Evander Holyfield vs. Kevin McBride Is Set For June 5

Evander Holyfield is set to face Kevin McBride in an eight round exhibition bout on the undercard of Triller’s June 5 pay-per-view event which will be headlined by unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. who faces George Kambosos.

Holyfield announced his return in 2020. The four-time heavyweight champion hasn’t fought since 2011 when he knocked out Brian Nielsen inside ten rounds.

‘The Real Deal’ has been in talks for a trilogy fight with Mike Tyson for some time now.

In 1996 Holyfield pulled off a huge upset to stop Tyson in 11 rounds. One year later the pair fought again in one of the most controversial bouts of all time, as Tyson was disqualified for biting off a piece of Holyfield’s ear in the third round.  

Last month, a representative for ‘The Real Deal’ revealed that ‘Iron Mike’ had turned down a $25 million fight offer and that had brought talks to a standstill.

“We thought this was a done deal but it quickly fell apart when Tyson’s people declined all offers,” Holyfield’s manager, Kris Lawrence said in a statement. “We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time.”

Since then, Holyfield has been on the look out for a different opponent.

Triller CEO explained that Roy Jones Jr. and Shannon Briggs had been considered as potential opponents for Holyfield before they settled on McBride.

“We went through all the heavyweights but ultimately decided who better than the guy who knocked Mike Tyson into retirement,” Ryan Kavanaugh told BoxingScene.

McBride is best known for stopping Tyson inside six rounds in 2005.

The bout forced ‘Iron’ into a retirement that would last 15 years.

McBride failed to capitalize on his most profile win and retired in 2011 after losing six times in eight fights.

The 47-year-old was KO’d by Mariusz Wach in his final professional fight.

Will you be watching Evander Holyfield vs. Kevin McBride?