Evander Holyfield Wants A Mike Tyson Rematch
Evander Holyfield wants a rematch against Mike Tyson, who bit off his ear 23 years ago.
Following Mike Tyson’s fight with Roy Jones Jr., which ended in a draw, the former heavyweight champion of the world said to reporters about an Evander Holyfield rematch, "Maybe Evander needs to talk to me because every time my business associates talk to his business associates, it doesn't turn out well.”
The 54-year-old continued, “So, I don't know. If you could see what we made tonight, if these guys really care about the welfare of Evander, they would have had this fight with Evander. Maybe we'll do another, but whoever he's with, whoever is handling him is totally wrong.”
Holyfield, 58, has now released a statement to ESPN, which read, "My side tried to make the fight happen and we got nothing but excuses. Now I can see why he wanted a tuneup fight before thinking about fighting me. No more excuses.”
Holyfield also added, “This is the fight that must happen for both our legacies. Saturday night you said you were ready to fight me, so sign the contract and get in the ring, Tyson. The world is waiting and it's on you now. I'm ready."
Their last fight was June 28, 1997. During the third round, Tyson took a bite out of Holyfield's ear. It was a one-inch piece of cartilage from the top of the ear, which Tyson spat out onto the ring floor. Tyson lost his boxing license but it was eventually reinstated. Tyson publicly apologized to Holyfield on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Watch the ear bite seen around the world in the video below: