Heavyweight great Mike Tyson is lining up a return to action this year in Saudi Arabia, World Boxing News understands.
Tyson is set for a piece of the Middle Eastern pie as investors in the region continue to snap up the most significant boxing names around.
With Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, and Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol in the bag, Tyson would be a significant coup for Chairman Turki Alalshikh.
Despite his initial focus being on full professional fights and main unifications, undisputed battles, and standout fights, Alalshikh would undoubtedly like to see Tyson in another exhibition.
Mike Tyson comeback
WBN believes Tyson is ready to accept an offer to face another big name in combat sports in the second half of this year. That’s provided the money is right. By that time, Tyson would be 58.
His previous effort against Roy Jones Jr., which cracked the all-time PPV top ten in 2020, still annoys Tyson.
He launched legal action against broadcaster Triller after claiming he was still owed money. Dealing with Alalshikh would be a different story entirely. Pockets are deep and filled with huge paychecks.
Lennox Lewis exhibition
Bringing Tyson over, potentially against a Lennox Lewis or in a rematch with Jones, would be a big ticket seller.
In discussing Fury vs. Usyk with Fight Hub TV, Lewis was asked recently whether a comeback was possible. He answered: “I am good. I have been doing a little bit of training weights, nothing too heavy for keeping fit.
He replied on an exhibition in the future: “Maybe you never know. I am in pretty good shape.”
Alalshikh also spoke to Fight Hub TV about staging exhibitions while ruling out the notion of any YouTubers getting a lucrative spot on any cards.
“We are ready to fight with him [Conor McGregor]. But we will try it, maybe, and we will announce it. We will do something big, and I will ask UFC if there is a chance to have McGregor on a card in the future.
“There are two things I am focusing on with the boxing situation. The first thing I want to do is to have a very good and powerful game. A video game. The last game was from ten years ago because some big companies don’t want to do boxing for different reasons. We are doing the undisputed and sponsoring the undisputed, which will be huge.
“We will support a TV series, movies, and a documentary. To make the documentary about the greatest forty legends in boxing to make the people see it and have one and a half hours to learn how they deal with their life.
No YouTubers
“There is the first part and a second part, please, if we don’t want any YouTuber to fight again. I don’t talk about names; I want fighters, which I support. Maybe another section will do something like this for the fans to make them happy, okay? But inside my heart, I want the fighters; I want to see the fighters [not YouTubers].”
Tyson would be a stellar addition to the Saudi Arabia boxing program, which already includes the top four heavyweights in the world today.
