Evander Holyfield releases public statement claiming Mike Tyson rejected $25million offer for trilogy fight in May

Evander Holyfield's representatives have claimed that Mike Tyson has rejected a $25million offer for them to fight again at the end of May.

The boxing legends were involved in two famous battles in 1996 and 1997, but despite their ages – now 58 and 54 years old respectively – they are in talks to meet in the ring for a third time.

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Tyson returned to the ring last year for an eight-round exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr.

In the aftermath, Holyfield called him out for a third bout by posting a statement.

His team have now followed that up after months of fruitless talks.

The statement read: "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 vs Holyfield 3 at the Hard Rock Stadium to kick off Memorial Day weekend.

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"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.

"The event was to occur at the beautiful Hard Rock Stadium, and 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."

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In an additional quote, Holyfield's manager Kris Lawrence said: “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.”

It is now unclear whether or not the pair will ever meet again.