Mike Tyson has rejected Evander Holyfield’s offer for a third fight, instead claiming their enduring friendship constitutes a “true” trilogy. Tyson (58) recently returned to the ring to fight an eight-round fight with 27-year-old Internet star Jake Paul on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Tyson was defeated by decision after going the entire distance with Paul, in what critics called a needy performance. During the event that marked Netflix’s entry into the boxing scene, Holyfield was a commentator.

After the fight, Holyfield expressed his desire to face Tyson again by sharing a amusing mock-up poster on social media. However, Tyson poured icy water on this idea. “I love you, brother, but the trilogy [fight] is our friendship,” wrote “Iron Mike” in an forthright response to Holyfield.

Their first meeting took place in 1996 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, where they competed for the WBA world heavyweight championship. They were both icons of world sport at the time.

Although Tyson was heavily favored at odds of five to one, Holyfield won with a dramatic knockout in the 11th round. Their high-profile rematch, which took place in 1997, also at the MGM Grand, went down in history as “The Bite Fight” after Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Holyfield’s ear.

Tyson ended his career after further defeats to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride in 2004 and 2005, only to return in 2020 for an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr, who did not count towards either player’s record. Jake Paul appeared on the undercard against Nate Robinson, delivering a spectacular knockout.

Four years later, Tyson and Paul faced off in front of a huge worldwide audience. According to event organizer Most Valuable Promotions, the Tyson vs. Paul main event peaked with 65 million concurrent households watching on Netflix.

Additionally, the event at Dallas Cowboys Stadium was attended by approximately 70,000 spectators, generating ticket sales of £14 million ($18 million) – double the previous Texas gate record for a combat sports competition set by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. when he defeated Billy Joe Saunders. It is unclear whether Tyson will return to the ring. However, Paul has previously expressed his ambitions to challenge Canelo and even compete in MMA.

Holyfield (62) had his last professional fight in 2011 at the age of 48, although his last exhibition fight was in 2021. In 2015, he also fought former US presidential candidate Mitt Romney during a charity event.

He is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, holding the unified WBA, WBC and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, and the WBA title for the third time from 1996 to 1999; IBF title for the third time from 1997 to 1999 and WBA title for the fourth time from 2000 to 2001.

In addition to consecutive victories over Tyson, Holyfield also defeated George Foreman, Larry Holmes and Buster Douglas – months after Douglas ended Tyson’s undefeated streak in 1990.

The former world boxing champion has made it his mission to lend a hand older men combat loneliness and improve their mental health, as well as combat a potentially harmful relationship with alcohol.

Tony Bellew was inspired to join Men on a mission campaign in conjunction with DRINKiQ AND Men’s shedsafter struggling to leave boxing in 2018.

“One day you wake up and you no longer do what you have been doing for 25 years,” he told Express Sport.

“I’ve been punching people in the face for 25 years, I get punched in the face, and then all of a sudden you wake up and you don’t do it anymore.

“You have to come to terms with it. You don’t think it is true at the time, but when you look back. It’s strenuous, but you learn to cope.”

After dealing with his own issues over the past few years, Bellew is determined to lend a hand older men restore a sense of purpose in their own lives.

Many people turn to alcohol when something goes wrong, especially when they lack support to lend a hand them overcome certain challenges. However, Bellew wants to raise awareness of healthier coping mechanisms in an attempt to turn things around.

He worked with Men’s shedswhich can be found all over the country and provide a safe and sound place for men who are trying to talk to each other and escape from their problems.

“I want to lend a hand older men not only repair their relationship with alcohol, but also talk to people and talk,” he said.

“This is also close to my heart for people like me. I have a father who is around this age. We need to start talking first to get things moving.

“I just think these initiatives like Men’s Sheds are a great way to get that message out. The numbers here surprise me and at the end of the day these guys are in a much better state mentally and physically and that can only be a good thing.”

Although awareness of mental health has skyrocketed in recent years, it remains a stigmatized topic that can prevent older men from seeking lend a hand.

