Joe Rogan Says Mike Tyson Would Run Through Boxing Legend Who Muhammad Ali Dubbed ‘The Toughest’

A lot of fans were happy to see Mike Tyson enjoying himself as the Times Square ‘Fatal Fury‘ unfolded last Friday. Many were concerned as the boxing great returned to face his 59th opponent, Jake Paul, last November. Had it been a prime Mike Tyson, no one would have raised their voice. But a 58-year-old warrior depicts a surreal plotline. At his peak, Tyson was a beast no one would mess with, even in their dreams.

And Joe Rogan was bang on spot when he acknowledged Tyson’s acclaimed prowess. The UFC commentator didn’t miss a beat when he hypothesized what would have happened had Tyson faced someone like Rocky Marciano, who even the greatest of all, Muhammad Ali, once called the toughest to beat. The discussion occurred in the latest episode of the ‘Joe Rogan Experience.‘ Rogan was having an in-depth talk with Cameron Hanes, a bowhunter and marathoner who boasts nearly 2 million followers on social media.

Mike Tyson reigns supreme

The duo converged on the Marciano story when Hanes mentioned his five-mile race. So speaking about an old training video of Marciano, Rogan said, “It was 7 days a week he would spar sometimes 30 or 40 rounds in a day. He would run 10 miles in the morning and then five more miles at night, and then he would swim two miles in the lake. He would swim across the lake and then back, and then he would get up in the morning and do it all over again, and he never took days off.”

/OLD BAILEY/ PIC SHOWS- BOXER MIKE TYSO /OLD BAILEY/ PIC SHOWS- BOXER MIKE TYSON AT A TRAINING SESSION AT THE GROSVENOR HOUSE HOTEL LONDON, TODAY 25/1/00., Credit:HAYDN WEST / Avalon Great Britain PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUKxFRAxUSA Copyright: xHAYDNxWESTx/xAvalonx 0501840736

The duo reflected on why stories like Marciano’s are inspiring. What struck them most was that by modern standards, standing about 5’10” and 188–192 lbs. in his prime, Rocky Marciano was a small heavyweight. The point invariably drew a comparison. Marciano fought and defeated an out-of-prime Joe Louis at Madison Square Garden. Now, one may treat it as an outlier. However, it’s hard to conjure. Despite weighing less, Marciano fought some of the biggest names of the era.

Because things would have been different had he fought modern-day heavyweights. Someone like Mike Tyson or Tyson Fury. “Like everybody talks about Rocky Marciano. Rocky Marciano is great. Mike Tyson would have went through him like a f**king train through a flock of sheep,” Rogan said before adding, “It’s a different world. Rocky at his heaviest weighed 192. Okay, he fought seven boxers who weighed more than 200 lb., but people weren’t that big back then.”

Notably, even a prime Tyson wasn’t much bigger either. Weighing 220 pounds and standing five feet and ten inches, he shared Rocky Marciano’s height.

A tough call for Muhammad Ali too

Now, Joe Rogan may have drawn an innocuous analogy. Rocky Marciano is no more, and Mike Tyson, despite his return last year, is a retired boxer who’s nearing sixty. But back in the day, when probably Marciano was still around, though not boxing (he retired in 1955), even Muhammad Ali had to admit how it would have been tough had he been matched up against Marciano.

During a talk show, legendary boxing journalist, the late Alan Hubbard, who was the editor of Sportsworld Magazine, asked Ali, “If you could pick any heavyweight champion in history, say from Marciano, Joe Louis back to Jack Johnson, or even John L. Sullivan, who do you think would have given you the toughest fight of them?”

PALUPI Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay in the boxing ring standing over Sonny Liston 1965 PUBLICATIONxINxAUSxGERxSUIxONLY Copyright: xTopFotox Sp000451

So ‘The Greatest’ replied, “The toughest fight would be the man who’s the hardest to knock out, whether he’s got a style, and a fellow who had no style, just a bull, was Rocky Marciano. He would be the most trouble, I think.” According to Ali, he would have taken down Joe Louis and many others because they were primarily skilled boxers. He could have outboxed them. But Marciano was a whole different ball game. “Marciano just kept coming; he hurt your arms; he could take everything,” Ali reflected. And it is true. He was indeed a brawler of the toughest kind.

What’s your take on Rogan’s observations on Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano? Do you agree with it?

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