Sylvester Stallone rejected once-in-a-lifetime offer from Mike Tyson after 'fearing for his life'

Legendary Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone once turned down an offer from boxing great Mike Tyson.

Stallone, 78, has starred in some of the most well-known movies ever, including the Rocky film franchise and the Rambo movie series.

The American has also won multiple awards such as the Golden Globe and a Critics' Choice Award.

Stallone rose to fame after starring as Rocky Balboa and during filming, worked with real fighters like Antonio Carver and Dolph Lundgren, but he rejected the chance to work with heavyweight legend Tyson.

It was reported that Tyson asked to star as one of the possible antagonists for Stallone in one of the films.

However, Stallone rejected the chance, he told Contact Music, via Boxing Scene: “Mike wanted to fight me in this film but I thought it was a bad idea. I know I'm not that young, but I'm still too young to die.

“I said, 'Thanks, but I don't think that would be a very good idea. Thank you very much.' But he kept calling the office saying he wanted to be in the film fighting me.”

After all the calls, Stallone told Tyson he could land a cameo at ringside.

Stallone added: “Eventually, I relented and said he could be in the audience. Then I never heard from him. Suddenly, when I turn up in the ring he's there at the side. I turned around and said to the crew, 'Can you make sure you keep that son of a b***h out of the ring. If he gets in he'll kill me.' The man's a killer.”

58-year-old Tyson came out of retirement to take on YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul in November 2024.

Mike Tyson fought Jake Paul back in November 2024. Image: Getty

Perhaps as many expected, it was a one-sided contest with Paul winning via unanimous decision.

Speaking after the fight, Paul admitted that he took his foot off the gas during the bout.

He said: "Yeah, definitely. Definitely a bit. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn't want to hurt someone that didn't need to be hurt."

Earlier in the month, it was mooted that Paul would take on Canelo Alvarez in a blockbuster fight.

However, it was later confirmed that the fight had been called off after Saudi Arabia boxing chief Turki Alalshikh swooped in to secure the Mexican superstar's services to a sensational deal.

Canelo has signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season, ruling out a novelty showdown against Paul that was expected to land on Netflix.