Tyson and Holyfield to fight in Abu Dhabi

Boxing legends Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield will stage an epic third fight in Abu Dhabi this October, Arabian Business can reveal.

Full details of the historic fight will be announced on Feb. 1. It is understood that the bout will be held at the open air Zayed Sports City Stadium in front of 25,000 boxing fans, with sources indicating it will be the “richest fight in history.”

The Tyson/Holyfield fight will be the finale to an evening that will first feature two separate world title bouts. One tentative date is Oct. 31, the night before the first ever Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.   Tyson, the 42 year old former world heavyweight champion - facing financial troubles - last stepped into the ring in November 2005, when he lost to Ireland's Kevin McBride.

Holyfield, now 46 years old, fought for the WBO heayweight belt in October 2007 when he was outpointed by Russian holder Sultan Ibragimov.

Holyfield won both the previous two encounters with Tyson, including the famous “bitten ear” incident during their second meeting in 1997.

Holyfield, who knocked out Tyson when they first met in 1996, was paid a record $34 million for their second meeting. Sources suggest that each fighter will earn more than $34 million for the Abu Dhabi clash, which is expected to be televised world-wide.

It is also understood that a chunk of the earnings from the October event will be donated to an Autism charity.

The fight is being put together by Hydra Properties CEO, Sulaiman Al Fahim, who said in a telephone interview on Sunday: “We have agreement from everyone needed and will make the official announcement next week.

The idea is to stage the biggest ever fight in boxing history and to do it in Abu Dhabi, which would be a great global event for the UAE capital.”