his kids to school by himself and he’s talking about he’s great? Greatness is not guarding yourself from the people, greatness is being accepted by the people, he can’t take his kids alone to school by himself. He’s a little scared man, he’s a very small, scared man.”
In the years since, Mayweather’s stance on the issue hasn’t changed. He believes his impressive 50-0 record, which also saw him never take any major punishment in a fight, makes him the all-time best, ahead of an Ali that he feels may be overrated due to his activism outside the ring.
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