By: Hans Themistode
Mike Tyson still has a bit of revenge on his mind.
In back-to-back bouts against Evander Holyfield in the mid-1990s, Tyson was heavily favored to win both contests. Those who backed the former undisputed heavyweight champion to come out victorious, however, were left disappointed as Holyfield would walk away the winner via stoppage in the 11th round in their first contest and disqualification in their second due to Tyson biting the ear of Holyfield on several occasions.
After picking up the pieces and moving on, Tyson reeled off several knockout victories in a row which propelled him to a contest against Lennox Lewis in 2002. Tyson would go to lose that contest via eighth-round knockout.
Now, roughly 20-25 years later, Tyson not only wants to run things back, but he wants to do so in the coming months.
“I want Holyfield and I want Lennox Lewis this year,” Tyson said on his Hotboxing podcast. “I want both of them, I think I can get em both this year”
Over the past few months, Tyson has worked diligently on the first part of his master plan. The 2011 Hall of Famer has engaged in negotiations with team Holyfield in an attempt to bring a third showdown to reality. At the moment though, things appear headed in the wrong direction as both sides seemingly can’t agree on the financial part of the deal.
Be that as it may, Tyson appears determined to not only get his hands on Holyfield this year but also Lewis. With Tyson enjoying a lucrative second act in his boxing career, the all-time great continues to pursue big names to jump in the ring with him in an exhibition match.
In November of 2020, Tyson took on future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr., faced off in an exhibition contest that piqued the interest of the boxing world. The event sold for $49.99 apiece and reportedly did 1.6 million buys which generated an excess of $80 million dollars.
With Tyson proving that he is still a draw, outselling Canelo Alvarez and Errol Spence Jr. combined last year, he believes he’s found his new niche. Although the goal is to lure both Holyfield and Lewis into the ring, if he ultimately can’t work out a deal, he still has other plans in mind.
“I (can) box an exhibition with Tyson Fury. If I do that — even if I can get those two guys, I’ll say this is a wrap, I can go and live my life. And that’s just exhibitions. I’m going to break all my true records with exhibitions.”
