“I’d do anything if…” Mike Tyson ponders return to bare-knuckle fighting after rejecting $20 million offer in past

Former heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson reveals how he turned down bare knuckle fighting offer.

“I’d do anything if…” Mike Tyson ponders return to bare-knuckle fighting after rejecting $20 million offer in past

Mike Tyson had the opportunity to compete in Bare Knuckle Boxing (via Imago)

People consider Mike Tyson as one of the best combat sports athletes of all time. Even though he retired from the sport in 2005, Mike Tyson is still one of the most popular figures in the sport. Furthermore, fans would love to see him fight again.

Tyson returned to the ring three years ago, surprising everyone, and fought Roy Jones Jr. Furthermore, it is suggested that he received a $20 million deal offer for a bare-knuckle fight in the same year. However, Tyson rejected this offer because he felt the company could have paid him much more. Subsequently, Mike Tyson stated, “As long as they paid me. I’d do anything if they paid me”.

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The former heavyweight boxer said that a big payday would have been enough to convince him to jump in. However, Tyson had already turned down a $20 million offer, which indicated that the amount was not satisfactory. Another wrestler and MMA fighter also said they offered him a chance to fight the boxer barehanded.

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Tyson has been out of the boxing game for a long time and doesn’t have much to show for himself anymore. Hence, no matter how much money might be involved, he might not want to step into the ring without gloves. Bare-knuckle bouts could result in major injuries for the fighters and Tyson might not want to sustain another injury at this stage of his life.

RELATED: WATCH: Retired Mike Tyson shocks TV show host after impressively shooting darts with blindfold

Mike Tyson’s first loss in his boxing career

Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas
Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas (image credit- The Bleacher Report)

The promoters scheduled the fight between Tyson and James “Buster” Douglas as a tune-up for Mike Tyson’s fight with Evander Holyfield. But it was clear that Douglas had the capability to take the fight to the next level.

Buster Douglas used his size and power to win the first few rounds of the fight. Subsequently, Douglas started to get the upper hand, but Tyson fired back in the 8th round. Tyson scored a knockdown, and the challenger barely survived the count. However, in the 10th round, Douglas knocked down Tyson.

Tyson’s defeat against Douglas became the greatest upset in boxing for the following three decades. Douglas took away the invincible factor about Tyson with his stunning victory.

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