THE odds on Mike Tyson returning to the ring have been slashed with bookies tipping a fight against rugby star Sonny Bill Williams later this year.
Iron Mike, 53, has been hinting at a boxing comeback and has looked in excellent shape in training videos after his recent return to the gym.
Mike Tyson proved he hasn’t lost his unbelievable speed and power aged 53
The boxing legend has been back training and his odds of a return to the ring have been slashed
Tyson has been offered $1million to face New Zealand rugby legend Williams – who has a 7-0 professional boxing record – in an exhibition bout.
And Ladbrokes make him just 6/4 to come out of retirement for the fight by the end of the year.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “Tyson’s odds of a dramatic boxing comeback have been slashed drastically after pictures of him were released this week, and it looks like one more bout may well be on the cards.”
The heavyweight icon recently revealed he wants to make a ring return to compete in charity fights, and has been training for the last three weeks under MMA mastermind Rafael Cordeiro.
Cordeiro, head coach at Kings MMA in California, believes Tyson would only need another five months to be ready for a genuine pay-per-view comeback fight.
And the reformed Baddest Man on The Planet has received his first offer to do so with promoter Brian Amatruda lining up either ex-rugby league players Barry Hall and Paul Gallen or All Blacks legend Williams as opponents.
Amatruda told the Daily Mail: “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 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.”
The ex-heavyweight champ has got down to around 16st 6lbs after revealing he is interested in a comeback.
And Cordeiro, who co-starred in the recent training clip of Tyson smashing the trainers body that went viral, told ESPN: “Mike had not hit mitts for 10 years but as soon as we started I thought ‘oh Lord!’
“I did not expect to see what I saw and that was a guy the same speed and power as a 23-year-old.
“If he sparred again he would need good guys because if you are not prepared for him then you are going to drop for sure.”
Cordeiro has trained some of the dangerous combat athletes in the history of MMA but admitted Iron Mike made him fear for his life.
He said: “In the beginning, during the first round, I was nervous for sure.
“I like to hold the mitts close to my face and, when he first threw that right hook, I saw my life flash before my eyes.
“I saw my wife, my daughters and my dog. It was just fear.”
Mike Tyson shows off unbelievable speed aged 53 as heavyweight legend gears up for sensational boxing return
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
