Boxing
EVANDER HOLYFIELD PLANS A ‘DON’T HIT ME HARD’ BOUT WITH MIKE TYSON
The champion with the altered ear isn’t listening. To those who feel Evander Holyfield should find safer pursuits at the age of 57, he has a straightforward answer. According to the Daily Mail in UK,
Evander Holyfield has remarked: ‘They have their opinion and I have mine,’ ‘I prefer to follow mine.’
And so the man they called the Real Deal is looking to strike another. If he has his way, you suspect that will be with Mike Tyson, who has evidently lost none of his sense of timing.
That relates as much to Tyson’s ability to hit pads cleanly at 53 as it does his decision to release workout videos in close proximity to those uploaded by Holyfield. Purely a coincidence, says Holyfield, and yet it is a fact that a third meeting between two old greats is being discussed by both sides.
Terming it a fight might be a stretch, given Holyfield claims he is only after a three-round exhibition in which there will be ‘no winners or losers or going for knockouts’ – conditions the four-time heavyweight champion of the world says must be upheld as he enters a 10th year since his last bout.
Whether Tyson, even the mellowed version of today, is capable of keeping to such an agreement might be another matter. But at the very least there are negotiations for a third contest between two men whose younger rivalry was in equal parts remarkable and appalling.
Holyfield won their two fights in 1996 and 1997 and lost part of his right ear in his opponent’s mouth; Tyson was twice outclassed and landed a $3million fine. According to another heavyweight of yesteryear, Shannon Briggs, Tyson is spoken for and a fight agreed, but Holyfield gives the impression a deal can be done.
Holyfield says: ‘Mike and I talked once about this (the exhibition) and from that point on his people have spoken to my people. We are not at a point where we are at an agreement but there have been conversations.
‘There are some big people from different countries who would like for us to do it. My whole thing is, “Yes, if there is a way we can do it, then do it”. Me being me and Mike being who Mike is, I know it could be something big.
‘If it could be worked out then there has to be an understanding that there can be none of this other stuff that happens (with Tyson). Ain’t nobody getting a decision or win or lose or going for knockouts. Exhibition.
‘I didn’t really want to get back in the ring because I always said when I stop I will stop. But an exhibition, that is different. I am not killing myself for nobody. I ain’t looking for knockouts and I ain’t going more than three, three-minute rounds. We do it in an appropriate way. But I am going to be in great shape. And if someone thinks they going to hit me, I don’t want them to think I ain’t going to hit them back. I don’t know if it will be Mike. If it don’t work then it weren’t meant to be.’
Holyfield and Tyson have long since reached a friendly place, to the extent that in 2013 they filmed a Foot Locker advert in which the latter rocked up on the former’s doorstep and reunited him with his missing chunk of ear.
‘People talk about the ear but people don’t know the relationship,’ Holyfield says.
‘It is long. We came through from amateurs (together).’
For all the water under the bridge, there is still a competitive feeling towards a man with whom, along with Lennox Lewis, Holyfield shared a brilliant heavyweight era.
Referring to Tyson’s recent videos, showing impressive movement 15 years since his own retirement, Holyfield says: ‘Mike was skilful, right back to when we first met. He can jump rope, hit speed bags, pads – but these things don’t hit him back. I have never been very good at hand pads and bags and tricks. But as my coach always said, “When people start getting hit they don’t know if they want to be there”. That is what boxing is really about.’
It remains to be seen what kind of fight Holyfield engages in. And time will tell if Tyson is involved. There is also an invitation to Lewis, against whom he drew once and then lost the rematch for the undisputed heavyweight title. ‘If Lennox and I can come together and do something, why not?’ Holyfield says.
In any configuration, amid any outcry that follows owing to Holyfield’s age, an exhibition against a top name from history would make significant money. But Holyfield, whose 57th and final fight was in 2011, is claiming this is not about finances.
It is no secret that Holyfield, who amassed a $300m fortune and once owned a 109-room mansion, lost the lot. A father of 11, including an unbeaten novice professional in Evan Holyfield, he has rebuilt to some extent and is reported to make personal appearances worth $100,000-a-month these days. He says his driving force for this comeback is inspiring children.
‘It’s really for my foundation, working with under-privileged kids,’ he says. ‘I want the young people to know that at 57 I can do this because I didn’t make the mistakes others made. My momma always told me, “If you don’t pick up bad habits you don’t have to put them down”.’
Holyfield is unequivocal that this venture will not lead to a competitive return. ‘This is not me going against some 24-year-old,’ he says. ‘I don’t need that. But this is different. It will be fun. If it is against Mike, it definitely will be.’
Daniel Dubois came back from two knockdowns to deal Fabio Wardley a brutal and bloody first defeat as a professional and take the WBO heavyweight title in a thunderous all-British clash on Saturday.
