Mike Tyson made huge demand to fight Tyson Fury in exhibition bout

claims that asked for a whopping and unrealistic payday of $500million amid talks of an exhibition bout between the pair.

'Iron Mike' is set to return to the squared-circle for the first time in four years when he . While his last fight took place in 2020, it was an exhibition contest against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. The 58-year-old's last professional bout came in 2005 when he suffered a defeat against Kevin McBride in the fifth round.

Ahead of his showdown with Jones Jr, it was revealed that Tyson held talks on a Zoom call with Fury about a possible fight. Remarkably, 'The Gypsy King' was open to sharing the ring with the boxing icon, but alas, nothing ever materialised due to Mike's jaw-dropping financial demands.

“There was talk of it,” Fury told IFL TV. “His people contacted me. Mike and I had a phone call. It was all real but never materialised. Whoever was offering the comeback money to Mike offered us peanuts. Mike was talking about $500 million figures [half a billion], but what came back to us on paper was a joke. It was crazy. I did have a $10m offer from ESPN to do the fight as an exhibition, but I think everyone has moved on now."

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Not long after, Fury would go on to face in a blockbuster rematch between the two heavyweight giants, with the Brit going on to stop his bitter rival in the 11th round. He then defeated , Derek Chisora and before suffering the first defeat of his professional career earlier this year against Oleksandr Usyk. 'The Gypsy King' is currently preparing for his sequel with the Ukrainian as he bids to avoid back-to-back losses.

While an exhibition bout with 'Iron Mike' never came to fruition, Fury would've been willing to step foot in the ring with the former heavyweight champion. “I would have loved to share the ring with him and move around,'' he continued. "But if he had won, then people would have said I was rubbish because a 53-year-old beat me. If I had beaten him, then I would have been a bully. It was a lose-lose situation for me. It was money; I didn’t need to fight a man past his best.”

It's fair to say the boxing community would've been totally against a showdown between the two men. Similarly, fans have also hit out at Tyson's upcoming bout with Paul. The boxing faithful believe that 'Iron Mike' is not taking the fight seriously after a staggering admission. During a recent chat with Jimmy Kimmel, the 58-year-old claimed he was training six hours a day. "I am training extremely hard, I do six hours a day. I start at 11am and might leave the gym at 5pm," he said. Kimmel looked stunned and replied: "Oh no. 11am? So that's six hours straight, or is there a lunch break?" The former heavyweight champion admitted there was a small break as a shocked Kimmel gasped: "Oh no."

In the same interview, when Tyson was asked if he intends to be high during his bout with Paul, he replied: “I’m going to be so high off life, yeah." Kimmel then asked: “Will you be high on marijuana, as well?" Tyson replied: "That’s a possibility, too." The host then commented: "Oh no my bet is getting lower as we talk."