Andrew Watson: The 'most influential' black footballer for decades lost to history

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  By Andrew Aloia BBC Sport Last updated on 11 October 2021 11 October 2021 . From the section Football Watson was a trailblazer who helped transform how football was played There are two murals of black footballers facing one another across an alleyway in Glasgow. One helped shape football as we know it, the other is Pele. Andrew Watson captained Scotland to a 6-1 win over England on his debut in 1881. He was a pioneer, the world's first black international, but for more than a century the significance of his achievements went unrecognised. Research conducted over the past three decades has left us with some biographical details: a man descended of slaves and of those who enslaved them, born in Guyana, raised to become an English gentleman and famed as one of Scottish football's first icons. And yet today, 100 years on from his death aged 64, Watson remains something of an enigma, the picture built around him a fractured one. His grainy, faded, sepia image evokes many differen

Mike Tyson rejects huge offer to fight Evander Holyfield

 

 

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Reports have emerged that claim 'Iron' Mike Tyson has turned down a £21.5 million offer to face off against Evander Holyfield in what would be the final bout in the trilogy between the two boxing legends.

The fight had been expected to take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the 65,000-capacity venue that is home to the Miami Dolphins, and was the scene of the 2021 Super Bowl back in February.

When asked about the scuppered fight, Holyfield's manager Kris Lawrence responded, as per The Sun: "We thought this was a done deal but it quickly fell apart when Tyson’s people declined all offers. We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time.”

This recent news may come as a surprise to boxing fans, especially after a cash-light Tyson returned to the ring to face off against Roy Jones Jr last year. The former heavyweight champion is thought to have made somewhere between $1-10 million dollars from the exhibition fight against Jones Jr, but seems to have upped his demands for a trilogy fight vs Holyfield, which has essentially ended the chances of the bout, at least for the time being.

Holyfield Wants The Fight

Tyson's would-be opponent Holyfield was certainly in favour of the third fight and had been in conversation with Tyson's camp in a bid to get a deal across the line between the two men. 

The 58-year-old spoke to Sun Sport and said: "What I can tell you is that my team is talking to Mike’s management, so I’m waiting for a decision. They are communicating right now. The thing is I’m still training for this, I know it will be someday this deal will happen and I’m ready for him. I’m doing OK."

If the two legends can agree on the financials, a trilogy fight would be one for the ages and is something fight fans have wanted to see for pushing on towards a quarter of a century.

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The History of Tyson vs Holyfield

Tyson was soundly beaten by Holyfield in the first contest in 1996. An athletically superior Holyfield came through Tyson's rough stuff at the beginning of the contest and, after battering a tired and unsteady looking Tyson with a series of straights and hooks in rounds 10 and 11, claimed a TKO victory via the referee's stoppage.

In the rematch that took place a year later, Tyson was disqualified for biting off a part of Holyfield's ear, a stomach-churning moment that lives on in boxing infamy.

Despite all his great success in the 90s/00s, Evander 'Real Deal' Holyfield has lost a small fortune in recent years and reports suggest is now down to his last $1 million, which likely explains why he is so eager to get a fight contract drawn up.

Despite losing the first two bouts, Tyson is most probably aware of his old foe's financials and is happy to sit and wait for a more lucrative offer to emerge.

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Who is this heavyweight boxer?

Personally, I think money talks and that this is a fight that will happen somewhere down the road. Stay tuned!

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