Mike Tyson has picked his five favourite modern day boxers but omitted WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua from the list.
AJ’s heavyweight rivals Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder both got a mention after their dramatic pair of WBC title bouts, which saw the first fight end in a split draw and the second end in a dominant seventh round TKO for the Gypsy King.
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Andy Ruiz Jr, who beat Joshua in June 2019 and then lost to him later that year in December, was also picked by the Baddest Man on the Planet.
Tyson rounded off his picks with Vasyl Lomachenko and Floyd Mayweather ‘s protégé Gervonta Davis.
Speaking on his podcast Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson the former undisputed heavyweight king said: “I respect Tyson Fury, I respect Deontay Wilder, I respect all of those guys.
“Andy Ruiz also, this guy named [Vasyl] Lomachenko – he’s a f***ing animal, man. He’s a master, it’s like he’s dancing.
“There’s also Gervonta Davis, there’s quite a few guys that are good fighters.”
Tyson also bemoaned the current state of boxing, blaming promoters for denying fans the blockbuster fights they want to see most.
“The situation is whether they will fight each other”, he added. “Promoters are not allowing them to fight each other. I’d love to see them fight each other but the promoters don’t want to do it.
“It [boxing] is very political now. That’s why I think in the next couple months or so you’re going to find that there are some new players in the game and it’s going to get really serious.”
Despite snubbing AJ from his top five, Tyson was full of praise for the Brit when asked about him last month, saying: “He’s really clean, he really looks clean, he’s a clean guy, he’s a clean fighter, he’s a good puncher.
“You just wish the best for him. I don’t know. My ego says, ‘nobody would beat you’ – but you look at him and… he just looks beautiful.
“He just looks like a fighter, you know? He looks like he was born to do what he has to do. He needs more experience of course, but that will come in life.”