Fury says he was offered Mike Tyson exhibition match

By Michael Collins - 05/27/2020 - Comments

WBC heavyweight belt holder Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) says he was recently offered an exhibition level fight against 53-year-old ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs), and he says he was interested.  However, nothing ever came from the offer for the 6’9″ Fury to potentially face Tyson.

The former unified heavyweight champion Tyson is coming out retirement to fight in exhibition matches. Originally it was said that Tyson would be fighting in charity matches. It’s unclear whether that will be the case.

It’s unclear whether Tyson will give a portion of his earnings to charity or all of it.

It’s scary to imagine Mike Tyson taking on one of the top heavyweights in this generation. The last time Tyson fought was in 2005, losing to journeyman Kevin McBride (35-10-1, 29 KOs) by a sixth-round stoppage in June 2005. The big 6’6″, 271-pound McBride didn’t do much other than soak up punishment in the first few rounds until Tyson got tired.

Once Tyson was exhausted, McBride began to lean on him and club him with shots until he eventually was stopped. Not long after that win, McBride showed his true level in losing three consecutive fights to Mike Molla, Andrew Golota, and Zack Page. So much for McBride’s 15-minutes of fame, eh?

Fury eager to fight Tyson in an exhibition match

“I did get a phone call with a chance to fight Mike Tyson, and I was like, ‘What?'” Fury said to BT Sport. “I had a phone call saying, ‘Would you like to fight Mike Tyson in an exhibition fight?’ I was like, ‘Hell yeah!’ I don’t think anything materialized out of it, to be honest.

“I think he’s definitely serious about doing some fights or whatever. He’s fought Holyfield twice, so they’re both old now, aren’t they?”

Fury accepted the fight with Tyson, but that doesn’t mean anything. The organizers for the 53-year-old Tyson’s comeback exhibition level fight are putting their feelers out to several fighters.

Besides Tyson Fury, former two-division world champion Evander Holyfield and former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs. Even former UFC heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz says he was contacted about the fight, and he too is interested.

Tyson will likely fight whoever can bring in the most amount of money for his exhibition level fight. The 57-year-old Holyfield would be the best option of Tyson only plans on fighting old-timers, but he would likely make more money by fighting an active MMA or boxer inside the boxing ring.

If Tyson is going to face an active fighter, he’ll need to make sure that the fight is limited to three rounds because he would be at risk of fading if it goes beyond three. Even three rounds are pushing it for Tyson.

Fury is coming off a seventh-round knockout win over WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder last February in Las Vegas, Nevada. The win for Fury was arguably the second-biggest victory of his career behind his upset victory over former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

“I think they’re a bit long in the teeth, but then again who am I to say anything, what anybody’s capable of after everybody’s unbelievable stories,” said Fury of Tyson.

“I wouldn’t try and kill anybody’s dreams of doing anything they want if they’re both fit to fight and medically fit then let them do what they’ve got to do, it’s their life, not mine.”

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