Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield all fought each other throughout their illustrious careers.

Lennox Lewis says Evander Holyfield proved to be the toughest opponent of his legendary career, snubbing the challenge that Mike Tyson posed. Lewis beat both Holyfield and Tyson, while the latter failed to beat either of his rivals.

Lewis fought Holyfield twice, with the first ending in a controversial draw as most thought the Brit won comfortably.

He beat Holyfield in the second fight on points, however, in what was a gruelling battle.

And Lewis says that Holyfield’s amateur pedigree as a fighter is what turned him into the toughest fighter to face.

“People seem to be genuinely surprised when I tell them (Holyfield) was my toughest opponent, not to be confused with my toughest fight, which was (Ray) Mercer,” he said on Instagram.

“But when you really dive into why that is, it actually makes a lot of sense.

“Holyfield, like me, has an extensive amateur pedigree that has served him well throughout his professional career.

“He started boxing at eight years old and was an Olympic bronze medalist in 1984.

“Before he moved up to the heavyweight division, he’s a man that cleared out the cruiserweight division to become the undisputed champion, and arguably the best ever, in that weight class.

“That’s a lot of experience and it’s safe to say that by the time we met for the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1999, he had seen it all.

“When you combine Evander’s amateur and professional experience, you would be hard pressed not to see the kind of success he’s had in the ring.

“I may tease him a bit on our two fights, he knows I won both fights even though he won’t admit it.

“But in all seriousness, he’s the only man that has gone 24 rounds with me.”

Tyson famously bit Holyfield’s ear and was disqualified in their second fight, with the first bout ending in a TKO victory for The Real Deal.

Tyson then went on to fight Lewis in 2002 and got knocked out in the eighth round by his rival.

All three fighters were celebrated by the WBC in the ring before Tyson Fury’s February win over Deontay Wilder.

They each received medals for their outstanding careers in boxing.