{"id":464286,"date":"2026-02-09T19:22:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T19:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/464286\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T19:22:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T19:22:47","slug":"heavyweight-legend-said-mike-tyson-ducked-him-i-made-fighters-turn-their-backs-and-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/464286\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavyweight legend said Mike Tyson ducked him: “I made fighters turn their backs and run”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Tyson<\/a> and Evander Holyfield<\/a> were repeatedly accused of ducking the same former world champion, who eventually faced the latter in a long-awaited heavyweight clash.<\/p>\n

Before that, Tyson and Holyfield were largely considered to be on a collision course, especially after \u2018The Real Deal\u2019 dethroned James \u2018Buster\u2019 Douglas in 1990.<\/p>\n

Douglas had caused an almighty upset by knocking Tyson out<\/a>, via a 10th-round finish earlier that year, to become the unified world heavyweight champion.<\/p>\n

\u2018Iron Mike\u2019, however, was able to swiftly bounce back with two first-round stoppages, while Holyfield became a two-weight world champion following his third-round finish over Douglas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The former cruiserweight king was then ordered to defend his titles against Tyson, only for a lucrative battle with George Foreman to take priority instead.<\/p>\n

Their collision in 1991 finally materialised after Foreman, who ended his decade-long retirement in 1987, had spent the past few years calling out both Holyfield and Tyson.<\/p>\n

In the end, Holyfield came away with a unanimous decision victory, before losing to Riddick Bowe a year and a half later, while Tyson never locked horns with \u2018Big George\u2019.<\/p>\n

According to Foreman, whose interview around that time has been shared by Combat Highlights<\/a>, the two American heavyweights wanted no part of him whatsoever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not fighting Mike Tyson [and] I\u2019m not fighting Evander Holyfield, because they are afraid of me. Let\u2019s get that straight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to fight each other, because they\u2019re small guys and they don\u2019t want to fight Big George.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten into the ring with guys and I\u2019ve seen them turn their back, and run; I mean literally turn their backs on me and run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holyfield went on to complete his iconic trilogy with Bowe and secure a sizable upset victory against Tyson, stopping him in the 11th round of their first encounter in 1996.<\/p>\n