Mike Tyson insists he would “never go against” one man if Oleksandr Usyk and David Benavidez were to collide at heavyweight.
Admittedly, it seems unlikely that the pair will ever square off, especially now that Usyk has vacated his world titles and announced he has one fight left.
Instead, the Ukrainian has expressed an interest in facing Deontay Wilder, the former WBC titleholder, in order to complete a trilogy of wins over his generation’s flagship heavyweights.
With two respective victories over Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, though, the 39-year-old has already cemented himself as the greatest heavyweight of his era.
Benavidez, meanwhile, has promised to follow in Usyk’s footsteps and eventually move up to heavyweight, perhaps even with the same ambition to become a two-division undisputed champion.
While this may seem like a slim possibility, the 29-year-old appears to be closing in on a three-belt unification match with WBC champion Noel Mikaelian.
Victory would therefore put him on the cusp of an undisputed showdown at 200lbs, before the ‘Mexican Monster’ chases even greater challenges at heavyweight.
As a fierce admirer of the three-weight world champion, Tyson has told Ring Magazine that he would back Benavidez against any fighter, including Usyk.
“That [would be] beautiful. Usyk is not a big heavyweight; he’s a cruiserweight that’s fast and smooth.
“[He] has fast hands, just like Benavidez. I think Benavidez punches more than Usyk; he throws more punches.
“I love Benavidez – I’m never going to go against him.”
While a move up to heavyweight seems inevitable, Benavidez is still acclimating to 200lbs after dethroning Gilberto Ramirez with a sixth-round stoppage in May.
