Mike Tyson appeared to have performed a U-turn over his showdown with Evander Holyfield after confirming that the trilogy fight "is on".
Earlier this week, Holyfield's camp claimed Tyson had snubbed a $25million, 50-50 offer to lock horns with his old heavyweight rival - branding negotiations "a waste of time".
But Iron Mike said he fully expects the clash to go ahead in late May once a few formalities are finalised.
And he went as far as to predict the victory that evaded him in his two previous clashes with Holyfield during their legendary 1990s bouts.
“I see that happening in the near future, me and Holyfield,” Tyson said, speaking to Haute Living on an Instagram Live.
“Only thing we have to do is get some small fundamental differences [resolved], get some paperwork done and then it’s on to the races with me and Evander … I just want everybody to know the fight is on with me and Holyfield.
"Holyfield’s a humble man, I know that, and he’s a man of God.. but I’m God’s man and listen, I’m going to be successful May 29.”
The Baddest Man on the Planet clearly still has total faith in his ability, even at the age of 54.
Holyfield will be 58 by the time the fight comes round, and he has been pushing for an agreement in recent months.
But his people claimed on Monday that Tyson had ducked out of the fight.
Holyfield's manager Kris Lawrence said in a statement: “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.”
Now that Tyson has clarified his position, fight fans can look forward to a renewal of the two heavyweights' explosive rivalry.
Holyfield stopped Tyson in the 11th round in their first bout in 1996. And in their infamous rematch the following year, Tyson was disqualified after biting his adversary's ear.
