What’s behind Mike Tyson’s 20-year feud with Floyd Mayweather?

Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather are at loggerheads once again.

The two boxing legends have struggled to see eye-to-eye — building up a feud that’s lasted 20 years.

And now Tyson, 54, has slammed 43-year-old Mayweather’s view that there are too many belts in the sport and that “everybody’s a champion”.

Iron Mike believes that because there are more belts on offer, fighters have a better opportunity at making larger sums of cash.

“Boxing never has too many belts because every time it’s a championship fight, it’s more money for the fighter,” Tyson reportedly said.

“There’s never enough belts, you know?

“To say there’s one champion and there’s 10 guys, how long will it take for the champion to fight the 10 guys?

“Plus they gotta go through each other … it’s good to have three champions because then everybody can get paid … everybody makes money.

“That’s what this business is about. Money.”

As The Sun explains, it’s not the first time these two have had a difference of opinion.

MUTUAL RESPECT UNTIL 2001

Up until 2001, the two were believed to be friends — with a relationship formed on their mutual respect for one another.

Mayweather’s career was just starting to take off as Tyson’s was beginning to wind down, and there was never any boxing rivalry being in two different weight divisions.

However, their bromance officially ended when a report claimed Mayweather played a role in a police raid at Tyson’s Las Vegas home, after he was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman.

It was alleged that Mayweather was upset with Tyson seeing the girl in question, and he told her to go to the police and make the unsubstantiated claims.

The police then descended upon Tyson’s pad, which ended the friendship there and then.

Tyson has even spoken about the incident to Boxing Junkie in the past saying: “Some serious people said it.”

However, he has never been able to find evidence that suggests Mayweather was behind it.

“I’m good with it now … You can forgive, but you have to remember,” he added.

‘I’M THE GREATEST’

Back in 2015, Mayweather claimed he was the greatest boxer in history.

With an undefeated record, it’s hard to argue the case.

But Tyson wasn’t having it — and didn’t mince his words when he heard Mayweather’s boast about himself.

“He’s very delusional,” Tyson said. “Listen, if he was anywhere near that realm of great as Muhammad Ali, he’d be able to take his kids to school by himself.

“OK, he can’t take his kids to school by himself, and he’s talking about he’s great?

“Greatness is not guarding yourself from the people. It’s being accepted by the people.

“He can’t take his kids alone to school by himself. He’s a little scared man. He’s a very small, scared man.”

TYSON BACKS HIMSELF

Despite Mayweather’s bold statement, Tyson believes he could batter “Money”.

GQ once asked the former heavyweight champion who would win in a street fight between the pair and Tyson was unequivocal with his response.

“(I would) kick Floyd’s a*** … there wouldn’t even be no match,” he said.

And in an interview with ShoBox, the same question was asked — this time the setting being a ring. But Tyson admitted he’d have to fight dirty.

“We can never fight, of course, because of the weight difference, but I wouldn’t fight him the way they fought him,” he said.

“I would be mean, I would be dirty. Because you’d have to do everything to fight him because he’s just so good.

“It’s impossible to fight him clean. It’s almost impossible to fight him clean. You can’t fight him clean. You can’t fight this guy clean.”
 

A HUG AND A JOKE?

In 2014, Tyson and Mayweather’s paths crossed at a WBC convention at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Onlookers expected fireworks as Tyson made his way down the line, shaking hands with all until he was faced with Mayweather.

Floyd, to his credit, extended his arm. However, instead of accepting it, Tyson threw a pretend right hook inches from Mayweather’s torso before giving him a hug.

Mayweather didn’t flinch from Tyson’s swing, and bubbling underneath the surface was perhaps some resentment towards one another.

But only they will know that.

This article first appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission