Mike Tyson prefers watching Manny Pacquiao over Floyd Mayweather

In a recent interview with Max Kellerman for ESPN’s Sports Nation, Mike Tyson revealed that among all the current fighters in boxing, he enjoys watching Manny Pacquiao the most.

In the segment called 10 Questions, Tyson was asked which contemporary fighter did he enjoy watching most. “Out of the big time fighters right now?” asked Tyson to clarify the question. “Pacquiao looked sensational in his last fight (against Rios),” he then answered.

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“No fighter, in the years I have witnessed, looked more sensational than Pacquiao looked the other night,” Tyson continued. “Name a fighter that looked more sensational than Pacquiao the other night.”

The show’s co-host Marcellus Wiley then brought up Floyd Mayweather’s name into the discussion but Tyson quickly and rather strongly rebuffed the opinion.

“That’s shows you’re a neophyte in boxing. You don’t know much about boxing,” Tyson countered. “No one said who was better. I said there’s nobody in boxing who looked as sensational as Pacquiao looked against Rios,” he added, clarifying that the his choice was entirely based on who he wanted to watch, not who was the better boxer.

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Kellerman then mentioned the up-and-coming Gennady Golovkin but he too fell short in Tyson's standards. “That guy doesn’t do the moves Pacquiao does,” explained Tyson.

The former heavyweight champion then continued his positive assessment of Pacquiao's performance against Rios. “It was masterful; the side movements. He threw a lot of punches and Rios couldn’t get a punch off,” Tyson shared.

He also noticed the difference in Pacquiao’s boxing as he transitioned into being a better boxer. “He was like Willie Pep,” Tyson said, comparing Pacquiao with one of the best fighters to ever lace up gloves. “It was brilliant. It was really brilliant.”

Pacquiao still has not announced an opponent for his April fight in Las Vegas and although the boxing world still yearns for a battle between the Filipino congressman and Mayweather, the chances of that happening are slim at best.