Representatives of Evander Holyfield’s team said Mike Tyson has rejected a $25 million guarantee to fight Holyfield on May 29 in Miami.
The sides reportedly had been negotiating for a third bout between the heavyweights before reaching an impasse.
“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 Monday. “We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time.”
Azim Spicer, who had overseen contract negotiations on behalf of Tyson, disputed the claim of Holyfield’s camp.
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“Nobody offered Mike $25 million,” Azim said, per USA Today. “Mike doesn’t want to do anything with them anymore. We’re done.”
Holyfield, 58, and Tyson, 54, had a pair of memorable encounters during an eight-month stretch in 1996 and 1997. Holyfield won the WBA heavyweight title in an 11th-round TKO in the first bout before the latter contest ended when Tyson controversially bit off a chunk of the then-champion’s ear.
Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. fought to a draw in an eight-round exhibition boxing match in November.
Tyson, who posted a 50-6 career record with two no-contests, last fought in a competitive match in 2005, when he took a third loss in four bouts. He won his first heavyweight championship belt in 1986, and he was the undisputed world champion from 1987-90. After spending three years in prison for a rape conviction, he regained pieces of the heavyweight crown in 1996.
Holyfield (44-10-2) last competed in 2011 when he defeated Danish heavyweight Brian Nielsen by TKO.
–Field Level Media