Mike Tyson turns down $25 million offer to fight Evander Holyfield in trilogy bout: Report

It looks like the mega trilogy bout between arch-rivals Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield will not happen anytime soon. According to a statement released by Holyfield’s team, both the parties were in negotiations for the fight to happen on May 29 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. However, while The Warrior thought that the deal was “imminent,” ‘Iron’ Mike declined a whopping $25 million guarantee offer to go up against his former foe.

“We thought this was a done deal but it quickly fell apart when Tyson’s people declined all offers. We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time,” Holyfield’s manager Kris Lawrence stated.

Mike Tyson next fight: Tyson vs Holyfield

Holyfield and Tyson met for the first time in November 1996, where the Real Deal came out on top via an eleventh round TKO win. The rematch took place seven months later in June 1997 and ended up becoming the most infamous bout in boxing’s history as Mike Tyson ended up biting Evander Holyfield’s ear twice. The first took place in the third round, with Mike Tyson getting a two-point deduction. However, with the second bite, Tyson tore off a small piece of Holyfield’s ear, getting disqualified.

Tyson vs Holyfield record: Mike Tyson next fight

The relationship between the two legends has improved over the years, with Tyson even apologising to Holyfield publically. But after Mike Tyson made his highly-anticipated return against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr in November 2020, Holyfield felt the timing was perfect for a trilogy bout. Many claim that Holyfield was set to welcome Tyson back to the ring last year, but a failed negotiation caused Tyson to go after Roy Jones Jr.

Since then Holyfield has accused Tyson of ducking fights, but ‘the Baddest Man on the Planet’ has replied by saying that the fight would happen “if fans are interested”. The Real Deal then claimed that a trilogy bout between him and Mike Tyson will break the PPV sales record of Tyson’s recent fight with Jones Jr, which generated over $80 million. However, while Tyson vs Holyfield 3 has the calibre to break major PPV records, considering the rivalry between the two legends, fans are not going to get the trilogy anytime soon as Holyfield’s side states that negotiations are at a standstill.

Image Source:  Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield/ Instagram