DAVID HAYE has ranked Mike Tyson among his top five heavyweights, but this is due to questions about his mental strength.
Haye, a former champion in two divisions, was talking about the 1988 match between Tyson and Michael Spinks by a 91 second knockout.
Iron Mike, 41 years old, believes that Iron Mike's inability overcome adversity during fights he lost is the reason he doesn't consider him one of the five greatest heavyweights.
Haye spoke to the BBC's Costello and Bonce podcast, "How many fights did Haye have when he was behind in points?" The question is: Where did he get hurt, put down and come back?
"When he began to lose weight or when it got tough, it seemed that things would turn the other direction.
"Many fighters, Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, they all have had tough fights, where they were on the verge of losing, and they found a way out to win. I've never seen anything like that with Tyson.
"It's hard to say someone is in the top five if they have never lost a fight and come back to win."
Tyson, 55 years old, is still the youngest heavyweight champion after he defeated Trevor Berbick in 1986. However, he did this after his mentor Cus Da'Amato died, leaving Kevin Rooney to take him down.
After succumbing to distractions, the American lost the fight in Tokyo four years later.
Tyson was convicted in 1992 of rape and sentenced to three years imprisonment. He would return to boxing in 1995.
In 1996, he won the world title again but lost to Evander Holyfield the following year. He also famously bit Evander's ear in their rematch one year later.
After losing to Kevin McBride in 2005, the knockout artist retired. He left the sport with a record 50-6. However, he shocked fans by announcing plans for a comeback in order to fight in charity exhibition bouts.
He returned to the ring last year when he faced Roy Jones Jr.
Haye claims that if Haye was properly guided throughout his career, he would have been one of the greatest heavyweights ever.
He said, "If he had the same team that got him in that shape and continued having the fights that helped him get there, he'd have grown and become a better fighter."
"If he is 21 there, he is a baby boxing terms. He was going to get better every fight. He reached his peak at 21. But he didn't get any better. Every fight he lost was worse.
He did less training, sparring, had less discipline and was more generous with his money. He lost more and more.
"If he didn’t fall off and had Rooney as his teammate and a support system, people looking after him, investing correctly, looking out to him, he could have been No1 without any doubt."
Tyson believes that he convinced Lennox Lewis, despite them being 111 years apart.
These two men first met 20 years ago. They had a heated, infamous build up to their big-ticket fight.
