Mike Tyson laid gauntlet down to Tyson Fury and boxing’s best with audacious call out
by Fasika Zelealem · Manchester Evening NewsMike Tyson once revealed his desire to clash against Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder for charity.
The boxing icon is preparing to step back into the ring next week for an eagerly awaited bout against Jake Paul on Friday (November 15) at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
It will mark Tyson's first professional boxing match since his loss to Kevin McBride in 2005 and his first fight of any sort since his charity exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr in 2020.
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Despite being 58 years old, Tyson's former title of 'The Baddest Man on the Planet' still holds true years after his two stints as the heavyweight champion of the world.
Just a week before his draw against Jones Jr, Tyson called on the world's top heavyweights to face him in the ring to raise funds for charity. He pledged to donate his entire purse from the clash with his fellow boxing great, and when asked about Fury, Wilder and Joshua, the New Yorker threw down the gauntlet at the new generation.
"I think they're brilliant," Tyson commented. "They're brilliant fighters. They could do so much for society. They could have exhibitions and take the money from the exhibitions, because they're such big crowd pleasers and they could help so many people."
(Image: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
"There's so many people out there that we can do so much for, and it wouldn't even be a 10th of their charitable heart to do something like that. In fact, fight exhibitions with me, and most of our charity would go to people who desperately need it.", reports the Mirror.
Earlier in 2020, Tyson expressed his desire to face the toughest opponents in the heavyweight division of boxing. "If doing that means we can have bigger charity exponents, well be it, I'm down to do that too," he stated.
"This is all being done for charity, and if they're down to do that, I'm with it too. It's entertainment, it's just for charity - it's for a good cause, but we're giving our best."
During an interview, the possibility of a showdown with Joshua was presented to Tyson, who showed enthusiasm at the prospect of sharing the ring with the former two-time unified heavyweight champion.
He commented: "I would love to do that. That would be mind-blowing. I want you to label them as exhibitions because there are no hard feelings. It has a charity exponent and I look at that as bigger than me. 'Buying a new car, a new girlfriend, a new mansion, a new plane'... that doesn't do it for me anymore. It just doesn't work."
Fury, who shares his name with Tyson, previously revealed that talks had taken place regarding their potential exhibition match. However, disagreements over financial matters put a halt to any progress.