When Mike Tyson announced that he would be returning to boxing to face Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition fight, some former fighters were emboldened and wanted to imitate ‘Iron Mike’. It was really difficult for any other former boxer to make the media noise that Tyson generated, although one of his old enemies saw it clearly. Evander Holyfield, with whom Mike had already smoothed things over after the biting episode, called for a reunion in the ring with ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’.
Holyfield mulled over his return and finally faced -by default- the former UFC light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort, in an exhibition fight that was calamitous for him. Moreover, the fight was moved to Florida because the California Athletic Commission would not authorize it even as an exhibition. Finally, the fight took place in July 2021 in Miami, Florida.
The thing is that ‘The Real Deal’ came to this fight as a substitute for Oscar de la Hoya, another one who wanted to show his skills on the mat again, but contracted covid and got off the boat. In the background was the former undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight champion, who had signed with ‘Thriller’ months earlier, hoping to face ‘Iron Mike’.
With Donald Trump as a commentator and with ‘Warrior’ looking in good shape, this fight got underway. Evander was 58 years old, just the same age as Tyson now; Belfort was 44. The latter did not even want to attack and took almost a minute to let go of a hand that went to the body of Holyfield, who felt the blow and retreated.
Belfort began to string together combinations and his opponent did not know how to respond, until the Alabama fighter fell to the ground by the inertia of a failed left hook. His coordination and reflexes were not up to boxing. There was a second fall, with a protective count, and the referee was then forced to intervene during Belfort’s next onslaught. The clock read one minute and 49 seconds of the first round.
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