Evander Holyfield Calls For Mike Tyson Trilogy, Says He Received ‘Nothing But Excuses’
Evander Holyfield is certainly open to a trilogy fight with Mike Tyson.
Tyson returned to the boxing ring for the first time in 15 years when he fought Roy Jones Jr. to a draw in their eight-round exhibition bout this past weekend.
While it was a major success overall, many wanted to see Tyson face his old rival in Holyfield instead. In the post-fight press conference, Tyson laid the blame on Holyfield’s team for the fight not coming to fruition.
“I don’t know. Maybe Evander needs to talk to me because every time my business associates talk to his business associates, it doesn’t turn out well,” Tyson said. “So I don’t know. If you could see what we made tonight, if these guys really cared about the welfare of Evander, they would have had this fight with Evander.
“Maybe we’ll do another but whoever he’s with who’s handling him is totally wrong.”
Holyfield would since respond with a tweet indicating he was ready to battle Tyson again.
And in a recent statement, the former heavyweight champion also disputed Tyson’s claims in addition to accusing him of taking a tune-up before facing him.
“My side tried to make the fight happen and we got nothing but excuses,” Holyfield said (via Sky Sports). “Now I can see why he wanted a tune-up fight before thinking about fighting me.
“Roy Jones was a good local opponent for Mike, but a fight with me would be a global event and the only fight that anyone wants to see is a fight between us. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t make it happen.”
The pair fought twice in the nineties with Holyfield coming out on top on both occasions. Their second meeting in 1997 was notable for Tyson biting Holyfield on the ear leading to a disqualification loss.
Things have cooled down between the pair since but that doesn’t mean a third fight is out of the question.
“No more excuses,” Holyfield added. “This is the fight that must happen for both our legacies. Saturday night you said you were ready to fight me, so sign the contract and get in the ring, Tyson.
“The world is waiting and it’s on you now. I’m ready.”
Do you want to see the trilogy?