Ahead of his return against Roy Jones Jr. next month, Mike Tyson’s trainer Rafael Cordeiro says that the former world heavyweight champion still has what it takes to cause trouble for Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
Tyson, 54, is poised to fight for the first time in 15 years next month when he takes on fellow legend Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout.
The impetus for Tyson’s comeback came after he posted a series of training videos to his Instagram page over the course of the summer that showed that very little of the ring icon’s trademark speed and power has deserted him, despite his advancing years.
The other man featured in those clips, Tyson’s trainer Cordeiro, says that his fighter doesn’t necessarily have to stop after his November 28 date with Jones Jr., and that he still has enough in his locker to cause problems for today’s heavyweight elite.
“I believe Mike can do it,” Cordeiro told TMZ Sports when asked if Tyson could beat Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
“He’s fighting every single day in the gym and I believe the best still to come. Why not? If one day he want to prove, he put his techniques to the test, why not [fight for] for the belt?”
Despite Cordeiro stating that he is training Tyson for 6-8 hours per day, it remains unlikely that he could ever be considered to fight a top level boxer again, let alone find himself in contention for a world heavyweight title shot.
Cordeiro – the man responsible for guiding the early careers of MMA champions such as Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva – appears serious about his forecast that Tyson could be a problem for the heavyweight division, saying that he has never seen a fighter of Tyson’s vintage perform as he has in training.
“He’s something different,” Cordeiro continued.
“I’ve never seen something like that before. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to train with a lot of champs for 32 years. But I’ve never trained anybody of his age [54] years old … man, he is impressive.
“He is sparring every single day in the gym. I believe the best is yet to come.”
