Tyson Fever Spurs Holyfield Comeback (Seriously)

Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Four-time world heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield is making his return to the “sweet science” at the ripe old age of 57, and I can’t help but wonder if this is somehow related to the recent sparring videos we’ve seen from former rival Mike Tyson.

“Are you ready? The moment you’ve all been waiting for… the champ is back!” Holyfield wrote on Twitter. “I’d like to announce that I will be making a comeback to the ring. I will be fighting in exhibition matches for a great cause.”

Tyson, 53, lost a pair of bouts against “The Real Deal” more than 20 years ago, including the infamous “Bite Fight” back in 1997. A deranged Tyson bit off a chunk of Holyfield’s ear in Las Vegas and got disqualified in the third round.

Maybe they can complete their trilogy under bareknuckle rules?

“While we did make a guaranteed offer of $20 million for Mike [Tyson] to fight for BKFC, we’re open to many different options as to how we can work together,” Bareknuckle Fighting Championship President David Feldman told Heavy.com. “Obviously, the excitement of seeing Mike’s video showing himself training and desire to participate in exhibitions inspired us to reach out and make the offer.”

Maybe they can have Vitor Belfort vs. Roy Jones Jr. on the undercard.

Holyfield (44-10-2) has not competed since scoring a technical knockout win over Brian Nielsen in early 2011. As for Tyson (50-6), he retired at 38 in the wake of his Kevin McBride loss back in June 2005.

“Iron Mike” probably could have made the transition to UFC, but those damn feet got in the way.