Mike Tyson may be avoiding a lucrative trilogy boxing match, his old rival Evander Holyfield hinted on the Boxing Scene website this week.
“Tyson … where you at?” Holyfield said.
The two former heavyweight champions fought twice in the late 1990s. Holyfield won the first via 11th round knockout ahead of a third-round victory in the immediate rematch when Tyson was disqualified for biting.
Talk of a third bout has escalated because of the rising popularity of showbiz boxing — a separate entity to professional boxing.
The best-selling boxing pay-per-view in 2020 was the Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. sideshow in November.
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At the post-event press conference, Tyson told reporters that he smoked marijuana before the fight and enjoyed it so much he wants to do it all again.
This pointed toward an anticipated showdown involving 58-year-old Holyfield, who has said he’s desperate to get his hands on the 54-year-old again.
“[I’m] waiting on my dance partner now, Mike Tyson, to show up. Where you at?” said Holyfield.
“My side tried to make the fight happen, and we got nothing but excuses. Now I can see why he wanted a tune-up fight before thinking about fighting me.
“Roy Jones was a good local opponent for Mike, but a fight with me would be a global event, and the only fight that anyone wants to see is a fight between us.”
Holyfield believes a trilogy bout with Tyson would generate $100 million.
“The fight would be big because so many people want the fight,” he told Brian Custer on The Last Stand podcast in February.
Showbiz boxing returns April 17 with a crossover match that pairs the YouTube celebrity Jake Paul against the former MMA champion Ben Askren.
The UFC star Leon Edwards, who headlines the UFC Fight Night 187 event Saturday when he fights Belal Muhammad, recently said it would be a humiliating but hilarious day if Paul batters Askren.
