BoxingInsider: Having fought the Mike Tyson of 1988, what were thinking seeing the Tyson of 2005?

Larry Holmes: Watching the Mike Tyson of 2005 fighting guys everybody thinks he should beat, but you got to remember one thing: Mike Tyson is a dollar for the people who promote him. People who don’t promote him don’t give a damn about Mike Tyson. What happened is, Mike Tyson was overmatched for the third time. The reason why I’m saying that is because he had a whole year off each time he fought and he goes in there to fight [McBride] who may not be good, but he’s strong. And he could take a punch. Mike Tyson didn’t have the stamina to go the distance and he ran out of gas. By him running out of gas the guy was ready to take advantage of him. It ain’t that these guys are so good or Mike Tyson is so bad, it’s just that they didn’t give Mike Tyson enough time to get ready for the fight. So that’s what I say and that’s what I stand by. It comes down to poor management of the fighter. A manager wants his product to win, so he goes out and gets a lesser product so Mike Tyson can knock the guy out. But no, they get him the toughest product. This guy may have a record of 33 wins and 4 losses. Those four losses don’t mean the guy can’t fight. Besides, Mike Tyson’s only five-foot-ten, eleven. Why fight a guy whose 6’7”, 280 pounds? Give me a break!