Evander Holyfield heard about the hype behind a 54-year-old Mike Tyson returning to the ring to fight a 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr. and decided that he wanted in on the action. The former undisputed heavyweight champion has called out Iron Mike for one last bout between the two middle-aged men.
"No more excuses," said Holyfield in a statement, per Reuters. "This is the fight that must happen for both our legacies. Saturday night you said you were ready to fight me, so sign the contract and get in the ring, Tyson. The world is waiting and it's on you now. I'm ready."
If there's anyone who understands the magnitude of the draw these two fighters can still bring, it's Holyfield. Not only does the boxer keep his ear to the ground on such things, but Tyson once helped it get there in one of their two famous bouts. The first Tyson-Holyfield fight ended in an 11th round TKO for Holyfield, while the second infamously ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting a chunk of Holyfield's ear off.
Holyfield offered up his services to fight Tyson in his return to the ring, but promoters went with Jones Jr. instead. The 58-year-old appears to be using his being spurned as motivation to get this second comeback fight for Tyson to happen.
"My side tried to make the fight happen and we got nothing but excuses," Holyfield's statement continued. "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.
"There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't make it happen."
