Holyfield confirms talks with Tyson for 3rd fight
FILE – Former boxing champion Evander Holyfield (L) is inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame by fellow ex-champion Mike Tyson at the second annual induction gala at the New Tropicana Las Vegas on August 9, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines—A third clash between great rivals and former undisputed heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson is in the works more than two decades after their last encounter.
Appearing in The 3 Point Conversation podcast, Holyfield, the winner of the past two bouts, revealed that talks have been on going between his camp and Tyson’s for a potential exhibition match for charity.
“His people have been talking to my people and we haven’t yet gotten a solid deal together but it’s coming that way,” said Holyfield in the podcast as posted on boxingscene.com.
“If it happens, then that’s no problem. The thing is, he was doing something and I was doing something. When I told people about it, they saw me working out and they kind of put two and two together. They must be coming together to do this like this. But the fact of the matter is, I don’t mind if we do something like this.”
Tyson, 53, has released several training clips on his Instagram account showcasing his speed and devastating power that made him “The Baddest Man on the Planet” during his heyday during the late 1980s to the early 1990s where he was simply an unstoppable force.
He also proclaimed, “I’m back” in his last video.
The 57-year-old Holyfield, likewise, has posted his own boxing videos through his Instagram.
Holyfield scored an 11th-round stoppage in their first meeting in 1996. He won again seven months later in a rematch after Tyson got disqualified for biting his ear twice in the third round. Both bouts were for the WBA world title.
Despite the animosity during their fighting days, the two have been close friends since and even appeared in a comedic barbecue sauce commercial where Tyson returned part of Holyfield’s ear.
Holyfield added that his potential fight against Tyson isn’t for financial gain and rather a way for him to show kids the importance of taking care of their bodies.
“I wanted to come back and be able to show the kids that if you take care of your body at a young age, if you don’t get bad habits, you don’t gotta put them down,” said Holyfield. “Then at an old age you ain’t got to be worried about what type of person you’re going to be or if somebody is going to have to help you.”
