Mike Tyson says he'll be back in ring in late May
Mike Tyson says he’ll be back in the ring in late May.
The former heavyweight champ, who took part in an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr. last November, says his next bout will take place on Memorial Day weekend at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The likely date is Saturday, May 29.
Tyson made the announcement informally when he was speaking to guests Canelo Alvarez and Eddy Reynoso on his Hotboxin’ podcast.
He didn’t mentioned an opponent. He and Evander Holyfield reportedly have been in talks and he would be a natural choice given their historic rivalry.
Tyson was last in the ring with Holyfield in June 1997, when Tyson was disqualified for twice biting the ear his opponent in one of the most infamous incidents in boxing history. Holyfield later forgave Tyson.
Holyfield had taken Tyson’s heavyweight by a stunning 11th-round knockout in November 1996.
Tyson recently said he held back in his bout with Jones, which ended in an unofficial draw. He said on his podcast:
“I felt better than I anticipated,” said Tyson, referring to the Jones fight. “I thought I would be a little more nervous than I was, but I was relaxed. I felt like, wow, I could do some more, I could punch more combinations, I could do this and do that. I said, ‘Wow, this is interesting.’ And I want to do it again and I want to do it against someone I could go all out on. It made me interested in wanting to do it again.
“I wanted to go the distance, I didn’t want to knock anybody out. That’s what people expected, but I wanted to go the distance.”