“Deal didn’t go through”- Evander Holyfield reveals that $60 million trilogy match against Mike Tyson had almost happened
Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson have legendary status in the world of boxing.
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Evander Holyfield with Mike Tyson (image via : MARCA)
Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield‘s fight is well known for being the most controversial fight in boxing history. They were close to completing an exhibition match, but the money-making venture didn’t come to pass. As such, Holyfield revealed the reasons why the match fell through while the conversation was still ongoing. Initially, Tyson fought Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match, and Holyfield later fought Vitor Belfort.
Hence, Tyson’s fight ended with a draw, but in Holyfield’s fight, he got knocked out in the first round by Belfort. In the interview with VladTv, Holyfield stated that Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson refrained from touching each other. Subsequently, he mentioned how, in an exhibition match, both parties are in an agreement to make money and play around.
In addition, Holyfield spoke about his exhibition match with Tyson and stated, “
Tyson told me, he said, look, let’s do a fifty/fifty deal…so what is the fifty/fifty deal? Both of us make the same much money, so we had somebody set it up, yeah, where it could be same much money, but the deal didn’t go through.
Holyfield revealed that he and Tyson were negotiating an exhibition fight during the pandemic. However, the fight never came to fruition because Tyson’s team did not agree with the deal. Furthermore, Holyfield revealed that Tyson had initially agreed to a 50/50 split.
Had the fight happened, both the legendary fighters would have been able to make a lot of money. In addition, Holyfield revealed that they would have each received about $30 million, which would make it a $60 million exhibition tussle with it being their trilogy fight.
The two fights between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield
Holyfield and Tyson have faced each other in the ring in one of the most memorable boxing matches in history. They had two highly anticipated bouts, and the first one was on November 9, 1996. Furthermore, Holyfield, the underdog, shocked the world by defeating Tyson who was considered one of the most dominant heavyweights then.
The fight ended in the 11th round when referee Mitch Halpern stopped the fight. Subsequently, Tyson and Holyfield again faced each other on June 28, 1997, in a highly anticipated rematch. This fight gained notoriety for an incident in the third round where Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield’s ear.
The referee deducted two points from Tyson, and the fight continued. However, Tyson bit Holyfield’s other ear later in the round and was disqualified. This bizarre and controversial event led to widespread criticism of Tyson and a temporary suspension of his boxing license.
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Abhijay Roy
(551 Articles Published)