Posted on 09/28/2021
By: Hans Themistode
Cha-Ching was all Mike Tyson could hear.
The former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world was extremely hopeful that a showdown between himself and long-time rival Evander Holyfield could come to fruition. Having shared the ring with one another on two occasions, the pair have generated an excess of 3.5 million pay-per-view buys.
Despite the truckload of money that both were expected to make for a third meeting, after witnessing Holyfield suffer a brutal first-round knockout defeat at the hands of Vitor Belfort just a few weeks ago, Tyson now believes that ship has sailed.
“Evander f*cked up the money,” said Tyson during an interview with ESNEWS.
On September 11th, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, Tyson was disappointed with what took place. On the night, 58-year-old Holyfield stepped in on just a few week’s notice to take on the former UFC star, Vitor Belfort. Originally, Oscar De La Hoya was expected to face the one-time light heavyweight champion but was forced to withdraw due to testing positive for COVID-19.
While Holyfield is considered one of the greatest fighters in boxing history, at 58, he’s now a shell of his former great self. Now, with Holyfield out of the picture, Tyson will turn to another foe he shared the ring with nearly two decades ago.
“We gotta do it with Lennox [Lewis] now.”
Much like Tyson’s two defeats to Holyfield, Tyson was also brutally knocked out during his 2002 meeting with Lewis. After a fairly even first few rounds, Lewis took over down the stretch before scoring the knockout win in the eighth round to retain his WBC, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles.
While it’s unclear if the pair will share the ring once more, Tyson officially has the itch to continue his boxing career. At least, from an exhibition standpoint.
On November 28th, 2020, at Staples Center in Los Angeles California, Tyson took on fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition. The two would ultimately end their showdown with a split decision draw.
With his adrenaline now pumping, Tyson simply can’t wait to swap fists with someone else in the ring sometime soon.
“I want to fight. I need another one.”