Recently, Mike Tyson came out and said that he would be back in the ring on May 29th although he didn’t give fans any insight into who he would be fighting. Most people agreed that Tyson would probably be fighting Evander Holyfield for the third time, especially since the two have thrown the idea around, and are now on good terms.
According to TMZ, people from Holyfield’s team are now saying that a deal was in place but it ultimately fell through. They say Tyson and Holyfield were down for a 50-50 split, but in the end, Tyson went back on his word and even declined a $25 million deal.
“Team Holyfield sincerely believed a deal was imminent, especially after the Hard Rock threw its support behind the project, and there were multiple other offers conveyed to Team Tyson,” Holyfield’s camp explained. “However, Team Tyson’s demands recently became untenable, and not what Mike Tyson had originally agreed on in direct conversations with Holyfield.”
The business of boxing has always been fascinating so it isn’t a surprise that something like this could be done away with so quickly. For now, however, there is still a sliver of hope that Tyson’s camp can come back with an offer that works for both sides.
In the meantime, Tyson will continue to train as he fully expects to have an opponent in two months from now.
Larry Busacca/Getty Images for the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival
[Via]