Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson last met in the ring in June of 1997. In that bout, Holyfield successfully handed Tyson his second loss in two contests with “The Real Deal,” though victory came when Tyson infamously bite down on his ear to earn a disqualification. With Tyson returning to competition in his legend’s league, is it time for a third fight?
Holyfield thinks so.
“My side tried to make the fight happen and we got nothing but excuses,” said Holyfield in a press release on Tuesday (transcription via ESPN). “Now I can see why he wanted a tuneup fight before thinking about fighting me. No more excuses. 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.”
On Tyson’s end, “Iron” is willing to share the ring a third time, but he’s pointed to problems in contract negotiations as the hold up.
“Maybe Evander needs to talk to me because every time my business associates talk to his business associates, it doesn’t turn out well,” Tyson said. “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.”
Both men seem interested, and there’s certainly money to be made. Does it happen, or will Tyson find a different foe for his next exhibition match? If it was up to James “Buster” Douglas, now 60, they would run it back in first quarter 2021.
“I would welcome the opportunity,’’ Douglas told USA Today Sports. “Being a prizefighter all those years and still feeling pretty good today, you always feel you got one more fight in you. They always ask, ‘Why didn’t you guys have a rematch?’ It was just never presented really, as far as a rematch. It was often mentioned. That’s about it.’’
Douglas stopped Tyson way back in early 1990 in what is widely considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of professional boxing, only to lose the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles to Holyfield in his very first title defense.
Maybe they can stage a triple threat match instead?
Insomnia
Personal anecdote of the week: I never fought for West Coast FC, but my final amateur fight was held at the same venue for a promotion called Titan’s Cage. Both the Titan’s Cage events before and immediately following mine ended early due to brawls like this, canceling half the fights.
Wait for it …
Smart money is on Darren Till just screwing around, but you never know!
On average, it takes about ten years to earn a jiu-jitsu black belt.
Nasrat Haqparast has some of the fastest hands at 155-pounds.
Y’all really need to leave Nate Robinson alone!
Joseph Benavidez vs. Askar Askarov seems likely to have some incredible scrambles.
Who else didn’t know that John McCarthy accidentally added insult to injury re: Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo?
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Looks to me like Ray Anis got caught staring while expecting a clinch.
Head movement instantly becomes much more complicated when kicks and knees are allowed.
Some excellent speed and footwork!
Random Land
Sending it down a leaf-filled hill:
Midnight Music: Miles Davis at his funkiest!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
