Boxing legends Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. turned back the clock for fight fans this evening by engaging in an exhibition bout.
The highly anticipated Tyson vs. Jones contest served as the main event to a six-bout fight card, which included former NBA star Nate Robinson taking on YouTube sensation Jake Paul.
Mike Tyson (50-6), now age 56, was returning to the squared circle for the first time in fifteen years for tonight’s exhibition bout. In his most previous effort in June of 2005, “Iron Mike” left the boxing world stunned when he quit on the stool before the seventh round of his match-up with Kevin McBride. The former heavyweight world champion’s most recent victory had come back in 2003 when he Clifford Etienne by way of knockout.
Meanwhile, Roy Jones Jr. (66-9) was returning to the ring for the first time since February of 2018, where he had picked up a unanimous decision victory over Scott Sigmon. The former four-division World Champion had gone 9-1 over his past 10 fights overall prior to tonight’s exhibition with Tyson.
Tonight’s highly anticipated Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition bout proved to be an entertaining contest. Both legends of the game had their moments in the contest, but after eight rounds of two-minute action, most fans and analysts had Tyson winning on their scorecards. However, the three judges actually scoring the fight saw things differently and the contest was ultimately ruled a draw.
Following the controversial result Mike Tyson shared the following reaction to tonight’s contest with Roy Jones Jr.
“I thought so,” Tyson said when asked if he thought he had done enough to win. “I’m good with a draw… I entertained the crowd, the crowd was happy with it. Sometimes that two minutes felt like three minutes. I’m just happy I got this under my belt and I’m going to continue to go further and do more, absolutely.”
Mike Tyson went on to say that tonight’s exhibition bout was bigger than fighting or winning a championship.
“This is bigger than fighting and winning a championship. We’re humanitarians, we’re helping people. That’s bigger, I’m into that now.”
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com November 28, 2020