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The coronavirus pandemic may have slowed the world to a halt, but it hasn’t stopped a former heavyweight champion from making headlines. Boxing legend Mike Tyson revealed last week that he’ll be back in a boxing ring again, and on Monday his new trainer told Ariel Helwani to “give 6 months to Mike, and he can come back and fight against anyone.”
Rafael Cordeiro, former MMA fighter and renowned striking coach, began training with Tyson three weeks ago and has been nothing but impressed since.
“As soon as we started training, I said, ‘My lord!’ I didn’t know what to expect from a guy that hasn’t hit mitts for almost 10 years,” Cordeiro said. “I didn’t expect to see what I saw. I saw a guy with same speed, same power as the guys with 21, 22 years old.”
Per Cordierio, Tyson is still as scary as ever throwing hands.
“The power is a different level,” Cordiero said. “I have trained a lot of heavyweights in my career…his right hook…can kill somebody.”
Another Viral Mike Tyson Training Video Coming Out Soon
Perhaps even more impressive is that Cordeiro told Helwani the viral video from last Friday is the first one and that another one is coming out soon that makes Tyson look even better.
“We have one more great one coming up,” said Cordeiro. “Yeah. Another great one. This other one was from [beginning] of our [training]. So we have another one with more power, and more speed and more everything.”
And when asked how it was holding mitts for someone like Tyson, Cordeiro says there was one moment when the champ threw a right hook and his life flashed before his eyes.
“When I hold mitts I like to hold close to my face … the first time I put over here I saw his right hook,” Cordeiro said. “I saw my life [flash before my eyes], my wife, my daughters, my dog. I see everything.”
When Helwani asked if Tyson was making a comeback, Cordeiro coyly responded, “I don’t know. But what I can tell you, if he wants to do something in the future, he wants to be ready to do that 100%…a guy with 53 years old, I can tell man, he can fight against anyone.”
You can watch Helwani’s entire interview with Cordeiro below.
Mike Tyson Told Rapper T.I. ‘I’m Going to Box’
This all started about a week ago when Tyson shockingly revealed to rapper T.I. on Instagram Live that the 53-year-old was training again with the hopes of maybe doing some exhibition bouts for charity.
“I want to go to the gym and get in shape to be able to box three- or four-round exhibitions for some charities and stuff,” Tyson said.
The champ went on to say that hitting the mitts was really hard and his body was sore. He detailed his workout regime saying that it included a 2-hour cardio session, weight training and mitt work.
When T.I. asked if his timing was there, Tyson responded, “No way. But I’m starting to put the combinations together.”
But when the world saw the boxing legend on the mitts last Friday it was clear that maybe the champ wasn’t altogether truthful.
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Tyson’s Training Clip Goes Viral
Following the news from his interview with T.I. that Tyson was going to box again, fans were treated to a video clip of Tyson hitting the mitts with his new trainer.
The 5-second video showed a fierce Tyson landing brutal punches, and it soon went viral.
In fact, Tyson looked so great, many are speculating if his preparations were really just for some exhibitions as the fighter previously suggested.
Perhaps, the former heavyweight champ is planning an actual comeback?
And many don’t think a comeback is outside the realm of possibility for the former heavyweight champ. In fact, one of his former trainers Jeff Fenech said, “Boxing’s not the same now. I’d guarantee that if Mike Tyson trained for six weeks, he’d knock [Deontay] Wilder out in a minute. He would hit them. If these guys are getting knocked out by Tyson Fury – who’s a great fighter, but not a huge puncher – Tyson would kill these guys.”
In less than a week, we’ve seen the champ on the mitts unleashing crazy power and two trainers express that they think the legend can still outperform any heavyweight out there.
Might Tyson become the oldest heavyweight champion of the world? For now, we’ll have to settle for short clips of the ferocious master at work.
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Twitter: @Kelsey_McCarson