Yahoo Finance Mike Tyson says fight against Evander Holyfield is on, but obstacles may remain
Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield appear to be on track to fight in May, as long as the fight before the fight is figured out.
Tyson said in an interview on social media on Tuesday that the fight between himself and his former rival is on for May 29, but with some paperwork still to be figured out.
"There’s a small, fundamental difference to get some paperwork done, and then it’s on to the races with me and Evander,” Tyson said. "I've learned so much. We don't need promoters. What's a promoter? Overrated cheerleader?
“I just want everyone to know, the fight is on with me and Holyfield. Holyfield’s a humble man, I know that, and he’s a man of God, but I’m God’s man, and I'm listening, and I’m gonna be successful May 29.”
Tyson's proclamation is the latest turn in a bizarre saga surrounding the talks for the fight. Holyfield's representatives had said Monday that Tyson rejected a $25 million guaranteed offer to fight Holyfield on Memorial Day.
"We thought this was a done deal but it quickly fell apart when Tyson's people declined all offers," Holyfield's manager, Kris Lawrence, said in a statement via NYFights.com. "We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time."
The statement made it pretty clear that Holyfield's reps place all the blame on Tyson and his camp for the unsuccessful negotiations.
The parties have been in intense negotiations for several months and 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. However, Team Tyson’s demands recently became untenable, and not what Mike Tyson had originally agreed on in direct conversations with Holyfield.
Now the fight appears to be back on, though a significant obstacle may remain.
Drama between Tyson and Triller
This report from Holyfield's camp may have been a direct result of drama between Tyson and PPV service Triller. Tyson worked with Triller for his exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, and they reportedly have the rights to one more Tyson fight.
If they do have the rights to market another Tyson fight, Tyson is definitely not interested. He posted a statement via Instagram on Thursday declaring that he has no deal with Triller and has no plans to associate with them in the future.
It seems that Triller disagrees. On Sunday, Triller seemingly responded to Tyson's claims. Michael Woods of RingTV.com reported that Triller sent a letter to several broadcast platforms that asserts their right to market another Tyson fight.
Triller’s legal team has sent out alerts to various cable and satellite companies, platforms and broadcast corporations, informing them that Triller asserts they have the right to accept or pass on being the main producer/promoter/marketer for the next Tyson fight. And, if that isn’t hashed out, that contractual reality isn’t adhered to, then any Tyson fight that might be planned for May 29, or whenever, would not be kosher.
According to Woods, the news that Triller is insisting that it owns the rights to the next Tyson fight is brand new, and was only learned by negotiators in the last few days.
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