Evander Holyfield celebrated his comeback at the age of 58 without knowing the intentions of his opponent, who had initially prepared for a match against Oscar De La Hoya.
Holyfield jumped in late and took on Vitor Belfort, a formidable former MMA star who was fourteen years his junior at the time. Unlike his former rival Mike Tyson, who returned that Friday evening, Holyfield only had a few days to prepare afterwards had recovered from an illness.
Kathy Duva, who promoted Holyfield in his later pro years, told World boxing News that “The Real Deal” didn't know the show would be so full-blooded.
Belfort had bad intentions from the start, defeating the two-weight world champion in 109 seconds after Holyfield was caught off guard.
Before Tyson attempted to defeat 27-year-old Jake Paul, Duva explained the situation with Holyfield and .
“Vitor Belfort was a stronger opponent [than Paul is]. And I don't know if Evander really expected that at that moment. I think he thought he was there for an exhibition and in his opinion no one would get hurt. While Belfort came in to cut off his head. I don't know if it would have ended like this if Evander had known what was coming. We’ll never know,” Duva told WBN exclusively.
On the controversial Paul-Tyson fight potentially going the same way, Duva added: “I don't know if Jake Paul has the wherewithal to hurt Mike Tyson.”
At this week's final press conference, Tyson assured everyone in the sport who fears his return that there is nothing to worry about.
“I’m just ready to fight. I said everything I had to say. There's nothing else to say. “I’m just looking forward to the fight,” Tyson said. He concluded, “I won’t lose.”
Jake Paul [10-1, 7 KOs] and the “worst man on the planet” Mike Tyson [50-6, 44 KOs] Trade Blows this Friday night on Netflix. The co-feature features undisputed super lightweight champion Katie Taylor [23-1, 6 KOs] and unified featherweight champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano [47-2-1, 31 KOs] fight in the most anticipated women's boxing rematch in history.
Other fighters featured included Mario Barrios, Abel Ramos, Neeraj Goyat, Whindersson Nunes, Shadasia Green, Melinda Watpool, Lucas Bahdi, Armando Casamonica, Shu Shu Carrington Jr. and Dana Coolwell.
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Read all of Phil Jay's articles and exclusive interviews. Find out more about the authorexperienced boxing writer and editor of World boxing News since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
