Mike Tyson plans boxing return in late May, wants to ‘go all out’
(Editor’s note: This story originally published at Boxing Junkie, part of the USA TODAY Network.)
Mike Tyson says he’ll be back in the ring in late May.
The former boxing heavyweight champ, who took part in an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr. last November, says his next bout will take place on Memorial Day weekend at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The likely date is Saturday, May 29.
Tyson, 54, made the announcement informally when he was speaking to guests Canelo Alvarez and Eddy Reynoso on his “Hotboxin'” podcast.
Tyson didn’t mention an opponent. He and Evander Holyfield reportedly have been in talks, and he would be a natural choice given their historic rivalry.
Tyson was last in the ring with Holyfield in June 1997, when Tyson was disqualified for twice biting Holyfield’s ear in one of the most infamous incidents in sports history. Holyfield later forgave Tyson.
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Holyfield had taken Tyson’s heavyweight title by a stunning 11th-round knockout in November 1996.
Tyson recently said he held back in his bout with Jones, which ended in an unofficial draw.
“I felt better than I anticipated,” Tyson, referring to the Jones fight, said on his podcast. “I thought I would be a little more nervous than I was, but I was relaxed. I felt like, wow, I could do some more, I could punch more combinations, I could do this and do that. I said, ‘Wow, this is interesting.’ And I want to do it again, and I want to do it against someone I could go all out on. It made me interested in wanting to do it again.
“I wanted to go the distance. I didn’t want to knock anybody out. That’s what people expected, but I wanted to go the distance.”
