Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson wants to face two of his old rivals in exhibition bouts this year.
The 54-year-old Tyson says he is lining up former conquerors Evander Holyfield, 58, and Lennox Lewis, 55, having whipped himself into fighting shape and drawn with Roy Jones in a comeback exhibition last August.
In their original fighting days, Holyfield halted Tyson in 11 rounds in 1996 before winning their 1997 return by a bizarre three-round disqualification when ‘Iron Mike’ bit off a chunk of his ear. Lewis easily stopped a faded Tyson in eight rounds in 2002.
A late ‘trilogy’ fight with Holyfield has previously fallen flat over differing financial demands.
Bouts with Holyfield and Lewis would apparently give Tyson some form of closure and lead to a fresh ‘retirement’ though he even teased an exhibition fight with current WBC king Tyson Fury, in keeping with boxing’s current fad of returning veterans, brimming with self-belief.
“I want Holyfield and I want Lennox Lewis this year,” insisted Tyson on his Hotboxin’ podcast.
“I want both of them, I think I can get ‘em both this year … else if I 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.”
