Boxing icon Mike Tyson sets May date for next comeback fight as rumors of third showdown with Evander Holyfield swirl

18 Mar, 2021 10:38

The youngest world heavyweight champion in history, Mike Tyson, is showing no signs of slowing down as he approaches his 54th birthday – telling fellow ring icon Canelo Alvarez that his latest comeback fight is set for this May.

Tyson ended a 15-year exile from the ring last November when he fought fellow veteran Roy Jones Jr to an eight round draw in a pay-per-view exhibition.

The revenue from that fight – all reported $80 million of it – almost guaranteed that Tyson would seek out another fight. Speaking to current champion Canelo on his Hotboxin' podcast, he says that it will come in late May.

"End of May, where you [Canelo] fought [Miami] – the same ring you fought in," Tyson told the multiple weight title holder. 

"May 29th, May 31st, something like that – right where you fought, same ring."

Alvarez's most recent win came last month at the Hard Rock Stadium and Miami Gardens in Florida, where he trounced the overmatched Turk Avni Yildirim in three rounds.

Tyson stopped short of naming his opponent when probed on the show by Canelo's trainer Eddy Reynoso – but there has been repeated speculation that Tyson's camp have been in talks with former foe Evander Holyfield over a rematch which would be 24 years in the making. 

The two boxed twice in the 1990s, the second of which produced one of the most infamous incidents ever seen in a boxing ring when Tyson chewed off a piece of Holyfield's ear in the ring which led to his disqualification.

Both Tyson and Holyfield have since mended fences but there has been repeated talk from both that a third fight may be forthcoming.

"The thing is that if it’s meant to be, it will happen. Either way, it is what it is," Holyfield told The Sun earlier this year.

"What I can tell you is that my team is talking to Mike’s management, so I’m waiting for a decision. They are communicating right now," 

"Where an opportunity is available, I like to make the best out of what I have. I believe if I fight Mike, the fight will generate $200 million. It will be the biggest fight there is. That’s the honest truth. I think Mike has my message already. If he is going to do it, he is – if not, then he’s not."

Both pugilists have frequently posted footage on social media showing then undertaking serious preparations in the training room, with the 58-year-old Holyfield looking to be in top physical condition a decade removed from his last professional contest.

And if Tyson is right in his prediction for a May fight between the two icons, that leaves just two months to await a rematch which has been brewing for a quarter-century. 

Also on rt.com Evander Holyfield ‘in talks with Mike Tyson team over trilogy fight’ – 24 YEARS after infamous ear-bite incident