Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

'Totally false': Mike Tyson speaks out about Sonny Bill Williams charity fight reports

(Photos / Getty Images)

Mike Tyson has spoken out about the swirling reports about a possible charity fight against Sonny Bill Williams, saying the rumours were “totally false”.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Daily Mail first reported the news of boxing promoter Brian Amatruda’s attempt to cash in on Tyson’s rumoured comeback through a charity bout against one of several footy sports stars – with reports that an offer of A$1 million is on the table.

Amatruda has promoted cards featuring the likes of Danny Green, Lucas Browne and Anthony Mundine, and said several of the part-time boxers who bring in big audiences in Australia – including Williams – would fill Australian arenas if paired up against Tyson.

Video Spacer

Isolation Nation | Episode 11

Video Spacer

Isolation Nation | Episode 11

However, the 53-year-old former heavyweight champ took to Twitter to shut down the reports.

“Sorry @DailyMailUK you should fact check better,” Tyson said. “This is totally false.”

The tweet has since been deleted.

Tyson first sparked chatter about a potential comeback after wowing fans in a ferocious sparring session in a video that would go viral, but nothing about returning to the ring has come from the man himself.

Regardless of the return, according to Australian boxing legend Jeff Fenech, Tyson would still put Sonny Bill Williams “in the morgue” if they were to meet in the ring.

Fenech, a good friend of the 53-year-old former heavyweight world champ, said the fight is “not going to happen”, but if it did, it wouldn’t end well for the former footballers.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Great publicity, but it’s not going to happen,” Fenech told the Sydney Morning Herald. “They’re offering him half a million or a million dollars – he could get more than $20 million to do it in Saudi Arabia. Why would he come here?

“Let me tell you something. If he hits Sonny Bill Williams or Paul Gallen, he will be up for manslaughter.

“I’m serious. If he punched Paul Gallen, he could kill him. These guys have never been punched by somebody like Mike.

“You see what he’s doing to the pads, imagine Mike hitting one of those guys with one of those uppercuts. More than likely they will be in the morgue the next day.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Fighting Sonny Bill? Who has Sonny Bill fought? Sonny Bill won’t even fight Paul Gallen because I don’t believe he can beat him.”

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_394KpA1df/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In the initial report, Amatruda claimed he had already begun the process of trying to get Tyson to Australia.

“The first thing I did was contact (celebrity agent) Max Markson and ask him to offer Tyson $1 million,” he said. “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.”

Tyson got a visa to visit in Australia in 2012, a week after he was denied one by the New Zealand government, due to being convicted of rape in the US in 1992.

As for Williams, the former All Blacks midfielder is now with the Toronto Wolfpack in the Super League, and was reported to be in talks to return to the ring next year against Hall.

Williams has a 7-0 professional record, but has not fought in a pro bout since 2015, or a charity bout since 2018.

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JD 1 hour ago
Steve Borthwick urged by predecessor to make radical Ben Earl decision

Happy to concede I mis read stats in relation to games played. Sorry about that.


Ojomoh is only a guaranteed starter when Redpath isn’t injured for Bath. Luckily for him Redpath is has been quite injury prone recently, but when Cam is fit, he starts. I like him, but he doesn’t have the second playmaker ability which England seem to prefer at 12.


Seb has not even made the A’s squad and is a long way from a call up. 2 years is too soon.


I’m not going to change my mind in respect of BJVR, mainly because I do not see his age as an issue (30 at the next world cup) and because I don’t see the issue with selecting players who are qualified for our country.


He fits the bill perfectly in terms of his skillset and type of play, he has been playing at the top level of club rugby for the last 6 years or so and is regarded as one of the best in our league in his position, starting week in/ week out for the second placed team.


If he was 33 or so at the next world cup, or if his form went off a cliff, I would agree with you. Neither of these are the case. If his form continues, he comes into the squad. No pressure to immediately excel as there will be around 10 games between a potential first cap and the WC.


Main mistake being made, regardless of the above, is SB persisting with Slade. Why not give Ojomoh a go now and see? Why not try Dingwall? Steve’s run of poor results mean he has slightly lost the ability to try different things unless we get some wins. I expect Ojomoh to tour Argentina in the summer though.

16 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Mick Cleary: England's five non-negotiables for Calcutta Cup glory Mick Cleary: England's five non-negotiables for Calcutta Cup glory
Search