Although it could not happen in reality, the script of a fantasy match between Mike Tyson and Ly Tieu Long always attracted martial arts fans.
Mike Tyson, the youngest, “steel puncher” with 44 knock-out wins over a total of 50 matches. He is famous for his unbelievable punches that has dominated the heavyweight English village for many years, honored by the ESPN as the most horrible puncher in history.
As a true monster on the arena, it also had experience rolling between the chaos and instability of the Brooklyn area, New York, which can be trusted that Mike Tyson's real level of real battle is no less.
Compared to Mike Tyson, Ly Tieu Long's true power in a real battle is still what makes people suspicious. There is almost no image of Ly Tieu Long's actual battles. The official recorded records of Li Xiaoping are also not certified, but seems to be more rumored than reality.
That does not make Mike Tyson give little respect to Ly Tieu Long.
“I always admire Ly Tieu Long's fighting philosophy,” Mike Tyson said in an interview in 2017, describing Ly Tieu Long “as dangerous as an assassin.”
“Before my best attacks, a person like Li Xiaoping would be able to fight with less injury, more excellent counterattack. Bruce's fighting philosophy was a kind of philosophy that went to the end of antagonist martial arts.
However, he did not think that the technical advantage, or the speed of Li Xiaoping could really work when the two of them competed in a real battle match.
“It is likely that Li Xiaoping will beat me in a fictional world, but this is hard to happen in the real world,” Mike Tyson shared his judgment in another interview with Ariel Helwani in 2019.
“Just imagine me fighting Floyd Mayweather. Floyd also weighs 61kg like Ly Tieu Long. Otherwise, with something they Davis … Yes, Gervonta Davis. He has the best skill in the world. Let them fight me.”
“The fact that I assert that I will win is not my arrogance or I am despising Ly Tieu Long, I am not. But the important thing is that my body advantage is too big, too big compared to anyone of the people we have just mentioned above.”
In terms of bodybuilding, Ly Tieu Long with a height of 1m72 and a weight of 61kg too “thin” compared to a Mike Tyson 1m78 tall weighing 109kg. More than 40kg of muscle difference not only creates a “armor” with muscles, but Ly Tieu Long can hardly punch, but at the same time, because the hip rotation force combined with the giant weight, Mike Tyson's punch will also be much heavier than Ly Tieu Long.
That is probably enough for Mike Tyson to be confident in his victory in a real battle with Ly Tieu Long.