Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson has reportedly turned down an $18M offer from American bare-knuckle fighting promotion BKFC.
The offer reportedly named MMA legend Wanderlei Silva, who recently signed with BKFC but has yet to debut with the promotion, as the opponent for Tyson’s return.
News of Tyson’s rejection of the offer comes from Brazilian publication Combate. The Combate report cites a Spanish newspaper called Marca, which spoke to trainer Rafael Cordeiro. Cordeiro is a long-time coach of Silva, and has recently been training Tyson.
According to Cordeiro, Tyson is focused on making a return to traditional boxing, and not the gloveless variant.
“Tyson is getting ready to do a boxing match with gloves,” Cordeiro reportedly stated.
While Tyson is reportedly not interested in competing sans gloves, Silva claims to have leapt at the opportunity to fight the boxing legend.
“I was offered the fight and I accepted right away”, Silva told Brazilian publication TATAME, claiming he was offered a hefty $10M for the fight.
With Silva off the table, the most likely opponent for Tyson’s much-discussed is Evander Holyfield. Like the 53-year-old Tyson, the 57-year-old Holyfield has laid out plans for a comeback. Given the history the pair share in the ring, the fight makes plenty of sense.
Mike Tyson, for what it’s worth, seems interested in the idea.
“There are a lot of people out there that need help, and something like that can help a lot of people that’s in need of help. That’s a lot of money for charity. That is basically what I have embarked on in a life of charity and gratitude. I don’t know if me and Evander will ever get in the ring [again]. That would be awesome for charity, too,” Tyson told TMZ Sports. “Could you imagine me and him going into the ring together, archenemies, and doing it for humanity of people and people less fortunate than ourselves? What would that be like? That is something that has never been done before with any entertainer or any sports figure in the history of entertainment and sports.”
Who do you want to see Mike Tyson fight in his comeback?