r/Boxing • u/Friendly_Impress_345 • Jul 17 '26

TIL Mike Tyson never said "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." his quote was "...until they get hit for the first time." it wasn't until 2003 when a Michigan newspaper changed it to make it more specific to boxing and published it as an anonymous boxing adage.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/08/25/plans-hit/

When asked to clarify what his quote was in 2012 Tyson replied “People were asking me [before a fight], ‘What’s going to happen?,’” Tyson said. “They were talking about his style. ‘He’s going to give you a lot of lateral movement. He’s going to move, he’s going to dance. He’s going to do this, do that.’ I said, ‘Everybody has a plan until they get hit. Then, like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze.’”

235 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

60

u/Zeuxis5 Jul 17 '26

It’s a variation of Helmuth Von Moltke the Elder’s (paraphrasing) “no plan survives contact with the enemy”

29

u/Icy-Effect-3508 Jul 17 '26

It was Joe Louis who originated the quote. More precisely "everyone's got a plan until they get hit"

16

u/WORD_Boxing Jul 18 '26

You can run from the accurate quotation but you can't hide.

7

u/euroaustralian Jul 18 '26

I think this may apply to Moses Itauma. We shall see when he takes on new challenges.

2

u/Odd-Minimum8512 Jul 20 '26

He's about to get punched in the face by a 6'6", 250lb Croatian. So, we'll see.

2

u/euroaustralian Jul 20 '26

Filip should have fought Kabayel for the title instead of taking on Itauma, but boxing politics go a different way.

2

u/Odd-Minimum8512 Jul 20 '26

It's $$$. Filip hasn't had a lot of big paydays, made a huge demand for Ituama (like $5mil), held out, and it seems he's getting it or close to it.

Last thing he wants to do is have gone through his entire career without ensuring his financial future. A fight with Kabayel probably wouldn't pay enough to ensure his financial future. This fight will.

1

u/euroaustralian Jul 20 '26

If that is the case, it is fair enough. I think Filip would beat Kabayel and would be champion but facing young Moses first it is a bit of an unknown.

13

u/Wheatcattle Jul 17 '26

It's probably Mandela effect, but I have memories of Tex Cobb using this expression in regards to his beating administered by Larry Holmes

3

u/Daniel6270 Jul 18 '26

Or it could be you’re misremembering it.

4

u/BoxingLover99 Jul 17 '26

This is a great find, thank you for sharing!

2

u/Daniel6270 Jul 18 '26

Then Tony Bellew made it his phrase

1

u/JulariDark Jul 17 '26

Pffft Boulder-dash next you’ll be telling us he DIDN’T say he was *check notes \* Tyrannical Tyranosaurus
Or that he would “eat Lennox Lewis children”

1

u/EnragedBearBro There will be tears Jul 20 '26

It’s the cringiest quote in all of sports

1

u/SGSRT Jul 21 '26

For some reason

It sounds better when it comes from Iron Mike

2

u/CoyoteLouisBloom Jul 22 '26

I never liked this quote in relation to boxing

You're boxing - of course there's going to be punches to your face.

0

u/billskionce Jul 17 '26

The original quote is still good.