Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champion with a 50-6 record and 44 knockouts, offered a bold take on boxing in a May 2025 Ring Magazine interview. The 58-year-old, known as Iron Mike, held the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1987 to 1990 and became the youngest heavyweight champion at 20 in 1986. He explained that some fighters excel in chaotic situations while others struggle, drawing from his own experience in the ring.
Why Tyson Sees Fighting Friends as True Friendship
Tyson, who earned $20 million in a unanimous decision loss to Jake Paul on November 15 2024 at AT&T Stadium in Texas, stressed boxing’s business nature.
“Sometimes the challenge is the draw, you know?” he told Ring Magazine. “It’s all about business. You can’t look at this business like, ‘I’m a boxer. I’m the toughest guy. I’m gonna kick everybody’s [butt].’ That sounds good. That’s what they wanna hear. But the idea of the game is to get as many fights as you can. Win, lose. Get as many of the big fights as you can, and then call it a day. That’s what fighting is about, the business.” h/t MMAMania
He rejected avoiding fights with friends.
“If you’re my friend, you’re champion of the same weight, then say, ‘I don’t wanna fight him, he’s my friend.’ That’s bulls—t!” he said. “You gotta fight your friend, we’ll both make money, help our family. So when he said I can’t fight my homeboy, he’s not your homeboy if you can’t fight him. Being his homeboy is helping him to make money, take care of his family. That’s my homeboy.”
He prioritized family over loyalty.
“So you love him. That’s your friend. Do you love him more than you love your baby?” Tyson asked. “Because fighting him gonna help your babies. So now he’s my friend. I can’t do it … This is fighting. We boxed before, we sparred many times. You know what I mean? Whatever it is, help our family, whatever it is. My family, that’s my ego.”
Tyson also shared his chaos philosophy.
“Well, certain people, some people are controlled in chaos,” he said. “That’s their calmness, chaos. And certain people are confused by it. Depends on the individual. I love chaos.”
His insights stem from a career with 11 world title wins.
