200,000 people watched a weird and wonderful simulation of a boxing tournament involving 8 iconic heavyweights

The World Boxing Super Series has catapulted many top fighters into stardom, including Oleksandr Usyk, Naoya Inoue, and Josh Taylor — all of whom are listed among Insider's 15 best boxers in the world right now.

Photos by Koki Nagaham / Ronny Hartmann / Stephen Pond / Getty Images

Source: Insider

Having created real-life boxing superstars, the WBSS turned to the virtual world to create a heavyweight Ali Trophy title winner. The bracket was set at the start of last week and featured fighters from the 1960s to the 2010s.

Photo by World Boxing Super Series/WBSS

The first quarterfinal saw Muhammad Ali defeat Evander Holyfield by knockout in the fifth round, before saying: "I'm young, I'm handsome, I'm fast. I can't possibly be beat. If you even dream of beating me, you'd better wake up and apologize!"

Photo by World Boxing Super Series/WBSS

In a fight in which both athletes were knocked to the floor, it was Joe Frazier who was able to rise from the deck and emerge triumphant, beating Lennox Lewis in the second quarterfinal.

Photo by World Boxing Super Series / WBSS

Mike Tyson battered Mike "Butterbean" Esch, winning as early as the second round, to advance into the semifinal.

Photo by World Boxing Super Series / WBSS

The real-life David Haye described his quarterfinal matchup against George Foreman as "horrible" for him, and he was proved right, as the American thumped him in five rounds.

Photo by World Boxing Super Series / WBSS

Boxing is chaos at the best of times and, even in a simulated version of the sport, there was still a random withdrawal as Sonny Liston replaced Joe Frazier. The late switch did not faze Ali in the first semifinal, though, as "The Greatest" finished Liston with an uppercut in the fifth.

Photo by World Boxing Super Series / WBSS

In the second semifinal, Mike Tyson punished George Foreman with a right uppercut and left hook to the body combo. The knockout victory for Tyson earned "The Baddest Man on the Planet" a dream final against Muhammad Ali.

Photo by World Boxing Super Series / WBSS

It all made for a weird but wonderful final, one that was perhaps always destiny, as it brought together two of the most famous heavyweights boxing has ever produced: Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. If you were ever curious who would win in this mythical matchup, then you can watch a simulated version of the showdown right here.

The final between Ali and Tyson was the longest fight in the tournament, going 12 rounds, with both athletes appearing to deplete their energy reserves. In a close bout, the judges at this virtual ringside scored the fight for … Tyson!

Photo by World Boxing Super Series / WBSS

The simulated fights generated almost 200,000 views on YouTube alone, and the concept was so successful that the World Boxing Super Series has organized another version of the tournament — starting this week, the most iconic middleweights in history will throw down in another simulated slobberknocker.

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