"I'll go again with him and I'll show him" - Evander Holyfield ready to have a rematch with Vitor Belfort; believes his KO loss was a premature stoppage
On September 11, Evander Holyfield competed in his first boxing bout in over ten years. 'The Real Deal' took on MMA veteran Vitor Belfort in the main event of the Triller Fight Club pay-per-view 'Legends 2.' It was clear from the fight that age has certainly caught up with the 58-year-old Holyfield, who lost the contest in the opening round via TKO.
Later, in a backstage interview, 'The Warrior' stated that he wanted a rematch with Belfort. He believed that the fight was stopped prematurely.
"Of course, it was [a premature stoppage]...I'll go again with him and I'll show him, that's it," said Evander Holyfield.
You can watch a clip of Evander Holyfield backstage below:
In the post-fight press conference, Vitor Belfort shared his feelings on fighting Evander Holyfield, who he considers to be the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
"You only are judged by the people you are competing against. Sometimes you have a beautiful record but you didn't compete with the greatest. So for me to be able to compete with Holyfield and watching him...I remember I was the youngest champion, fighting two guys on the same night, Holyfield was fighting for $30 million against Mike Tyson. And we used to fight, you have to win $50,000 if you beat two guys, no weight-division, there was no organization back in the day. So it's a privilege. You know boxing has been my martial arts man, top martial arts. I love it the most. Being able to transition and being able to come here and fighting the greatest heavyweight of all times was a phenomenal opportunity for me."
You can watch a clip of Vitor Belfort talking about Evander Holyfield below:
What's next for Evander Holyfield?
In the lead-up to his bout with Vitor Belfort, Evander Holyfield mentioned that he wanted to fight Mike Tyson. 'The Real Deal' credited Tyson with being the reason behind his return to the squared circle.
The two fighters share a tumultuous past. They competed twice in the late 90s. Although Holyfield won both fights, it was Tyson who became the bigger story as he bit off a part of Holyfield's ear in their second encounter.
Tyson also made his return to boxing last year as he took on Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout.
So, it is possible that fans might soon get to witness a trilogy bout between the two former heavyweight champions.