The day is finally here. Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. fight tonight.
Tyson, 54, holds a career record of 50-6 with 44 knockouts.
Jones Jr, 51, has a career boxing record of 66-9. In his last 13 fights, Jones has a record of 12-1.
Who wins?
“You know what, they’re wearing head gear, right,” said retired NBA player, Michael Redd told me while on a recent episode of the Heavy Live With Scoop B Show.
“Yeah, because I don’t want to see Roy getting punches to the dome. Watching these workouts with Tyson man, is intense and he’s STILL got it. Who would win?… I’ma go Mike. And I love Roy, but I’ma go with Mike. But it’ll be interesting to see. Both of them are in their 50’s and late 40’s, so we’ll see how it turns out. I will be watching though.”
For those keeping score at home, the rules: Eight two-minute rounds, no headgear, 12-ounce gloves instead of 10-ounce gloves. No fans allowed in the arena. No official judges or official scorecards. No winner will be announced.
A Tyson-Jones fight has been a boxing fan’s dream for years. During an interview on the Joe Rogan Podcast last year, ex-world champion Andre Ward shared that Tyson vs. Jones was discussed as far back as 2003.
“There was a Tyson fight on the table,” said Ward. “And I believe I’m accurate when I say this, it was somewhere around $40 million guaranteed.”
The time is now.
Tyson, who won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, last stepped into the ring on June 11, 2005 against Irish fighter, Kevin McBride at the MCI Center in Washington, DC.
Tyson lost the fight after the former heavyweight champion failed to answer the bell for the 7th round and was ruled defeated by technical knockout. Prior to his loss to McBride, Tyson took a lengthy hiatus from boxing after being knocked out in the fourth round by Danny Williams in July 2004.
A former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Tyson is 2-5 in his last seven fights. However, he holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 20 years, 4 months, and 22 days old.
Jones last stepped in a boxing ring on February 8, 2018, against Scott Sigmon. Jones won the bout in a unanimous decision in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida. Prior to his fight with Sigmon, Jones fought defeated Bobby Gunn by way of knockout on February 17, 2017. He defeated Rodney Moore and Vyron Phillips in 2016 after suffering his last loss, to Enzo Maccarinelli, in December 2015.
Appearing on the Heavy Live With Scoop B Show this week, retired NBA legend,Kenny Anderson weighed in on the fight too. “See, those are my guys,” Anderson told me.
“Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., took pictures with both of them; I love both of those guys but, I would just say…I’m gonna say the way…I’m going with Tyson. Just the anger and everything that he used to fight with. You just gotta go with Tyson man. And Tyson is from Brooklyn. I’m from Queens. I gotta go with a New Yorker. That’s how we roll.”