25 Million Dollar Pride Causes Holyfield versus McBride
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Miami Beach, FL (April 14th, 2021)– Iron Mike Tyson wants a contractual 25 million dollars to fight the third match with Evander “Real Deal’ Holyfield, exhibition or not. While Tyson wages his contractual warts, Holyfield, who last fought in 2011, has a new deal on the table. Holyfield, age 58, will fight the last foe to beat Tyson, Kevin McBride, age 47, in an exhibition on June 5, 2021, in Miami Beach, Florida, on the televised pay-per-view undercard of World Lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez scheduled titular defense against George Kambosos Jr.
What it is all about is Holyfield engaging in an exhibition tune up to reactivate and sharpen his skills for a bout later this year for Tyson. Roy Jones Jr., who recently drew with Tyson in an exhibition, apparently wanted no part of Holyfield, so McBride will have to suffice until such time as Holyfield versus Tyson III can be signed, stamped and delivered for Pay-Per-View.
Not that the public wants to see these old warriors rumble in the pandemic jungle one more time. There is a pandemic, though, and boxing, like all amateur and professional sports has hit a lull. The current state of boxing inertia has provided an opportunity for no spectator exhibitions on television to have a visual venue. Exhibitions are safe, solid entertainment, and famous names can provide entertainment in a halo time period without enough sports outside of reruns to fill the needs of sports fans and sports junkies.
Holyfield-Tyson II was originally supposed to take place in Miami, Florida, on May 29, 2021. Holyfield, 44-10-2 with 29 knockouts, defeated Brian Nielsen of Denmark in his final ring appearance in 2011. McBride, 35-10-1 with 29 knockouts, Brockton, Massachusetts, lost six of his last eight bouts after defeating Tyson.
Holyfield, despite giving away a decade, is a hard-working, disciplined fighter, and should be able to drop and stop McBride well within the eight rounds, two minutes round format for his exhibition with McBride. Holyfield wants the big money third match with Tyson. McBride’s purpose is his hope of securing a lucrative exhibition rematch with Tyson instead of Holyfield. McBride, who has called Tyson out, will have to prove it by defeating Holyfield. Ultimately, the exhibition win will go to the combatant who wants to rematch with Tyson more. As the Tyson versus Roy Jones Jr. so-called exhibition draw proved, the ridiculousness of exhibition scoring (Tyson clearly beat Jones) underscores the public’s demand to see a fairer exhibition scoring system put in place, even for exhibitions.
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