Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield has said he is open to facing one-time rival Mike Tyson in a trilogy fight for charity on the condition that Tyson asks for the bout to be set up.
Tyson, 53, fought two epic bouts with Holyfield, 57, during their professional careers, including their controversial 1997 encounter in which Tyson bit off a chunk of Holyfield's ear.
'Iron Mike' had released several training videos in recent weeks fueling speculation he could be returning to the ring, while Holyfield announced his return for a charity bout on Instagram earlier this month.
"If I ask him it's almost like me being a bully saying I want to go against somebody I've beaten twice," Holyfield told the BBC. "I don't want pressure on me that 'you just want to fight Mike because you know you can beat him'.
"If he hits me I'm going to hit back. I'm going to be 58, he'll be 54, you talk about being in good health and doing things the proper way that respects it. I don't have no problem with it."
Tyson, the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, retired after a loss to Kevin McBride in 2005, while Holyfield called time on his career nine years later.
If they do return, they will be following in the footsteps of Floyd Mayweather Jr. in coming out of retirement for an exhibition fight.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
-reuters-
Andy Ruiz Jr. dethroned British title-holder Anthony Joshua with a stunning seventh-round stoppage at New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday to become the first Mexican-American world heavyweight champion.
Joshua, previously undefeated and fighting for the first time in the United States, was defending his IBF, WBA and WBO titles but was knocked down four times in the fight before the referee waved off the contest in the seventh.
Ruiz had not been given much chance of beating the champion given he had just five full weeks to prepare after Joshua's scheduled opponent, Jarrell Miller, tested positive performance-enhancing drugs.
Joshua said the defeat was hard to take but that he would be back.
"Boxing is a tough sport. I trained hard, I stayed dedicated. And I just got beat by a good fighter tonight," he said. "It'll be interesting to see how far he goes but good luck to him.
"I gotta bounce back. This is all part of the journey. Fighter by heart, boxer by trade."
Ruiz was dropped to the canvas in the third but the heavy brawler came back to down the Brit in the same round and Joshua was lucky to survive.
Joshua appeared to recover and worked his jab well over the next few rounds but Ruiz landed big body shots in the sixth to put the champion on the back foot.
Joshua went down again in a flurry of Ruiz punches with nearly two minutes left in the seventh and while the British fighter got off his knees just in time to beat the count his legs looked like jelly as he made his way to a neutral corner.
The referee asked him if he was okay to continue before waving his arms to end the fight, prompting wild celebrations in the ring by Ruiz and his trainers.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles, Additional reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
LOS ANGELES -- Deontay Wilder retained his WBC heavyweight crown here Saturday after battling to a split decision draw against Britain's Tyson Fury in a pulsating 12-round battle.
Wilder had Fury on the canvas twice, including a spectacular final round knockdown, but was unable to get the knockout victory he had promised to deliver at the Staples Center.
The three judges were divided on the outcome, with one scoring it 115-111 for Wilder, another 114-112 for Fury and the third 113-113.
"I think with the two knockdowns I definitely won the fight," said Wilder afterwards. "We poured our hearts out tonight. We're both warriors, but with those two drops I think I won the fight."
Wilder, who remains unbeaten after 41 fights, immediately called for a rematch.
"I would love for it to be my next fight," Wilder said. "Let's give the fans what they want to see. It was a great fight and let's do it again."
Fury meanwhile insisted he had done enough to win.
"We're on away soil, I got knocked down twice, but I still believe I won that fight," Fury said.
"That man is a fearsome puncher and I was able to avoid that. The world knows I won the fight."
Fury also said he hopes to arrange a rematch.
"One hundred percent we'll do the rematch," Fury said. "We are two great champions. Me and this man are the two best heavyweights on the planet."
Until a sensational final round knockdown from Wilder, Fury appeared to be heading towards what would have been a remarkable upset.
The 30-year-old "Gypsy King", who returned to boxing this year after missing more than two years through depression, drink and drug problems, had boxed cleverly to evade the heavy-hitting threat of Wilder for most of the fight.
The American champion struggled to connect cleanly with Fury throughout an absorbing contest, all too often sending huge arcing haymakers whistling past Fury's head.
Wilder landed just 71 of 430 punches thrown, or 17 percent.
