Evan Holyfield, son of boxing legend Evander Holyfield, is convinced that his father would beat Mike Tyson for the third time if they eventually reached an agreement to hold the long-awaited fight.
‘Young Holy’, as Evan is known, was yet to be born when his father fought Tyson in 1996 and 1997, so it would be a great chance for him to see them both in action on the ring.
“My dad’s looking pretty swole right now,” Evan Holyfield told TMZ. “I know he’s been training this whole time, even before the whole thing, so I’m pretty excited to see what happens.
“I don’t expect him to lose. The first two [fights] went a certain way and I feel like the third — I know it’s all for good sport and for charity and stuff at the end of the day — but I don’t plan on seeing my dad getting beat up.”
Holyfield ready to fight Tyson
Evander Holyfield is extremely fit for a 58-year-old boxer, but his last fight was in nine years ago, back in 2011.
He has been attempting to get an exhibition fight for a long time, and when Mike Tyson spoke of returning, Holyfield was the first interested, although he assured at the time that he was not going to offer himself as a rival to someone whom he had already defeated twice.
However, as he explained through a statement released on December 1, Holyfield unsuccessfully tried to convince Tyson’s side to organise a fight.
“My side tried to make the fight happen and we got nothing but excuses,” read the statement. “Now I can see why he wanted a tune-up fight before thinking about me.
“Roy Jones was a good local opponent for Mike. But a fight with me would be a global event and the only fight that anyone wants to see fight is between us. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t make it happen.
“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. I’m ready.”
