Mike Tyson predicts we will see more MMA vs. boxing crossover fights

Boxing legend Mike Tyson predicts that we will see more MMA vs. boxing crossover bouts in the future, including potentially with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Tyson recently spoke to The Sportsman and gave a fascinating interviewing answering questions about a wide variety of topics. Many of the topics included Tyson’s own boxing career, but he was also asked about the possibility of MMA vs. boxing crossover bouts.

The interviewer asked Tyson if, based on Mayweather fighting Conor McGregor, we will see more boxers take on MMA fighters in the future and Tyson said he believes that will happen.

“I think that’s pretty awesome! He was the first to do that. I like that. It’s going to happen more, absolutely. I don’t know how well we would’ve done fighting them – it always depends on under which rules you’re fighting,” Tyson said.

As Tyson says, whether an MMA fighter or a boxer would be favored to win a particular fight depends very much on the ruleset. As we saw when Mayweather boxed McGregor in the summer of 2017, a boxer would have a huge advantage in a match housed between the ropes.

In an MMA match, though, of course you would have to favor the MMA fighter just due to the grappling element of a fight. If Mayweather took on McGregor in an MMA fight instead, the outcome likely would have been very much different.

Many people have wondered how Tyson would have fared had he taken the MMA route in his career. He was one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time and likely would have done very well in MMA especially in the early days. But as the sport has evolved it’s clear that more than just boxing is necessary to be a champion at the highest level of MMA.

Do you agree with Mike Tyson and believe we will see more MMA vs. boxing crossover bouts in the future?