Could Dana White & ESPN Be Behind The Mike Tyson Comeback? And Could We See A Tyson vs. Holyfield III? There's Definitely Some Smoke...
First off -
Talk Sport - “When you talk about power, I held his right hook and thought ‘he is going to kill somebody’. I have trained a lot of heavyweights in my career, with not a lot of respect for everybody, but he is almost as powerful as Wanderlei Silva is right now. The power is a different level."
"He is going to kill somebody"
Show me a sentence that perks your ears up more for a fight.
There isn't one.
“And I can tell; you would have to be a good guy to spar with Mike, because if you don’t prepare, he is going to drop you for sure – 100%."
“As soon as we started training I said ‘My Lord'”, Cordeiro said. “I didn’t know what to expect from a guy who hasn’t hit mitts for – I think – almost ten years."
“So I didn’t expect to see what I saw – I saw a guy with the same speed, the same power as a guy who is 21, 22-years-old."
Those are the words of the great Rafael Cordeiro.
Who is that you ask?
The three-time Brazilian Muay Thai world champion made a name in combat sport training at the legendary Chute Boxe Academy in Curitaba and trained several world champions in MMA.
After moving to Kings MMA in 2009, Cordeiro has continued to work with several UFC superstars and was recruited by Tyson’s manager to help him get back into boxing training.
The 2015 Trainer of the Year was stunned by what he saw from the former undisputed heavyweight champion, telling the Ariel Helwani MMA Show Tyson, at 53, still has incredible power.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I can tell you; if he wants to do something in the future, he is going to be ready to do that – 100%. He said he believes Tyson could make a comeback within six months, “It’s no joke.”
“I don’t want to say too much because it’s Tyson man. We can’t play with this guy.”
But Cordeiro admitted his life flashed before his eyes the first time he took a Tyson hook.
“When I hold mitts, I like to hold them close to my face,” Corderio added. “And the first time, I saw his right hook and Ariel I saw my whole life [flash before me]. “My wife, my daughters, my dog – I see everything because I thought, ‘I’m going to die here’. “But it’s just the fear; every time I hold mitts for him and he threw any kind of combination, it would push me off of the mat. “He puts on pressure, pressure, pressure. Mike Tyson’s game, as everybody knows, is pressure. Same way he fights, is the same way he trains.”
Well if reading that doesn't make your dick hard, then watch these recent training clips all spliced together-
So you've got the 2015 MMA Trainer of The Year, Rafael Cordeiro- the same guy that's trained Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Rua, Anderson Silva, Rafael dos Anjos, and Fabricio Werbum, the same guy that is a three-time Muay Thai champion himself, saying "he saw his dog when his life flashed before his eyes holding the mitts for Tyson last week."
Last week. Not 30 years ago. As we went over a few days ago, "The Baddest Man on The Planet" is 53 years old today and still hits like a fuckin Mac Truck.
Cordeiro's full interview with ESPN MMA can be seen here -
Last night we got more news and speculation.
Sirius XM Fight Nation - "Where there is smoke there is fire in regards to the Tyson returning to the ring rumors. Sounds like Dana White could be partnering with Tyson to launch Zuffa boxing promotion and Mike likely set to have one or two legit fights to get the promotion rolling. It would fall under the banner of the UFC deal with ESPN so in essence ESPN would be in charge of all promotion and sponsoring of the fight that would go on pay-per-view."
Whoa baby.
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As we know, with all respect to Connor McGregor, Mike Tyson is the biggest draw on the planet. Put him in the hands of a guy who turns everything he touches to gold like Dana White (and not a convicted murderer/felon) and the result will be magic. And a shitload of dollars all around.
Throw-in the other guy who was apart of what was arguably the most notorious fight of the century and we're talking buku bucks.
And this isn't media speculation. "The Real Deal" tweeted this himself-
World Boxing News - Days after Mike Tyson admitted his desire to fight again in an exhibition capacity, former opponent Evander Holyfield has put out a cryptic message.
Tyson posted a video of himself continuing to participate in training camp. The 53-year-old looks fearsome for what is set to be a charity comeback after fifteen years out.
Potential opponents have been bandied around since. With WBN citing ex-conqueror Danny Williams as one who could be considered.
Holyfield may well have jumped to the top of the wanted list for Tyson, though. Solely on the back of their world-famous past encounters. ‘The Real Deal’ defeated ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ back in November 1996. This was months before the even more infamous ‘Bite Fight‘.
The pair have since become firm friends. But they could well be on board with a three of four round workout in aid of good causes for the coronavirus crisis.
If you use this content, you legally agree to credit World Boxing News and backlink to our story Evander Holyfield hints at comeback as Mike Tyson cranks up training | WBN - World Boxing News
Quick refresher trip down memory lane -
The Tyson vs. Holyfield matchups were huge not just because of the clout the two fighters carried as boxing tacticians. It pitted two completely opposite styles of fighting against one another as well as two radically different personalities. Holyfield was a New Testament quoting machine. Tyson was a convicted felon that many compared to a pitbull off its leash.
In Tyson/Holyfield I, Tyson exploded at the start of the fight landing what would be his biggest punches before then getting tied up and pushed around by the stronger Holyfield the rest of the match. Holyfield dictated the tempo by countering Tyson's single punches with a flurry of combinations, tying him up and dumping him into the ropes, and effectively keeping Tyson on his back foot for the majority of the fight.