Referee Howard Foster finally stepped in at the start of the 11th round to signal the end of the fight, with Wardley bleeding heavily from the bridge of the nose and with his right eye almost closed.
Dubois rose twice from the canvas, including being dropped by a right hook in the first 10 seconds of the fight, to pulverise Wardley and become a world heavyweight champion for the second time in his career.
“It was a war. We came through the sticky moments. Thank you, Fabio, for that,” said Dubois, who was previously IBF champion after the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, with the Ukrainian winning it back in July 2025.
“What a great fight. What a great battle, man”.
The win was Dubois’s 23rd as a professional in 26 fights, while Wardley now has a 20-1-1 record.
Veteran promoter Frank Warren, who manages both men, said it was the best heavyweight fight he had ever put on and confirmed there was a rematch clause in the contract.
For some viewers, however, it was also an uncomfortable watch that could have been stopped earlier.
The 31-year-old Wardley, who was promoted to WBO champion last November after Usyk vacated the title, was making his first defence and showed immense heart as he took a tremendous beating yet refused to capitulate.
He had his opponent on the floor, a blow Dubois, 28, later dismissed as a ‘flash knockdown’, almost with the opening bell still sounding.
Dubois was back on one knee in round three but came close to a stoppage in the sixth with the reigning champion bleeding heavily and on the ropes.
The Londoner continued to land blow after blow on Wardley, who wobbled but refused to give up.
His corner inspected the facial wounds after the eighth, and doctors and the referee took a look in rounds nine and 10, but still the fight continued, with Wardley increasingly struggling to stay on his feet and fighting on instinct.
“You witnessed something special tonight,” Warren told the BBC. “Two men baring their hearts and souls in the ring gave everything, didn’t leave one bit outside the ring.
“They were getting hit with bombs that would take people out, and they stood it.”
-Reuters
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World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has backed Anthony Joshua to defeat Tyson Fury in their long‑anticipated clash later this year and has been helping him with his game plan.
Usyk, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBC belts, has been working with former opponent Joshua in recent months and said he has been impressed by the Briton’s development.
He added that 36-year-old Joshua deserves to beat compatriot and fellow ex-champion Fury, 37, after changing his approach.
“Fury is an unbelievable fighter, and Fury is a very dangerous guy, but I look at how Anthony works and how he has changed,” Usyk told the BBC.
“I like Fury, he is my greedy belly’s best friend, he’s an amazing fighter, but I want Anthony to win – he deserves it.”
Joshua, a former two‑time world heavyweight champion, is scheduled to return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. The bout will be his first since a car accident last December in which two close friends were killed.
Usyk said his recent work with Joshua has focused on technical and mental preparation.
“We speak about strategy, boxing skills and psychology. We speak about fights, our fights, and I say ‘champ, come on, don’t stop’,” he said.
The Ukrainian is set to defend his world titles against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt.
-Reuters
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- Summary
- *Joshua to face Kristian Prenga in Riyadh after car accident hiatus
- *Fight marks start of Joshua’s multi-fight deal in Saudi Arabia, announced by Turki Alalshikh
- *Promoter Hearn says Joshua vs Fury is signed for later in the year
Former world heavyweight boxing champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have signed up for a long-awaited clash later this year, promoter Eddie Hearn said on Monday.
“Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!,” Hearn posted on Instagram.
The announcement came after confirmation that Joshua will return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25 in the Briton’s first fight since he was in a car accident last December that killed two close friends.
U.S.-based Albanian Prenga, 35, is a former kickboxer with a ring record of 20 wins and one defeat since he turned professional in 2016.
The fight, billed as “The Comeback”, was announced by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh and will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.
Turki also posted on X a message “to my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed” while his Ring Magazine said the fight would happen in Q4 2026 on Netflix.
SIXTH-ROUND KNOCKOUT
Joshua, 36, has a record of 28 wins and four losses with his most recent fight a sixth-round knockout of American Jake Paul on December 19 in Miami.
“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring, and today is the next step on that journey,” said Joshua.
“I’m delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25th in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I’m looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off. The landlord will collect his rent. That is certain.”
Hearn told Sky Sports television he wanted a “tune-up bout” in July before facing Fury potentially in November.
“July and November are the two dates that have been presented to us now and we expect to move forward,” he said. “Fury has just had his tune-up fight with 12 really vital rounds to get him sharp for the next one and I expect us to do the same.”
Fury called for a showdown with Joshua after he outclassed Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.
“Next, I want to give you the fight you’ve all been waiting for. I want you AJ, Anthony Joshua, let’s give the fight fans what they want, the Battle of Britain,” he said then.
-Reuters
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