Fury by contrast cleverly picked his moments, finding Wilder with greater accuracy and causing a nasty swelling over the American's left eye.
Wilder, the more aggressive of the two fighters early on, quickly moved into an early lead.
But Fury gradually grew in confidence, regularly taunting Wilder by throwing his arms up in the air or behind his back.
Wilder responded with increasingly desperate flurries of big punches, very few of which found their mark.
As several former heavyweights had predicted beforehand, the longer the fight went on, the more Fury looked in control.
- Fury goes down -
However in the ninth round, Wilder finally made his mark, dropping Fury with a short hook that had the fans on their feet.
Fury recovered well however and regained his composure to resume where he had left off. With a large contingent of British fans in the audience of 17,698 roaring him on, a victory suddenly seemed within reach.
Wilder however suddenly found a devastating combination just when he needed it in the 12th round.
A right hand sent Fury rocking backwards towards the deck and a brutal left hand on the way down appeared to be the coup de grace for the challenger.
Incredibly however, Fury managed to pick himself up and clear his head to survive the remainder of the round and escape with a draw.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua may have proclaimed himself "the best in the division" ahead of putting his titles on the line against Russia's Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium, but he also stressed a defeat would not signal the end of his career.
The 28-year-old British boxer has won all 21 of his fights since entering the paid ranks, with 20 by way of knockout, although his last title defense, against New Zealand's Joseph Parker in Cardiff in March saw him go the distance for the first time as a professional before he secured a unanimous points decision.
But Joshua, citing the example of many great boxers, insisted a reverse in front of his home crowd on Saturday would not see him bow out of boxing.
"That fear of losing is always there," Joshua, the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization champion, told reporters at Wembley.
"Sugar Ray Robinson, the best fighter of all time, can lose. Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Roberto, Duran, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, (all lost)."
"So who am I to go undefeated?...I have lost before as an amateur and that didn't deter me from getting where I am today," added the London 2012 Olympic champion.
When it was put to Joshua that losing would not end his career, he replied: "One hundred percent and I know that it could happen because I know how tough this sport is."
"That's what I say in boxing, there's no league one, league two...You are either the best or you're not."
Joshua has a significant height and reach advantage of several inches over Povetkin, the 2004 Olympic champion.
Friday's weigh-in also confirmed a significant size difference, with Joshua tipping the scales at 17 stone 8 pounds (111.5 kilos) compared to the 39-year-old Povetkin's 15st 12lbs (100.7 kilos).
This fight sees Joshua returning to the scene of arguably his greatest triumph, an 11th-round stoppage of former champion Wladimir Klitschko last year.
Klitschko is the only man to have inflicted a blemish on Povetkin's 35-fight record, with a points win back in 2013.
Povetkin, however, served notice of his formidable punching power with a sickening knockout of Britain's David Price on the Joshua-Parker undercard at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
Nevertheless, Joshua had no doubt his best would be good enough to defeat Povetkin.
"Yeah 100 percent," he said.
"I am the best in the division. There is no doubt about it. It's been proven. There hasn't been a time in boxing since I've been an amateur that I haven’t been on top," added Joshua, whose management have yet to secure a heavyweight unification fight with World Boxing Council champion Deontay Wilder.
'Well is deep'
Joshua though insisted he was fully focused on the challenge posed by Povetkin.
"I’m up against one of the best fighters in the world, he's a top three fighter in the world, so I have got to be on my A game," he explained.
But Joshua believes the fact he won a grueling contest against Klitschko would stand him in good stead on Saturday.
"Povetkin says he is not the same fighter he was when he lost to Klitschko, he's stronger," said Joshua.
"I can reflect and say I'm the same. When I fought Klitschko, I thought we would have a good boxing match. You know, two tall guys jab, one-two, one-two hook and I’m probably going to knock him out like I did the rest of the fighters. It turned out to be a completely different kind of night," he said.
"Klitschko at the end of his career, he was 39, wanted his hands on the championship belts and he said he was obsessed."
"He was probably in good condition, because most fighters are if they train, but he was obsessed. Povetkin, same thing. Back at Wembley at the end of his career, same age, wants his hands on the belts so I have got to be prepared to go through hell and back," he said.
"Without that Klitschko fight, I wouldn't be as prepared as I am now," Joshua explained.
"I think my well is deep, my heart can definitely go through hell and back."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
