Mike Tyson has been offered the chance to fight Evander Holyfield following his defeat to Jake Paul (Image: Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix 2024)
has turned down Evander Holyfield’s offer for a third fight, insisting instead that their lasting friendship is the ‘true’ trilogy. Tyson, 58, recently returned to the ring for an eight-round bout against 27-year-old internet star at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday.
Tyson was after going the full distance with Paul, in what critics have called a lacklustre performance. The event, which marked ‘s entry into the boxing scene, featured Holyfield as a commentator.
After the fight, Holyfield expressed his eagerness for another face-off with Tyson by sharing a teasing mock-up poster on social media. However, Tyson poured cold water on the idea. “I love you brother but the trilogy [fight] is our friendship,” ‘Iron Mike’ wrote in a heartfelt reply to Holyfield.
Their first encounter took place in 1996 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, where they vied for the WBA heavyweight world championship. At that time, both were global sports icons.
Despite Tyson being heavily favoured with odds of five to one, it was Holyfield who emerged victorious with a dramatic 11th-round knockout. Their notorious rematch in 1997, also at the MGM Grand, went down in history as ‘The Bite Fight’ after Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Holyfield’s ear.
Tyson ended his career after back-to-back losses to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride in 2004 and 2005, only to make a comeback for an exhibition match with Roy Jones Jr in 2020 that didn’t count towards either fighter’s record. Jake Paul featured on the undercard against Nate Robinson, delivering a spectacular knockout.
Mike Tyson throws a right hook at Evander Holyfield during his 11th round loss to Evander Holyfield in 1996 (Image: Getty Images)
Fast forward four years, Tyson and Paul squared off in front of a massive global audience. According to event organiser Most Valuable Promotions, the Tyson vs Paul main event peaked with 65 million concurrent households tuning in on .
In addition, approximately 70,000 people attended the event at the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium, generating ticket sales of £14m ($18million) – double the previous Texas gate record for a combat sports event set by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez when he defeated Billy Joe Saunders. It remains uncertain whether Tyson will return to the ring. Paul, however, has previously voiced his ambition to challenge Canelo and even compete in MMA.
Tyson and Holyfield are good friends after being bitter rivals during their professional careers (Image: Getty)
Holyfield, 62, last fought professionally in 2011 at the age of 48, though his last exhibition bout came in 2021. He also fought former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney at a charity event in 2015.
He is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, the WBA title a third time from 1996 to 1999; the IBF title a third time from 1997 to 1999 and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.
Aside from his back-to-back wins over Tyson, Holyfield also beat George Foreman, Larry Holmes and Buster Douglas – months after Douglas ended Tyson’s undefeated streak in 1990.