Mike Tyson is ‘SCARED’ of facing old foe Evander Holyfield in a trilogy fight and has rejected ‘multiple offers’ to take on his heavyweight rival after being knocked out in their first bout and disqualified from the second for infamous ear bite
- Mike Tyson is said to be running scared of facing old rival Evander Holyfield
- They last fought in 1997 when Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ear
- Tyson will make his comeback when he faces Roy Jones Jr later this month
- Holyfield is also keen on making a return to the ring and has been in training
Mike Tyson is ‘running scared’ of Evander Holyfield after repeatedly turning down the chance of a trilogy fight with his old rival, according to reports.
Tyson will enter the ring for the first time since 2005 when he takes on Roy Jones Jr in his comeback exhibition fight at the end of November.
The 54-year-old had previously said he would be open to similar bouts in the future but TMZ report he has turned down multiple offers to fight Holyfield through fear of defeat.
Mike Tyson is reportedly running scared of a trilogy fight with old rival Evander Holyfield
Tyson will enter the ring for the first time since 2005 when he takes on Roy Jones Jr this month
Tyson and Holyfield have history with two memorable fights in 1996 and 1997.
Holyfield won the first encounter before Tyson was disqualified in the re-match after biting off a chunk of his opponent’s ear.
But Holyfield’s hopes of making it 3-0 look slim with TMZ’s sources reporting Iron Mike has rebuffed attempts to arrange a trilogy fight.
‘It’s not even about the money at this point, I think Tyson is scared,’ their sources said.
Their rematch in 1997 will be forever be known for Tyson’s infamous ear bite on Holyfield which saw him disqualified
‘We’ve offered multiple times and Tyson vs. Holyfield is the fight that should happen.’
Publicly, Tyson has remained open to the idea of facing Holyfield again. When asked if he would consider another fight with his old rival earlier this month, Tyson said: ‘That’s always something that we can do if the people want it, if it’s pragmatic enough, I’d love to do it.’
Tyson is one of a handful of veteran boxers who have decided to make a comeback but insists he does not want to be seen as an ‘old guy’ and feels it is a new era for ‘the gods of war’ in heavyweight boxing.
‘Old guys – that word don’t even make sense,’ Tyson said. ‘”Old”. It’s just a new time, a new thinking period in our lives. This is what we want to do. Sometimes the gods of war, they revive you and say, “You have to do more”.
Holyfield teased a possible re-match between the pair and he has also been back in training
‘Now I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t prepare for this. I box people to see if I’m able do this stuff, so I can do this stuff.’
Holyfield has also been back in training and is eyeing a return to the ring.
The 58-year-old posted an image on to his Instagram account a week ago with the caption: ‘Who would like to see Holyfield vs Tyson 3? Or who else would you like to see me get in the ring with in an exhibition?’
He has also posted two highlights videos with the caption: ‘Who wants to see a rematch? We’re ready.’