Mike Tyson offered $1million for comeback fight in Australia days after intense sparring video went viral
Mike Tyson was recently seen training again, leading to a social media eruption of excitement.
A video showed the former world heavyweight champion training who said that he would return to the ring for exhibitions to raise money for charity. Melbourne boxing promoter Brian Amatruda has tried to arrange a charity fight for Tyson against one of Australia's boxers Barry Hall, Paul Gallen, or Sonny Bill Williams.
In the viral video which was seen more than 9 million times, Tyson is seen training and working on the pads with trainer Rafael Cordeiro. The footage of Tyson even prompted POTUS Donald Trump to tweet "Keep punching Mike!" Former champion Oscar de la Hoya even predicted that Tyson could still beat out many of the current top heavyweights.
Amatruda who has promoted the likes of Anthony Mundine, Danny Green, Lucas Browne, Sam Soliman and is very confident that he could arrange a charity bout for Tyson in Australia. Amatruda said, "I'd hold it at Melbourne Arena where we'd get over 10,000 or even Princes Park where they got 30,000 for Jeff Fenech versus Azumah Nelson."
"He might be 53 years old but he's still a huge name and any of those blokes Hall, Gallen or Sonny Bill would jump at the chance to get into the ring with him. I'd make it part of a card with a world title fight for Tayla on it. It would be enormous. Not just a fight, it would be an event," he added.
Amatruda has already reportedly taken steps to have Tyson back in Australia. "The first thing I did was contact (celebrity agent) Max Markson and ask him to offer Tyson $1million. Max brought him to Australia in 2012. He gets on well with him and his wife but the main thing is that he got him a visa to get into the country back then and that's the key."
Amatruda had also been responsible for Tyson's ad campaign but given Tyson's jail time for rape in 1992, Tyson has found it difficult to get a visa for Australia. Speaking about this, Amatruda added, "We'd have to wait until the coronavirus shutdowns are over of course so the fight probably wouldn't be until early next year - as long as we can get the visa."
"They gave him one in 2012 and he was fine, he's a quiet family man now. He didn't cause any trouble then, so why shouldn't they let him back in?" Amatruda shared.
Many social media users took to commenting on Tyson's video and expressed their admiration and love for him. One such user shared, "The GREATEST fighter in my lifetime! Everyone should watch this to start their day."
A second added, "You are my idol Mike Tyson, I hope someday to be as good a fighter as you." A third user wrote, "Mike I have watched this at least 100 times, Damn I miss seeing this. F**ing Beast. @miketyson love you man."
"I am happy to see you training is really very important to me. You are one of my heroes," wrote a fourth fan.