Evander Holyfield on Mike Tyson: “I Can Definitely Handle Him”

By: Hans Themistode

It turns out that when there’s smoke, there is in fact fire. Such is the case when it comes to two boxing legends in Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. 

Tyson set the social media world on fire when he posted a short clip of himself hitting the pads on his Twitter account. The youngest Heavyweight champion of all time was always known for his speed and power but no one was expecting the now 53 year old Tyson to look nearly the same. Those who stopped to take a glance at the clip were left shocked as Tyson looked incredible. The speed and power were still there. Diminished to a certain extent, but there nevertheless. 

After Tyson posted a second clip, this one even longer, he concluded by telling the world exactly what they wanted to hear, “I’m back.” 

Just another reminder that Mike Tyson is STILL a beast. 😳

(🎥: @miketyson / IG) pic.twitter.com/sWKYzxOfb0

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 11, 2020

Not wanting to be left out, Holyfield dropped a video of his own. 

💪 Evander Holyfield back training aged 57 after announcing he will return to the ring for charity exhibition fights…

[📽️ @Holyfield] pic.twitter.com/FvFtxSSd3q

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 12, 2020

The comeback of both fighters were met with an ambivalent bag of reactions. Concerns over their health immediately popped up, while others could care less about their safety and instead were more interested in what they could possibly do in the ring. 

Both hall of famers made sure to preference their comments by stating that they simply wanted to take part in a few exhibitions to help others. But with the sports world starving for entertainment due to COVID-19 the rumblings of a possible grudge match between them soon followed. 

By looks of the video, Tyson seems to be in better shape than Holyfield but with two wins under his belt against him in the 90s, Holyfield holds the mental edge. Even at 53, not many fighters are jumping at the opportunity to face Tyson, but the man once nicknamed “The Real Deal” isn’t backing down from the challenge. In fact, he’s embracing it.

“I would do that! Yes, I want to fight Mike Tyson. My whole thing is I’m open. I know that I want to do well for myself at age 57. I can definitely handle him. But Mike would have to want to do it as well,” Holyfield told The Sun.

“We have to come up with something that is not a knockout grudge match. It’s not about who can beat who, but to show people we were some of the greatest fighters in our era and we’ve come together as men to do something for others. I don’t have anything against Mike personally. The thing is I think it would be good for the sport. Even though boxing is a rough sport, we can show people we can come together.”

Looks can always be deceiving in the case of Holyfield. At 6 feet 2 inches and barely cracking 200 pounds on the scale, the former undisputed Cruiserweight champion was thought to be much too small for the land of the heavies. He not only proved his doubters wrong to become a multiple time champion, but he is widely regarded as one of the best fighters across any era. From the look of his freshly posted video though, the 57 year old Holyfield looks to be far removed from his prime, but doubt him if you want. He still believes he’s got more than enough.

“If we do this fight it would be great. I can still shoot the jab, I can still shoot the shots, but not like a killing thing, [not like] ‘I’m going to hurt you I’m going to show you that I can knock him out.’ Mike is looking sharp, but I’m in very good condition and shape, physically and mentally. And if the money is right, too, then let’s get it on.”

“I know he’s getting offers from all types of people. Since we have both announced a comeback, a fight between me and Mike would definitely be the fight people want to see.”