Evander Holyfield Camp Says Mike Tyson Declined $25 Million Fight Offer

Holyfield reportedly offered Tyson a $25 million guarantee for a fight at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

Representatives for Evander Holyfield said Mike Tyson has declined a $25 million offer for a fight in May, according to ESPN's Michael Rothstein.

Holyfield and Tyson had reportedly been negotiating a potential fight in recent months following Tyson's exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020. Holyfield's manager Kris Lawrence said there was originally a "done deal" between the two former boxers before Tyson opted out of the fight.

"We thought this was a done deal but it quickly fell apart when Tyson's people declined all offers," Lawrence said. "We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time."

Tyson and Holyfield first fought in November 1996 as Holyfield won in a surprising 11th-round TKO victory. Holyfield won the rematch in 1997 when Tyson bit his ear in retaliation for a potentially-intentional head butt. Holyfield said in December a fight between him and Tyson "must happen for both our legacies."

Tyson's exhibition fight last year was his first fight since losing to Kevin McBride in 2005. Tyson sports a career 50–6 record, including a 36–0 stretch to start his career. Buster Douglas became the first boxer to defeat Tyson professionally in 1990.