Notebook: Tyson-Holyfield exhibition talks derailed by squabble over money

Hooker update; Triller making moves; Quick hits; Show and tell

After Mike Tyson’s blockbuster pay-per-view exhibition against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. in November, he said he would continue to put on such fights and many expected Tyson would next face longtime rival and fellow retired former undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.

Tyson, 54, had hoped to face Holyfield in November rather than Jones but the deal could not be made even though Holyfield, 58, also said he was interested.

The sides have been in talks in an effort to make the match for this spring but Holyfield’s representatives issued a media release on Monday in which they accused Tyson of rejecting a guaranteed $25 million for the exhibition that was targeted for May 29 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

“Representatives of Evander Holyfield expressed frustration after Mike Tyson’s representatives refused to accept a $25,000,000 guarantee from Team Holyfield to participate in Tyson-Holyfield 3 at the Hard Rock Stadium to kick off Memorial Day weekend,” the release read. “The parties have been in intense negotiations for several months and Team Holyfield sincerely believed a deal was imminent, especially after the Hard Rock threw its support behind the project, and there were multiple other offers conveyed to Team Tyson. However, Team Tyson’s demands recently became untenable, and not what Mike Tyson had originally agreed on in direct conversations with Holyfield.”

With Florida having relaxed capacity restrictions despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Holyfield’s reps said Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and where Canelo Alvarez retained his unified super middleweight titles by knocking out Avni Yildirim in the third round on Feb. 27, “would have been the ideal setting for the trilogy finale of this great rivalry between two of the greatest legends in the history of boxing. While neither side has announced publicly that the fight is not going to happen, with negotiations at a standstill and the date rapidly approaching, it seems unlikely that this fight will occur as planned.”

Kris Lawrence, Holyfield’s manager, added, “We thought this was a done deal but it quickly fell apart when Tyson’s people declined all offers. We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time.”

Tyson’s pushed back at Team Holyfield’s characterization of the talks.

“This is not true. The team did offer a 50/50 split of net profit,” a Tyson spokesperson told Fight Freaks Unite. “Tyson is focused on his fast-growing sports league, (a Martin) Scorsese-produced TV show and slew of other events and premium content.”

Scorsese is part of the creative team producing a limited-run series with Jamie Foxx starring in as Tyson in a multi-part biopic. The series has no television or streaming service home yet but a bidding war is anticipated.

Tyson’s exhibition with Jones generated around 1.6 million pay-per-view buys at $49.99 a pop between traditional pay-per-view on cable, satellite services and via the FITE streaming service -- a shockingly high figure -- according to organizers.

Tyson and Holyfield, of course, have met twice in mega fights, both for a heavyweight world title. In November 1996, Holyfield was a huge underdog but stunningly stopped Tyson in the 11th round to take his title. In June 1997, they met in an immediate rematch and Holyfield again scored the upset to retain the title by third-round disqualification when Tyson infamously bit off a chunk of his ear.

What’s next for Hooker?

Former junior welterweight world titlist Maurice Hooker is going to be sidelined for at least two months because of a broken right hand but he will have the opportunity for another meaningful fight when he is ready to return, according to Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez.

Hooker broke his hand during an action-packed seventh-round knockout loss to rising star and fellow Dallas native Vergil Ortiz Jr. in their welterweight bout Saturday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hooker visited a hand specialist on Monday and had his hand placed in a splint. It will eventually be put in a cast. He will have a chance to get back on track when he is healthy as his deal for the fight against Ortiz was part of a two-fight agreement with Golden Boy Promotions.

I wrote about it all for BoxingScene with comments from Hooker, trainer/manager Brian McIntyre and Gomez, who discussed the potential comeback opponents for Hooker. Please read the story here: https://www.boxingscene.com/hooker-broken-hand-sideline-him-least-2-months-golden-boy-plans-him--156349

Kahn takes role with Triller

Triller Fight Club, a partnership between Triller and music star Snoop Dogg, on Monday announced that noted boxing manager Peter Kahn has been named the company’s chief boxing officer. Kahn, a Boxing Writers Association of America 2019 and 2020 manager of the year nominee, has worked on the promotional and management side of the sport for the past 25 years.

