Mike Tyson Rejects $25 Million to Fight Evander Holyfield

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Tyson

Members of Evander Holyfield’s team took to media outlets on March 22, 2021, to express their disappointment in Mike Tyson rejecting a $25 million guarantee to fight Holyfield on May 29. The event would have taken place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. According to a statement released Monday, Holyfield’s manager Kris Lawrence said, “We were negotiating in good faith all along, and it appears we just ended up wasting our time.”

The legendary rivalry between Tyson & Holyfield will go down as one of the most entertaining boxing rivalries of the 1990s. In November 1996, Holyfield, while on a retirement comeback, shocked audiences worldwide by scoring an 11th round TKO victory. Holyfield then went on to win the rematch in 1997 when Tyson bit his ear twice, ripping a piece off during the match.

Tyson

Both sides had been in talks about getting back in the ring after Tyson’s successful exhibition fight in 2020 with Roy Jones Jr. After the fight with Jones, he had indicated he would be interested in doing another exhibition fight, but nothing was finalized.

Holyfield appeared to be the top contender for his next opponent. Tyson’s exhibition fight last year was his first fight since losing to Kevin McBride in 2005. According to Tyson’s Instagram, he stated “I am a partner in Legends Only League, and my next event is with my league. Anyone misrepresenting that they own the rights to my name or my next event isn’t true.”

Tyson has a career 50–6 record, including a 36–0 stretch to start his career.

Written by Ebonee Stevenson
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware

Source:

SI Boxing: Evander Holyfield Camp Says Mike Tyson Declined $25 Million Fight Offer; by Michael Shapiro

ESPN: Evander Holyfield representatives say Mike Tyson declined $25 million offer to fight Memorial Day weekend; by Michael Rothstein

Featured Image Courtesy of Ryan Lackey Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

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