After losing on points to Jake Paul on November 15, heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson turned down an offer to fight former champion Evander Holyfield for a third time.

On November 18, Holyfield posted a photo challenging Tyson on Instagram with the message: “The fans want this. We’re not done yet.”

At the bottom, Tyson politely declined. “I love you bro, but third time’s the charm,” he wrote.

Evander Holyfield posted a photo on Instagram of himself wanting to fight Mike Tyson for the third time.

Evander Holyfield posted a photo of himself wanting to fight Mike Tyson for the third time on Instagram .

Holyfield , 58, retired in 2011. During his career, he won 44 matches with 29 knockouts, 10 losses, two draws and one draw. Holyfield is the only man to have won the World Heavyweight Championship four times, winning the WBA, WBC and IBF titles in 1990, the WBA and IBF titles in 1993 and the WBA titles in 1996 and 2000.

At his peak, Holyfield won both of his fights with Tyson. The first was at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on November 9, 1996, when Holyfield won by technical knockout in the 11th round to win the WBA and The Ring heavyweight titles. Half a year later, he was declared the victor after Tyson bit his ear in one of the biggest scandals in boxing history.

In 2021, Holyfield contacted Tyson with the desire to fight for a third time as a sign of forgiveness . But then, the fight negotiations fell apart, when “Iron Mike” reportedly rejected an offer of up to $25 million.

Holyfield and Tyson were close friends before the ear-biting incident in 1997. Despite the huge conflict and argument at that time, the two have reconciled and always respected each other.

Tyson is also a boxing legend, still holding the record as the youngest heavyweight boxer in history to own a world championship belt with the WBC belt in late 1986, at the age of 20. During his professional career, he lost six and won 50 matches, including 44 knock-out victories.

The 58-year-old boxer recently made headlines when he returned to the ring to face Jake Paul in what is considered the most controversial match in boxing history at AT&T, Texas on the evening of November 15. Tyson started strong but could not surprise his opponent, who is 31 years younger. He threw only 97 punches and landed 18, achieving 19% – compared to Paul’s 278 punches, 78 on target and achieving 28%. The judges scored the fight 80-72, 79-73, 79-73 in favor of Paul after eight rounds.

After the fight, Tyson joked that he might fight Paul’s brother Logan.

In fact, British newspaper Sportmail said that Tyson felt “lucky” that Paul did not go all out to win by knockout, and considered this the end of his boxing career. “He is in a bad state and a bit embarrassed,” the British newspaper quoted a close source as saying.

Despite the defeat, Tyson pocketed at least $20 million. During his illustrious career spanning more than 20 years, “Iron Mike” is said to have earned around $430 million, with his biggest payday being $35 million for his fight with Lennox Lewis.