by James Slater – It appears as though the fascinating car crash career of former heavyweight king Mike Tyson may not have ended after all. At least not if a recent bold statement on ArabianBusiness.com is to be believed. According to the news outlet, “Iron” Mike, now aged 42 and absent from the ring as a participant since June of 2005, will face old foe (old being the correct word!) Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield in a much delayed third instalment of a series the two former greats began way back in November of 1996. The two men will meet in the far away location that is the city of Abu Dhabi in The United Arab Emirates..
This is attention grabbing stuff, to be sure – but not necessarily good news. People would no doubt watch the two men with a combined age of 88 get it on once again, but would this “event” be good for boxing? Last night we all saw a fine example of the good things the sport of boxing can produce – when Sugar Shane Mosley shocked Antonio Margarito in a truly wonderful fight – but would a Tyson-Holyfield 3 give boxing another black eye?
The website doesn’t mince it’s words with regards to this fight happening. The news release does not say that Holyfield and Tyson may fight, or are rumoured to fight later this year – the article states, boldly, that the two heavyweights WILL fight, and that full details of the bout will be announced this coming February 1st. Also according to the breaking news is the revelation that the fight will take place at the open air Zayed Sports City Stadium. Sources also indicate that the fight will be “the richest in history.”
Two further, as yet unannounced, world title fights will take place on the same bill, ArabianBusiness.com also claims, and that one tentative date for the action is October 31st. This could be fitting, as, of course, Oct. 31st is Halloween. Will we see a horror show if this particular “dream fight” (for dream fight, see potential nightmare) goes ahead?
Holyfield, at least, can still fight – to a degree. He lost his last fight, on points to Russian WBA champ Nikolay Valuev, but many fans were surprised at how well the 46-year-old performed; while many more felt he’d actually done enough to have had his hand raised. As for Tyson, the last time he climbed through the ropes, against Irishman Kevin McBride in June of 2005, he looked a completely shot fighter.
If this is anything to go by, then, it would seem as though older but more active man Holyfield will once again be giving the once all-conquering Tyson a beating. It’s no secret that Tyson has had money problems for a long time now, and Holyfield also is in need of cash. As such, fighting each other in one of the richest countries in the world must seem like a smart thing for the pair of legends to do.