José Ribalta, rival who hit Mike Tyson the hardest, about the North American boxer: “I saw him doing things he shouldn’t have”

Mike Tyson confessed — during an interview in 2014 — that the strongest rival he faced was José Ribalta in 1986 at the Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City in the United States. The referee ended the fight in the tenth round after the American boxer’s continuous blows on his opponent.

After seven years of the revelation of the popular ‘Iron Mike’, the Cuban boxer recalled that he was 23 years old when he starred in this fight, which he had reached after adding 22 wins (17 by KO), four defeats and a draw. “I was the one who gave him the most blows to his abdomen and body”, he mentioned during a conversation with Infobae.

In addition, he recalled that after the duel, ‘Kid Dynamite’ congratulated him. “He was strong and fast. Yes, I felt his blows a lot. (…) He told me, ‘you can hold Ribalta’. It’s that I got up quickly when I lay down ”, mentioned.

Although he lost, the Cuban boxer gained a lot of popularity in the fight so he kept the same level. In 1990, he had the opportunity to fight again against Tyson, however, that confrontation was not organized.

“We were going to do a rematch with Tyson, but Don King was the one who got in the way and put (James) Buster Douglas on. He thought Mike was going to knock him out, but he was wrong, because (Douglas) was training hard for that fight. “, he pointed. ‘Kid Dynamite’ lost that duel by KO.

When asked about the extra-sports life of his American colleague, he mentioned. “I saw him doing things that he didn’t have to be doing”. Although, he did not specifically state whether his statements were linked to drugs or alcohol. However, as is known, Tyson has stated on several occasions that he was addicted to illicit substances.

José Ribalta does not lose hope of his dream rematch and asked Mike for a new fight. “Tyson, you are afraid of me, why are you scared? Come on, let’s do it, let’s have a fight, don’t be afraid ”, he mentioned.