“We are excited have Peter formally join us in this critical role as we expand and advance the boxing side of Triller Fight Club,” Triller’s Ryan Kavanaugh said. “In a very short period of time as we set up for our April 17th (Jake Paul-Ben Askren PPV), June and July events it became clear that he is one of the smartest, most respected people in the sport, as well as someone who shares our vision for changing the way boxing can be presented as a sports and entertainment property. His input to date has been invaluable, and it will continue to grow as we expand our business.”

Kahn manages lightweight contender George Kambosos Jr., who will headline a Triller PPV in June against unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez Jr.

“I am looking forward to adding quality fights and providing the fans with matchups that will appeal to the hard-core and casual boxing fans alike to complement the four-quadrant model of Triller Fight Club that consists of influencers, legends, music artists and contemporary fighters.” Kahn said. “I will work closely with the major promoters and managers in the sport to find ways to elevate the profiles of the fighters while providing entertainment to the pay-per-view audience.”

Triller broke into boxing in November with the successful Tyson-Jones pay-per-view.

Quick hits

Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya said he is awaiting a date in April from DAZN for the return of middleweight contender Jaime Munguia, a former junior middleweight titlist. “Waiting on DAZN for the final confirmation and it’s on,” De La Hoya wrote on social media Monday. “Can’t wait for April to see our star in the making.” But there is clearly tension between Golden Boy and DAZN in the wake of Canelo Alvarez leaving Golden Boy but staying with DAZN late last year. “What a great successful show Saturday night,” De La Hoya also wrote, referring to the Vergil Ortiz-Maurice Hooker card. “Very surprised DAZN had not one executive that night witnessing a star in the making. Looking forward to Jaime Munguia and Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Ryan Garcia dates. Let’s go!!!” Golden Boy is aiming to put on a card with Munguia and Ramirez on April 23 or 24 with Poland’s Maciej Sulecki (29-2, 11 KOs) the main name in the mix to face Mexico’s Munguia (36-0, 29 KOs). Sulecki’s only losses were by decision to Demetrius Andrade in a 2019 world title challenge and Daniel Jacobs in 2018.

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Ring City USA announced the undercard for the show headlined by seven-division titlist Amanda Serrano (39-1-1, 29 KOs) defending her unified women’s featherweight title against two-division titlist Daniela Bermudez (29-3-3, 10 KOs) on Thursday (NBCSN, 9 p.m.) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the eight-round bantamweight co-feature, Puerto Rico’s Abimael Ortiz (8-0-1, 4 KOs) faces Eduardo Baez (18-1-2, 6 KOs), a Mexico native fighting out of Calexico, California. In the eight-round junior featherweight opener, Carlos Caraballo (13-0-0, 13 KOs), of Puerto Rico, fights Mexico’s Leonardo Baez (18-3-0, 9 KOs). Other undercard bouts will stream on Twitch.

Show and tell

When HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” debuted in February 1996 it did so with an epic main event in which Marco Antonio Barrera stopped Kennedy McKinney in the 12th round to retain his junior featherweight world title in an all-time thriller. The following month came a worthy encore as the legend of Arturo Gatti — my all-time favorite fighter — was born from his incredible sixth-round comeback knockout of Wilson Rodriguez to retain his junior lightweight title for the first time.

The fight was dubbed “March Mayhem” and it couldn’t have been more appropriate given the utter chaos that would unfold in the ultra-exciting bout. Gatti’s right eye was swollen and he got dropped in the second round of the all-out slugfest. There was serious drama in Gatti’s corner following the third round when the ringside doctor examined Gatti’s eye and barked at him to cover his left eye and to tell him how many fingers he had up or he would stop the fight. Gatti finally obeyed and got it right, but he needed to do something dramatic. He dropped Rodriguez in the fifth round with a body shot but had a point deducted for a low blow and was in trouble as the round ended. But in the sixth round, trailing on two scorecards, Gatti drilled Rodriguez with a left hook to knock him out for an all-time comeback in one of my favorite fights of all time. The fight, which took place at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, was on March 23, 1996 – 25 years ago today.

Here are two prized items from the legendary fight in my collection: A scarce thin cardboard site poster (which also pictures the excellent co-feature between Orlando Canizales and Junior Jones) and a full ticket.

Tyson photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Triller