“We know that statistics tell us that one in four men aged 50 to 75 think almost nothing about their wellbeing and mental health,” Bellew explained.

“It’s not really talked about. It’s like a taboo topic. They don’t really want to talk about it, they don’t feel the need to. They actually think it’s frail. These are the guests who turn to drink.

“Before you know it, the problem is upon you, it’s getting worse, and you have to do something about it. We need to be out there talking to men of this age and letting them know that there are other things to do, because it is, it’s so strenuous.

“This age group is going down a slippery slope and I think we all know where that’s going to lead, and it’s not very good. Right now we have an epidemic that is at an all-time high. We have to deal with this.”

Bellew wants to inspire older men to take action by talking about their own experiences and setting an example for others in breaking down barriers.

“I am portrayed as this massive, tough case who has no emotions and doesn’t speak, but it’s quite the opposite,” he added.

“I don’t really talk about my issues and problems as often as I should, but I try. Things like this can convey a message.

“We are going through an epidemic. I don’t want to employ this word, but we are experiencing a suicide epidemic. It won’t solve all problems, but talking can solve most of them.

“There is nothing frail about explaining your problems. We have to move away from this. This is my personal opinion. Men need to talk.”

Above all, Bellew wants men to avoid suffering in silence by speaking out about their problems, even though it may be an extremely tough step.

“You are not alone,” he said. “Everyone goes through something. As men, we need to come together and talk to each other.

“Just open your mouth and speak. You’ll be amazed at the answers you get when you start talking. I really believe it.

“You will soon realize that you are not the only one and you no longer have to suffer in silence. In my opinion, the shared problem is half the problem. That’s the best way to deal with it.”

Former world champion Mike Tyson is ranked 309th in the BoxRec heavyweight rankings after his recent points defeat to influential boxer Jake Paul. Iron Mike, 58, defied his age in his first professional fight since losing to Kevin McBride in 2005.

The marquee fight between Tyson and Paul was available to watch worldwide on Netflix. However, boxing icon Tyson found it complex to compete with The Problem Child considering their 31-year age difference. Avoiding defeat by knockout, Tyson left Arlington, Texas with a points defeat, but he took positives from his return to the ring.

After the fight, Tyson took to social media to say: “It’s one of those situations where you lost but you still won. I’m grateful for last night. I don’t regret entering the ring for the last time. I almost died in June. I had 8 blood transfusions. I lost half my blood and 25 pounds in the hospital and had to fight to get better to fight, so I won. My kids saw me go head to head and finish 8 innings with a talented fighter half my age, packed Dallas Cowboy Stadium is an experience no one could ask for. Thank you.

Following this, Tyson finished 309th in the latest BoxRec heavyweight rankings, an astonishing 183 places behind relative newcomer Paul. The legendary figure is only slightly ahead of Terrell Jamal Woods, who has won one of his last 15 fights and has a record of 29-62. Even lesser-known boxers like Peter “The Problem” Naylor rank significantly above Tyson.

In contrast, Paul dropped to 126th in the world after his decisive victory in Texas. Reflecting on the fight and whether he went effortless on Tyson in the later rounds, Paul stated: “Yeah, definitely, definitely a little bit. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to [to hurt him]. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone who didn’t need to be hurt.

While the fight didn’t produce the fireworks many expected, some spectators were so disappointed that they left AT&T Stadium before the decision was announced. However, the fallout was not suppressed.

In delicate of his performance, Paul received a call from none other than undisputed delicate heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.

“@jakepaul, what can you do in the ring against the current undisputed champion?” – Beterbiev asked in an Instagram post. “Just know that I’m always open to any suggestions.”

On Saturday, it was revealed that the main event on Netflix was watched by more than 60 million households, leading to several outages for the streaming platform. Meanwhile, the fight’s purse exceeded $18 million, doubling the previous Texas record for combat sports in boxing and MMA and breaking Canelo Alvarez’s record of $9 million.