When Mike Tyson announced his return to the ring at 54, he was flooded with proposals - many from Bare-Knuckle Boxing Fighting Championship founder David Feldman, who has ended his pursuit of a deal with the boxer.
Feldman tried twice to lure Tyson into bare-knuckle fights, with a number of reputed opponents lined up for the former heavyweight, including fellow former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs and former UFC competitor Wanderlei Silva, formerly coached by Tyson's current coach Rafael Cordeiro.
Speaking to Ring Magazine, Feldman said, as per The Sun: "We offered Tyson $20million (£16m) and some additional benefits, but he turned it down.
"(His management team) said he was going to fight in July already, but then they said he was going to fight in August, so who knows what’s going to happen with him."
Since he announced his comeback, Tyson has been training out of Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, California, which is headed by veteran coach Cordeiro - who has also trained former UFC champions Lyoto Machida, Fabrício Werdum and Mauricio Rua.
He is thought to have rejected Feldman's offer to focus entirely on his much-awaited return to the ring, supposedly coming next month.
Tyson, who won 44 of his 50 fights via KO, was quick to dismiss rumours that his comeback fight would be a trilogy match against Evander Holyfield - who had an inch of his right ear taken off the last time the pair met in Las Vegas.
"Na, na we got many guys. Listen we’ve got so many guys that want to do this, man," said Tyson.
“Man I’m just getting ready you know, I’m just getting ready to help some people out who are less fortunate than me. I’m gonna do this charity event.
“I’m going to take this money and help these homeless and we’re going to help these addicted brothers."
Recent footage posted of the former heavyweight shows him to be in ferocious form, as it is eagerly awaited to see who will meet Iron Mike in the ring for his return.
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