Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has had his say on who he thinks is one of the best active boxers on the planet, a man who he believes tops even the great Manny Pacquiao.

Tyson is currently in camp for his controversial return to the ring against Jake Paul in November. It takes place five months after it was originally scheduled due to an ulcer flare-up for the former undisputed heavyweight champion, who will be almost 30 years older than his opponent when the first bell rings.

Despite his long time away from the pro game, ‘Iron Mike’ has kept a keen eye on the sport and shared his appreciation for super-bantamweight ruler and multi-weight world champion Naoya Inoue on his podcast, even claiming he was ‘better’ than the great Filipino fighter Pacquiao.

“Hey look at this young fighter called the Monster. Japanese fighter. He’s a mean son of a b***h at 118 pounds, he’s a bad motherf****r, he don’t look like much [but] he’s better than Manny Pacquiao man. He’s vicious. A monster.”

While watching Inoue beat Nonito Donaire back in 2019, Tyson lavished further praise on the unbeaten Japanese champion.

“That’s a badass guy he beat too. He broke him down.”

The now 31-year-old Inoue – who has also been praised by Pacquiao – is an efficient hunting machine when he enters the ring. He has beaten 24 of his 27 opponents by knockout and is the current undisputed super bantamweight king having also been undisputed down at bantamweight as well as holding titles at super flyweight and light flyweight.

At this stage, Inoue is often considered to be the very best pound-for-pound star on the planet. He is next out to defend against TJ Doheny on September 3 at Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, Japan.