Evander Holyfield still wants a trilogy fight against Mike Tyson.
Evander Holyfield had no place in the boxing ring against Vitor Belfort on Saturday night, but ‘The Real Deal’ believes the fight was stopped prematurely.
Holyfield lost the fight via first-round TKO. He almost fell through the ropes while throwing a punch off balance and was knocked down by Belfort before ‘The Phenom’ finished him off with a barrage of lefts and rights against the ropes.
Holyfield, however, insists he was never actually hurt and could have continued had the referee not stopped the fight.
“The guy pushed me, the guy is strong,” the 58-year-old boxing legend said in his post-fight interview (h/t Talk Sport). “But I wasn’t hurt. There wasn’t no shot that hurt me real bad. He got me with a shot and I was off balance. I’m not hurt. It’s kind of sad. I think it was a bad call, he shouldn’t have stopped the fight that quick.”
Holyfield also told rapper 50 Cent that he is still interested in a trilogy bout against Mike Tyson. The two heavyweights were previously linked to fight after ‘Iron Mike’s’ exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr. last year.
“Of course I would,” the Hall of Famer said when asked if he’d still like to fight Tyson.
Holyfield’s fight against Belfort was an exhibition, so the loss will not affect his pro-record.