Triller Reveals Suit To Block Mike Tyson From Next Exhibition
Things are getting ugly between the Triller app and former Undisputed Heavyweight Champ, Mike Tyson, about him wanting to have another exhibition fight without them. So, much so, Triller’s founder and CEO, Ryan Kavanaugh revealed that they are suing him to try to stop anything in the future.
Boxing insider Mike Coppinger received a copy of a letter sent Monday from Kavanaugh to Tyson revealing the huge of amount of money they advanced Tyson and that he was supposed to have a third fight with Evander Holyfield either last year or in his next bout,
Triller’s @RyanKavanaugh responds to Mike Tyson with a letter (obtained by me) affirming that Triller has the rights to Tyson’s next fight and claiming there’s bank receipts Tyson was paid in full ($25 million) for the Roy Jones Jr. event pic.twitter.com/FmRC7NMGoJ
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) June 28, 2021
The letter reveals that Tyson and his companies representing him were given $25 million last Fall to have the third fight with Holyfield, as an exhibition, but that Tyson and Holyfield’s sides couldn’t agree. Ultimately, Tyson got Roy Jones to fight him last November in the eight round exhibition that was the debut of Triller’s “Fight Club.”
It says in part,
“Rather than drop the price or renogotiate the deal, we agreed to keep the economics the same with the understanding that the Holyfield fight would be the next fight and we pre-agreed to the terms. No one else but Triller was willing to take $25 million dollars of risk on the initial fight, especially in the middle of Covid. We did. Every penny paid in full and no one has ever claimed that we did not every penny in full.”
Kavanaugh then went on to layout that it’s Tyson’s representatives and other companies misleading him on what his cut should have been of that $25 million. And, that Tyson has refused to communicate with him one on one about it. Further, Kavanaugh says that Triller has taken legal action to stop Tyson from fighting anyone else, except for with them.
As we wrote previously, Tyson made clear in March that he has no intention of ever doing business with Triller, again. And put his side out on Instagram,
Tyson reportedly wants his next exhibition to be with fellow former Undisputed Heavyweight Champ, Lennox Lewis in the Fall. And, Triller clearly wants to stop that from being without them.
The Monday Triller letter concludes in part with,
“…It is unquestionable that we have a contractual right to your next fight, including but not limited to Evander. Having spent over $30 million dollars on your first fight while being told it was a crazy risk no one would take was only because and for this right to a Tyson-Holyfield fight. We also entered into an agreement directly with Evander….
We would love to sit down, resolve this and get you in to the ring with Evander….”
Triller is still trying to put on an exhibition with Holyfield and fellow retired Heavyweight Kevin McBride, but it has been delayed from earlier this month, as well. It’s not known if or when, that fight will take place.
Stay tuned for more on whether Tyson responds, online, in court or both.
A veteran broadcaster of over 25 years, T.J. has been a fight fan longer than that! He’s the host of the “Big Fight Weekend” podcast and will go “toe to toe” with anyone who thinks that Marvin Hagler beat Sugar Ray Leonard or that Tyson, Lennox Lewis or Deontay Wilder could have beaten Ali!
