Tag: Iron Mike

Mike Tyson has speed, power of someone 21, 22? C’mon

The trainer holding the mitts in a viral video of Mike Tyson said Iron Mike has the speed and power of a man 21 or 22 years old.

This Mike Tyson thing is officially out of control.

A viral video of Tyson hitting the mitts prompted some to suggest the 53-year-old former heavyweight champ could take over the division today even though he looked horrible against journeymen in his last few fights 15 years ago.

Now, the trainer holding the mitts in the video, Rafael Cordeiro, threw gas on the fire by telling ESPN that Iron Mike has the boxing tools of a much younger man.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Cordeiro said Monday. “He hasn’t hit mitts for almost 10 years. So I didn’t expect to see what I saw. I saw a guy with the same speed, same power as guys 21, 22 years old.”

Tyson had said recently that he is on a health kick and feels better than he has in years.

Evidently, boxing workouts are part of his regimen. Cordeiro said he has been working with Tyson for three weeks in sessions that range from 60 to 90 minutes. Tyson also has been working with a conditioning coach.

His fitness level evidently led him to suggest he might take part in exhibitions for charities. Cordeiro went a step further, suggesting Tyson could return to competitive boxing with six months of training.

“It’s not a joke,” Cordeiro said.

If Tyson were to return, the joke – a bad joke – would be on him. It’s one thing to hit mitts in the gym. It’s another to have a big, young heavyweight with perfect reflexes firing powerful shots back at you.

And, of course, Tyson knows that. The guess here is that he might do a few exhibitions to help others and that’s it. At least I hope so.

 

 

 

Mike Tyson shows he still has a little something left at 53

Mike Tyson, 53, demonstrated in a video he posted on Twitter that he still has some of the speed and ferocity that made him a success.

Mike Tyson didn’t look like a boxer who hadn’t fought in 15 years in the Twitter video he posted on Friday.

Of course, this was a strategic clip; it was just five seconds long. Tyson is 53, and no one, not even George Foreman, can completely defy age. Plus, Tyson was promoting the “Bad Boys for Life” movie that’s now available on Blu-Ray.

Then again, Iron Mike says he wants to get back into the ring to fight for charity, and, well, his hands looked kind of fast … and still powerful. Maybe this wasn’t the only highlight.

Is Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) capable of doing more than just charity work? Could he slug it out with Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and his namesake Tyson Fury, perhaps? That would be a huge stretch. But considering Tyson’s power and straightforward attack, he might just want to charge and throw for as long as he can.

And if he’s throwing like that as a literal graybeard, well …