54-year-old Mike Tyson is still an elite fighter who could give the greatest heavyweights in the world a serious run for their money -- so says Iron Mike's legendary trainer.
TMZ Sports talked to Rafael Cordero -- owner of SoCal's Kings MMA, regarded as one of the best combat sport coaches -- about Mike ... who's fighting Roy Jones Jr. in November.
Cordero -- who says Tyson is training 6 to 8 hours a day -- told us Mike is actually better than he was decades ago when he was heavyweight champ of the world .