Mike Tyson is 54, but has the physique that belies his age and has caused a stir since deciding to the ring.
Most men in their 50s are far from peak condition, but the former heavyweight world champion has shown age is simply a number as he prepares for his comeback.
Tyson’s training videos posted on social media show his ripped physique along with that fearsome speed and power that made him a devastating boxer. Roy Jones Jr, the man stepping into face him, referred to the pair are ‘freaks’ for the way the look.
Tyson’s quick rise as a feared and talented youngster was rewarded with the heavyweight world title at the age of 20 in 1986.
He won his first 19 fights by knockout, 12 of those in the first round. He did not taste defeat until his 38th fight when he was beaten by Buster Douglas in 1990.
Iron Mike’s life went off the rails and he spent a number of years in prison following a rape conviction, bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear in one fight and tested positive for cannabis in 2000.
He retired in 2005 with a final professional record of 50-6 and admitted to being a regular drug user while his weight ballooned to 27 stone.
Things changed in 2010, though, and he turned to a vegan diet to help him shed weight – and was still something he followed until he began training like an animal again.
“I’m really happy with everything I’ve been doing, it’s down to confidence and self affirmation.
“It’s amazing, I’m just ready to do this. I can’t explain it in words.
“I’m going to go as long as this is working. My legend is going to be that I gave a lot more than I took.”
And he is not the only former athlete in his 50s rolling back the years and looking in incredible shape for their age…
Roy Jones Jr
“Ya’ll Must’ve Forgot,” is presumably what he’d say if you question whether or not he’s ready to get in the ring with Tyson.
Considered one of the best boxers of all time, the 51-year-old was ready to rumble in September until his date with his fellow legend was pushed back.
Judging by his social media channels, he has lost none of the speed that made him so devastating and helped him win world titles in four weight classes – from middleweight to heavyweight. The complete boxer is still in complete shape.
Evander Holyfield
Not to be outdone by his old adversary, Holyfield, 58, also announced his return to boxing earlier this year.
The Real Deal, who beat Tyson twice in the 1990s, posted a video of him in the gym and signed off with ‘I’m back’ much like former adversary did.
He reigned as the undisputed world champion at cruiserweight in the 1980s before going on to do the same in the heavyweight division in the 1990s.
Holyfield continued to box well into his 40s with his last bout coming in 2011, while he was 48, when he beat Brian Neilsen.
It looks like he has been keeping relatively fit over the last decade despite being retired.
The former heavyweight champion has also been posting some workout videos online since he announced his return.
Under one he wrote: “My first week back in the gym and I feel great. I’m looking forward to stepping up my training sessions and intensity as I prepare for my fight.”
Nigel Benn
The former middleweight and super-middleweight world champion intended to make a return to the boxing ring last year at the age of 55 – but had to abandon it through injury.
The Dark Destroyer was a formidable boxer during the 1980s and 1990s winning world titles in two weight classes and ending with a professional record of 42-5-1.
Benn hoped to add to that last year and was scheduled to fight fellow former world champion Sakio Bika in November before it was scrapped.
Benn, who is now 56, undertook a gruelling regime to get himself in shape and the results were evident.
Julio Cesar Chavez
The Mexican boxer, now 58, had an incredible career that spanned 25 years and was a world champion i
n three weight classes.
He boasts a professional record of 107 wins, six defeats and two draws and was ranked the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world from 1990 to 1993.
Chavez is widely considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time and holds a number of records for consecutive title defences (27), title fights (37) and title fight victories (31).
Despite retiring 15 years ago, he keeps himself in incredible shape and regularly posts pictures and videos to his Instagram page to prove this.
In March, he donned his gloves once again for an exhibition bout in front of 10,000 fans in Mexico to raise money for charity.
Ken Shamrock
The MMA and wrestling legend continues to defy the years both inside and outside of sport.
Shamrock is one of the greatest fighters in mixed-martial art history and one of the pioneers of the sport.
He made his debut in 1993 and was still fighting back in 2016 when he was 51! You wouldn’t know it based on this picture he posted on Twitter back in 2015.
He deservedly has his place in the UFC Hall of Fame for all he has done for the sport.
The 56-year-old also had a successful wrestling career and worked with some of the best in WWE history like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.
Shamrock is now a bare-knuckle boxing promoter while also keeping in incredible shape himself.
Last year, he told talkSPORT about how taking a year off helped him.
He said: “I recently took a year off and let my body rest and it responded well. I’m 55 and have been training since I was a teenager, preparing for competition and never really letting my body heal and rest.”
It looks like that paid off and he is in as good a shape as he’s ever been.
Chuck Liddell
The 50-year-old is another legend of the MMA world and was a pioneer of the sport back in the 1990s and 2000s.
Liddell won the UFC’s light heavyweight championship in 2005 and made four successful title defences.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame four years later and ended with a MMA record of 21-9.
The last of those fights came in November 2018, shortly before his 49th birthday, when he lost to Tito Ortiz.
He admitted to feeling like the grandpa of the sport before the fight, although not many grandpas look like he did.
Triple H
The WWE legend is now 51 and is arguably one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is a 14-time world champion.
He was a major figure during the WWE’s Attitude era in the 1990s and has been a cornerstone of the company.
