Mike Tyson – Evander Holyfield III: Don King’s Return to Heavyweight Superfights
By Geno McGahee
Evander Holyfield, 43-10-2, 28 KO’s, has not been in the major spotlight for years, arguably since his 1999 title unifier with Lennox Lewis. Mike Tyson, 50-6, 44 KO’s, has been out of the ring for five years. Despite those facts, the public still wants to see the final bout in an interesting trilogy.
Don King, for everything negative that has been said about him, is one of the best promoters of all time and has been permanently linked with many of the biggest heavyweight showdowns. He promoted Larry Holmes, leading to one of the biggest fights of all time: Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney.
King’s debut into heavyweight boxing came when he put together the fight that every promoter wanted: Muhammad Ali vs. Heavyweight Champion George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle, a historic fight that launched the eccentric promoter to the top of boxing. He would go on to promote more Ali fights, most of the career of Larry Holmes, assume control of Mike Tyson at a time when the heavyweight division was boxing. When Tyson went to prison, King promoted his return against the pathetic Peter McNeeley, but made the fight an event, and the pay per view buys were through the roof. Now King has set his sights on a return to the heavyweight spotlight with the third bout between Tyson and Holyfield.
In 1996, WBA/WBC Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson was looking for an opponent. He gave up the WBC Title, opting not to defend against the number one contender, Lennox Lewis, and sought out easier prey. At this time, Holyfield was seen as a spent force. He was knocked out by Riddick Bowe in the 8th round in a fight where the “Real Deal” just fell apart, collapsing to the canvas, exhausted. Team Tyson felt that he may pose a problem early in the fight but would wear down and fall apart again. To the shock of most, it was Tyson that fell apart late, TKO’d in the 11th round.
An immediate rematch was set and in 1997, the fight that was known as “The Bite Heard Around the World” took place. In their first encounter, Tyson complained about continual head butts and when reviewing the tapes, it backed up his claim. Mills Lane, a man that said that Holyfield was his favorite fighter, was assigned to officiate the rematch, and the head butts were even more prevalent. Tyson, cut over both eyes, resorted to something that shocked the entire sports world and still lives on infamy today. During a clinch, Tyson would bite one of Evander’s ears. He would be warned and then when they mixed it up again, Tyson would find the other ear of Holyfield.
One thing that is often overlooked when examining this fight is that Tyson tried to leave his corner without his mouthpiece. He was prepared to do it then, but they shoved the mouthpiece into his mouth and sent him into round 3. Tyson snapped due to the continual and intentional fouling of his opponent. If you speak to any Holyfield opponent, they will tell you that they were continually head butted. It is a dirty tactic that is used every chance that he gets.
There were rumors after this and after Tyson’s suspension expired that the two would meet up again. There has always been a lot of money in it, but some contend that there is no money in a 2010 or 2011 showdown. Let’s explore some of the reasons.
#1: Evander Holyfield vs. Frans Botha & Mike Tyson vs. Kevin McBride bombed on PPV. Neither can sell anymore.
In those two showdowns, something was missing. The element that was missing was Don King, a man that understands how to tell a story and would have made both fights much more profitable. The Holyfield – Botha PPV didn’t have a chance to do well. The undercard was terrible on paper, the production value was incredibly bad, and the promotion leading up to the fight didn’t turn any heads. Tyson – McBride wasn’t a good sell on paper, but King understands how to sell Tyson, and would have used his magic to make is a success.
With the current heavyweight division in the state that it is in, Tyson – Holyfield III makes all the sense in the world. Wladimir Klitschko cannot sell a fight, despite his dominance over the division. Vitali has the same problem. David Haye has some glimmer of hope, but more people know Tyson and Holyfield and it would sell, and when you place King in the role of the promoter, the PPV buys will be huge.
#2: Roy Jones JR vs. Bernard Hopkins II didn’t sell. They are legends facing off in a long awaited rematch. Why is Tyson – Holyfield III different?
Jones vs. Hopkins in 1993, when they were both in their primes was a boring fight. Now that one is completely shot (Jones) and the other has developed an even more boring style (Hopkins), there was no chance for an exciting fight. Also, the fight meant nothing. Jones was stopped in the first round of his fight prior to Hopkins. Hopkins has been putting the audience to sleep for years. There was no drama and there was no way it would sell.
Tyson – Holyfield III is nothing but drama. What will happen when these two warriors stare across the ring at each other? Holyfield, the WBF Heavyweight Champion, phoned King, according to a source close to Tyson, and inquired as to what were the chances of a third encounter and how soon it would be. King is currently scrambling to convince Iron Mike to come back as soon as possible with one tune up and then into the 3rd showdown with Evander.
The return of Tyson still appears to be on track, but time is of the essence. He is not getting any younger at the age of 43, he needs to return soon. What bodes well for him, which typically doesn’t for most fighters, is the layoff. He has gotten his head straight and now will return rejuvenated. How that translates into trading punches with other heavyweights is still to be determined, but at least now, he will go out with no excuses, which is something that is important to him.
Holyfield has stated that Tyson can only make money by fighting him, but it’s actually the other way around. Holyfield fought the champion, Nikolay Valuev, the world yawned. He took on Sultan Ibragimov, the WBO Title Holder, and the world was once again unimpressed. His fight with Botha wasn’t seen by many, but when word got out that there was a Tyson return, everyone in the world turned their heads. The money is there for a third bout, Don King is organizing it and with the money involved, get ready to see it happen. The clock will be turned back to 1996, a King PPV with Tyson and Holyfield colliding in the main event. I for one, cannot wait.