Mike Tyson must be in ‘deep financial s***’ to consider bare knuckle boxing fight aged 53, fears legend Bernard Hopkins

MIKE TYSON must be in “deep financial s***” to consider a bare knuckle fight aged 53, boxing legend Bernard Hopkins has claimed.

Former heavyweight champ Shannon Briggs has said he is on the verge of sealing a £19.9million “steel cage” exhibition deal with Tyson.

Briggs claimed Evander Holyfield, David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko have all been mentioned as possible opponents for the tag team steel cage fight.

Tyson – who has been linked with a comeback since his training videos stunned the world and is said to be worth around £2.5m  – also turned down a £14m offer to fight Wanderlei Silva in a bare knuckle bout.

But as yet, nothing has materialised, even after Tyson Fury said he accepted an offer to fight his namesake.

Multiple weight world champ Hopkins reckons a comeback now in bare knuckle would be potentially disastrous.

He told IFL TV: “I don’t think it’s up to me. I think it’s up to if they can pass any state physical.

“Where are they fighting, Dubai? They’ve got to be fighting out of the country?

“If they don’t pass their physical they ain’t fighting nobody, so it’s really up to the commission.

“Nobody wants blood on their hands if something happened to those guys.

“They’re of an age where this is a tough game and if that does happen, I don’t think it’ll happen in the States.

“I don’t think they’ll get licensed here.

“Bare knuckle? Well if anybody need a few dollars, I’ve got charity that either one of those guys.

“But they have got to sign a paper with me that they will not step back in that ring.

“They talking about bare knuckles then somebody is in some very deep s*** of financial problems.

“Because bare knuckles is totally different from fighting majority of your life in gloves. You’re going to go back to the 1800s? You’re going back to before Jack Johnson.”

Tyson can’t be doing that bad financially given he can make £20,000 in six hours by charging fans £250 each for a personalised video message.

The Baddest Man on the Planet did once go bankrupt but rebuilt his empire through Hollywood film roles and a cannabis farm.