Former two-time cruiserweight title challenger/current bare-knuckle boxer Bobby Gunn. Photo credit: Dan Howlett/Barcroft USA

He is 50 years old, last fought for a fee in 2005, and has said, time and again, he’s all done gloving up.

But that doesn’t mean an appetite for and interest in seeing Mike Tyson fight again doesn’t exist.

Chatter has been pinging around of late which places Tyson in the bare-knuckle arena. Boxer/bare-knuckler Bobby Gunn has publicly expressed a desire to test himself against the middle-aged man formerly answering to the nickname “Iron Mike.”

I reached out to the 42-year-old New Jersey man to get some deets on the possibility.

“This actually started about six months ago. Tyson posted something on Facebook about me being a bare-knuckle champion,” Gunn told me. “Then recently one of my friends went by to see him, about two months ago, and he was telling (Tyson) he should fight me, bare knuckles, and I heard Tyson said, ‘I know Bobby Gunn good. He’s a crazy dude, fights bare-knuckle. That would be a hell of a pay-per-view event and we could make a lot of money.'”

The 21-6-1 (in pro boxing, with 18 knockouts) hitter continued, making it clear he knows his boxing skills at his apex were not in the Tyson sphere, “And then I don’t know from where, there was gossip and stories coming around…as you can see clearly I said I could not carry his jock-strap. I think the world of him. But the truth is, in bare-knuckle, I would love to fight him.”

Over the span of a couple years, the former two-time cruiserweight title challenger told me he had discussed and gotten closer to getting Kimbo Slice to take a bare-knuckle challenge against him. That potential tango died when Slice died almost four months ago.

Back to the Tyson enticement: Gunn said he has a backer with big-time bank, who’s agreed to finance a Gunn fight with the ex-“Baddest Man on the Planet,” a million bucks, winner take all.

OK, so the ball is in Tyson’s court. Would he want to get back into a fighting ring and throw down, for the cash infusion, the return to the stage which provides unparalleled thrills and a massive natural endorphin rush?

“There’s no truth to it,” a Team Tyson spokesperson told me Monday night, again squashing the rumor mill/whack-a-mole tale of a Tyson ring return.

The former ring ruler is happy and busy with his various endeavors, I am told, which includes the ongoing run of his well-received and durable one-man bio-drama stage production.

I informed Gunn of the Tyson turndown and he was classy and understanding in his response. “There you go, my brother. That puts a stop to all the rumors,” Gunn said. “I would love, though, to fight a Randy Couture, the former UFC (light heavyweight and heavyweight) champ, or (former UFC light heavyweight champion) Chuck Liddell! Could you imagine how big of a pay-per-view event it would be with either one of those names? You know craziness sells!”

Follow Woods on Twitter @Woodsy1969 for boxing talk and a bit of politricks chatter. You can hear his podcast “TALKBOX,” where podcasts are found, on iTunes and Soundcloud.

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