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Mike Tyson’s comeback boxing bout is finally known, and it’s truly one of the most unexpected gifts that fight fans could ever really know. As reported by Heavy’s Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Tyson is set to face Roy Jones Jr. on September 12 in a boxing pay-per-view showdown that nobody saw coming.
Tyson, 54, has looked sensational in recent training videos. Indeed, the two-time heavyweight champion has looked as close to the sensational wrecking ball he was during his prime years that he could possibly hope to achieve.
But in addition to having turned back the clock, Tyson’s superfight will come against a fellow boxing Superman, Jones, 51, who like Tyson was considered the premier marvel of his era, a fighter who won boxing championships at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.
Some might pan the fight as too late or unimportant, but Tyson vs. Jones will also be seen by many an unexpected gift.
Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones
Tyson vs. Jones is a fight boxing fans have long only considered only in their minds. The two fighters are close to the same age, but Tyson’s best years came during the 1980s and Jones was the best fighter of the 1990s.
So while there was at least some kind of push during Jones’ legendary run to make fights against Tyson and other top heavyweights back then, most notably Evander Holyfield, the Tyson vs. Jones superfight never came to pass.
Now, it’s finally happening.
Most importantly, perhaps, the prime years of Tyson and Jones never overlapped in the past and that remains the case today.
What Tyson vs. Jones will bring to the masses is a fun fight between two legends who haven’t been what they were for a long time and never will be again.
Why Fun Superfight Makes Sense
What that means is that it doesn’t really matter all that much to either fighter’s impressive legacy what happens in the fight.
Tyson could unload a barrage of powerful punches on Jones in the first minute of the first round to send him to the canvas, and nobody would think any less of Jones.
The same goes the other way. Jones could box Tyson’s ears off for every single second of the fight and nobody would ding Tyson’s amazing legacy.
But the fun part is seeing the shadows of these two legends inside the ring together. It’s there that fans will be able to get a sense of how the fight might have gone down when both were in their primes.
Tyson was the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. Some people even believe that he was the scariest fighter that boxing has ever produced.
But to some observers, Jones was even more than that.
In fact, I’ll plainly state to you that as a 41-year-old human being, Jones was the single best boxing champion I’ve ever seen with my own eyes.
I’ve seen Jones do things inside a boxing ring that I’ve never seen anyone else do.
While he’s a fighter who relied on his incredible athleticism a bit too much for his style to age gracefully, Jones during his peak years appeared virtually unbeatable.
Mike Tyson’s Comeback Bout Was Worth Wait
Tyson vs. Jones is an unexpected superfight surprise, but it’s one that was totally worth the wait.
In that way, it’s a gift to the entire world.
It doesn’t pit Tyson or Jones, both arguably the most beloved fighters of their eras, against anyone but each other.
As fun as Tyson vs. Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua seems in our heads, in real life that fight wouldn’t have been very competitive at all.
It’d be the same for Jones vs. any of today’s top-level boxing champions.
With Tyson-Jones, there’s at least nothing for either man to lose, and all anyone else does is gain a whole lot of fun that nobody seriously could have expected a few months back.
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