In the 5th round, Tyson managed to connect on a combination of his own which might have begun to swing momentum back his way. But in the 6th Holyfield accidentally (judges rule) headbutted Tyson, opening a decent size cut above his eye. Then the floodgates opened, a frustrated Tyson began charging at Holyfield head down swinging. They slammed heads again, opening up Tyson's cut even more and causing his knees to buckle. Referee Mitch Halpern again judged the headbutt unintentional. By the 10th round Tyson was boxing erratically and he caught a hard right hook from Holyfield that sent him across the ring into the ropes. Holyfield pummeled him in the corner until the bell and Tyson was out on his feet. Somehow the fight was allowed to continue into the 11th. Holyfield picked up where he left off in the 10th and Halpern stepped in and called the fight.
Holyfield became the first fighter since Muhammad Ali to win the Heavyweight World Championship three times.
Being a huge upset, a rematch was quickly lined up.
The rematch was billed as "The Sound and The Fury", but would come to be known as the "Bite Heard Round The World."
As in the first match, Holyfield completely dominated from the opening bell. The first three rounds saw Holyfield control the pace and stalk Tyson around the perimeter of the ring.
Also, like the first fight, Holyfield headbutted Tyson early on (this time 32 seconds into round 2) opening up a large gash above his right eye. Tyson, having bitched up a storm after the first match about Holyfield's headbutting, was visibly pissed-off.
Tyson answered the opening bell of the third round furiously attacking Holyfield. What was interesting in hindsight was that Tyson came out of his corner with no mouthpiece in. Referee (and daytime tv judge) Mills Lane noticed, and ordered Tyson back to his corner to put it in.
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We all know what happened next. Holyfield, catching a flurry of punches from Tyson, tied him up tight. Tyson spit out his mouthpiece, rolled his head over Holyfield's right shoulder, and bit the top of his ear. Holyfield began screaming and jumping up and down (watch the youtube clip, it's pretty wild)
Mills lane called for a timeout and Tyson pushed Holyfield in the back. The wheels began to come off.
Lane examined the ear bite with the ringside doctor and SOMEHOW this fight was allowed to continue. Lane told Tyson's corner he had deducted two points for the infraction and then resumed the round.
Holyfield clinched Tyson again, and again Tyson bit Holyfield but on his left ear. Lane again did not stop the fight and allowed the round to finish. When the second bite was confirmed the fight was called and hell broke loose.
Security flooded the ring, Tyson tried to attached Holyfield's corner men, the crowd starting launching projectiles into the ring. All that good stuff.
The fall out resulted in Tyson being sentenced with a permanent suspension from boxing and his license canceled. He was also fined $3,000,000. After a court appeal a year later, Tyson's license was reinstated.
Holyfield immediately forgave Tyson "since he has 100% faith in God and Jesus".
Since then and to this day they remain great friends.
Which means it wouldn't be totally improbable for the two to reunite for a third matchup…
A Tyson/Holyfield III might stop the world dead in its tracks. It would be the largest grossing PPV ever and the hype leading up to it would be Biblical. The only thing is they can't do this fight in an empty arena bullshit because the electricity in the stands will be half the entertainment. Listen to the first three rounds of that rematch fight in the youtube video. I don't know if its because cell phones didn't exist to have everybody glued to them at the time, or if it really was just a different sport and era back then, but there is nothing coming close to that buzz in the air today. (Maybe a World Cup Final?)
One of the best parts of all of this is that the mainstream media hasn't really jumped on the hype train yet, so you're still getting some raw truths from people with no vested financial interest in Tyson coming back or not. Like a former trainer of his from the late 90s, Jeff Fenech, who claims "Tyson would KO Deontay Wilder in the first round", and that he'd kill Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua too.
The Sporting News - "When Deontay Wilder knocked out (Luis) Ortiz, there was hardly a punch thrown in the fight," Fenech told Sporting News.
"Boxing's not the same now.
"I'd guarantee that if Mike Tyson trained for six weeks, he'd knock Wilder out in a minute.
"He would hit them. If these guys are getting knocked out by Tyson Fury - who's a great fighter, but not a huge puncher - Tyson would kill these guys.
"They're not on the same level today.
"Mike today, I reckon if he trained he could still beat these guys.
"Fury's got these other skills, but Deontay Wilder's got a punch and nothing else. If you punch him, it's over.
"And Mike don't miss."
That might be a stretch. But for a sport and heavyweight class that has been dying for a reason for people to care for quite some time, this could be just what the doctor ordered.
You've got people like Oscar De La Hoya, who is probably salivating at the thought of a Golden Boy sponsored Tyson bout, weighing in, also claiming Tyson would smoke today's fighters.
The Sun - His clip has even caught the eyes of former world champion Oscar De La Hoya, who left a bold comment on the sensational video.
The Golden Boy of boxing reckons the veteran heavyweight could give the young bucks a run for their money today.
He said: "I’m sure that if he trains for 12 rounds, right now he’ll knock out any heavyweight."
And you've even got the Donald excited -
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We need a 24/7 type show to start rolling on Tyson around the clock pronto. With this lockdown not looking like it's going away anytime soon, Tyson's comeback trail would be appointment television leading up to what would be the biggest fight of all-time PPV wise. I want it. You want it. The world needs it.
I think a great way to wrap this blog up is with Tyson's own words from his podcast with Sugar Ray Leonard last month which might have sparked this entire thing-
"I know the art of fighting, it's all I ever studied," Tyson said, before commenting on the conflicting emotions he feels between his former self as a competitor in the ring, and a man who is still coming to terms with who he is in retirement.
"It's why I was so feared in the ring. I was an annihilator. It was what I was born for. Now those days are gone and it's just empty."
Through a quivering lip, he said: "I'm nothing. I'm working on the art of humbleness. That's why I'm crying because I'm not that person no more, and I miss him. Because sometimes I feel like a bitch.
"I don't want that person to come out because if he does, hell is coming with him. It's not funny. I don't want it to sound cool like, 'I'm a tough guy,' because it's just bad. I hate that guy and I'm scared of him."