“No Steroids Back Then” – 35 Years Since Getting Revenge for Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson’s KO of Larry Holmes Still Amazes Joe Rogan

If there is one person that Joe Rogan loves to talk about, it has to be Mike Tyson. The former boxing sensation has himself made several appearances on the UFC commentator’s podcast. But even when he is not around, ‘Iron’ is possibly the favorite topic for the stand-up comedian to talk about.

On many previous occasions, the podcaster has talked about how intimidating the boxer was in his prime, from his physique to his actual boxing skills. Just everything about the youngest undisputed champion in the history of heavyweight boxing was ‘scary’. And once again, in his typical fashion, Joe Rogan recently recalled an incident that took place more than three decades ago.

Joe Rogan recalls Mike Tyson’s fight with former boxing legend

In the latest episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, Mike Tyson sat down with rapper Killer Mike. In the typical JRE flow, the two discussed a variety of topics, one of those being Kobe Bryant‘s legacy in the sport of basketball. Talking about the widely regarded GOAT, Killer Mike talked about how many people just wanted to see Michael Jordan as the ‘God’. But Bryant wanted to surpass him, comparing the former Lakers star to Greek legend Hercules and Jordan to Zeus. It was at this point that Joe Rogan brought up Mike Tyson.

Comparing the former heavyweight star to Michael Jordan, Rogan reflected on his thoughts about how Tyson defined an entire era of boxing. Continuing with the topic, the two ended up talking about his clash with Larry Holmes. The fight, which saw Ali as a spectator, is widely considered the young prodigy’s greatest performance.

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The ‘Easton Assassin,’ on the other hand, was 38 going into the fight. Coming after back-to-back losses to Michael Spinks, Holmes was way past his prime. Considering the lack of options available for older fighters to recover from training, he wasn’t in the best shape going into the fight. In Rogan’s own words:

“Okay, yeah, he’s thirty-eight years old at the time, and he’s also, you know, no steroids back then. You have anything like there’s you have peptides. Guys didn’t know how to recover like they know how to recover now when you’re that age, you’re kind of done.”

Mike Tyson’s retribution for Muhammad Ali

Holmes is widely regarded as one of the most dominant boxers in the history of the heavyweight division. The Pennsylvania native captured the title from Ken Norton in 1978, maintaining a solid grip as he went on to defend his strap several times. According to many, his loss to Tyson wasn’t just about himself. Allegedly, this was also retribution for boxing legend Muhammad Ali. For those unaware, Holmes was a sparring partner to Ali. But as the ‘greatest’s health deteriorated, Holmes rose in the rankings.

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The two would eventually face each other in a one-sided battle, with Holmes putting a brutal beating on Ali. Six years later, Muhammad Ali joined the clash between the two as a spectator. According to many, he told Tyson to ‘destroy’ his former rival, a command which Tyson executed in his signature fashion. This was something similar to what happened with Ali’s other sparring partner, Trevor Berbick, two years earlier. Interestingly, Ali had a similar history with Berbick, who also happens to be the final opponent of his boxing career. Mike Tyson beat the Jamaican to win his heavyweight strap, something which he admits to doing for avenging Ali.