Mike Tyson has been offered a trilogy fight with Evander Holyfield in the wake of his unanimous decision loss to Jake Paul.

The 58-year-old returned to the squared circle in a professional capacity for the first time in 19 years when he went toe-to-toe with YouTuber-turned-pugilist Paul, 27, at the AT&T Stadium on November 15. And while many fight fans will have hoped to see ‘Iron’ Mike derail the ‘Problem Child’s’ hype train with a knockout, the bout was a strikingly different state of affairs.

The far faster content creator glided around the ring at leisure while picking apart the former heavyweight champion of the world before clinching a unanimous decision after eight rounds. And some in attendance were so unimpressed by the showing that they vacated their seats before the fight was even over.

While many fight fans have urged Tyson never to return to the world of combat sports and be content with his list of achievements compiled through his 50-7-2 record, long-time rival Holyfield couldn’t help but put the idea of a coveted trilogy fight out into the universe.

Taking to Instagram and sharing a photo reading: “The trilogy Tyson VS Holyfield,” the 62-year-old wrote: “The fans want it #unfinishedbusiness.” However, quick to shoot down the idea of stepping into the ring for a third time with Holyfield, Tyson was quick to comment: “I love you brother, but the trilogy is our friendship.”

And a number of fans were quick to side with Tyson’s viewpoint on the proposed contest too, with one writing: “We love you, so we don’t want to see it,” while another added: “After Tyson’s performance, rather not see him step in the ring anymore …now everybody wanna try and pick on Tyson.”

Holyfield and Tyson met twice in the ring

Holyfield and Tyson met twice in the ring 

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Allsport)

Earlier this week, Holyfield also doubled down that he was serious about a trilogy with Tyson at the time, explaining his reasoning during an instalment of The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal. He said: “When I said that, I would do it you know? But we asked him a long time ago and he decided not to do it and it was okay.”

When asked if he felt butterflies of excitement while pondering a third fight with Tyson, Holyfield said: “The thing is, I’m a supportive person. I don’t have nothing against none of the boxers. I know what it is, what it takes to do it and even though I tried to handle myself…

“My mama told me ‘you’ve got to have this look on your face all the time and even when you feel there’s people wanna talk you into bragging, don’t brag’. And I kinda felt that I did everything great, and I become the person that I am.”

Tyson was in possession of the WBA heavyweight title when he met with Holyfield for the first time in November 1996, losing via an 11th-round TKO courtesy of a flurry of left hooks to the head. The instant rematch the following year was a far more fiery state of affairs however, with Tyson finding himself disqualified from the contest.

Tyson bit Holyfield in their second bout

Tyson bit Holyfield in their second bout 

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Allsport)

Holyfield was able to get the better of his opponent over the course of the first three rounds when a visibly frustrated Tyson decided to plunge his teeth into his right ear. A brief lull of action ensued as Tyson was docked two points before the bout resumed.

Moments later, Tyson went in for a second bite on Holyfield’s left side before the pair of hard-hitting heavyweights slugged it out until the end of the round. As the bell sounded and replays of the instance began showing, Tyson was disqualified from the bout, with Holyfield retaining his WBA title as a result.

While the two have never met in the ring since to settle their differences once and for all, it appears as though the two have found a budding friendship with one another in the years that have passed. Tyson famously apologised to Holyfield during an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009 in an attempt to bury the hatchet once and for all.

He said: “This is a beautiful guy. Me and this guy come from basically the sewage and we’ve watched each other become established and esteemed fighters, and I just want you to know it’s been a pleasure passing through life and being acquainted with you,” before offering a handshake to Holyfield.

Holyfield then added: “Well this is more important for young people around the world to understand that you have conflicts in life. The conflict starts at home…when you talk about biting, I’m the person who bit every brother in my family.”