By Edward Chaykovsky
Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson believes Wladimir Klitschko was plagued by personal issues in the lead-up to last November's defense against Tyson Fury.
After a decade of domination, Fury pulled off the upset of the year with a twelve round unanimous decision victory to capture Klitschko's IBO/IBF/WBO/WBA world titles.
Klitschko barely threw any punches in the contest and looked like a shadow of his fearsome self. Tyson had his share of issues with women. He had a very rocky marriage (and divorce) with actress Robin Givens, which many experts felt was a factor in his loss to Buster Douglas.
"Klitschko just had a baby, married that Hollywood actress [Hayden Panettierre] and she went through all that postpartum stuff. And you know, women can screw you up. Love is a form of insanity, dude. He didn't throw two hard punches the whole fight. This is a great fighter. You can be the greatest of the great, and then you can really suck at times," Tyson told Maxim Magazine.
There will be an immediate rematch in the coming months. If an when it comes together, Tyson feels Klitschko - if he lets his hands go - will come away with the victory.
"I can’t see Klitschko losing that rematch. I don't think nobody out there can beat him if he's actually fighting," Tyson said.
But Tyson also feels Klitschko, now 40-years-old, should retire before he gets hurt in the ring. Tyson sees no reason for Klitschko, who is very financially secure, to continue fighting.
"Let's keep it real. He’s tired. He’s been fighting his whole life. This guy is a scholar. Why don't he stop? He got the money. But you can’t tell a fighter when to stop. He should retire before he starts getting hurt. Leave that sh*t alone," Tyson said.
Tyson does have a soft-spot for Fury.
Fury's father named him after the fearsome former champion from Brooklyn.
"I love it. This is what I like: the heavyweight champion of the world is named after me. I like that a lot. I don’t care if he’s a bum. I like that a lot. Listen, check this out: He beat the most feared heavyweight in 15 years, so let’s just say what it is. A lot of guys that were really, really good couldn't beat Klitschko," Tyson said.
