Iron Mike Tyson’s long-awaited return to the ring is officially set, and it’s an 8-round exhibition bout set against Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr.
Mike Tyson, 54, announced his intention to return to the boxing ring earlier this year, and after months of speculation and training videos, it is finally official. September 12 in California, with the opponent none other than another all-time great in Roy Jones Jr., 51. The event will be held without fans in attendance and will be broadcast on PPV, as well as the app Triller according to Yahoo Sport’s Kevin Iole.
Tyson and Jones’s paths will finally collide, nearly two decades after their rumored bout in the early 2000s. After Roy Jones Jr. claimed the heavyweight crown from John Ruiz in 2003, the two were supposedly in deep talks to fight, however the match would never come fruition. Both fighters would go downhill not much later, with Jones losing his top pound-for-pound status after bad losses to Antonio Tarver, and Tyson losing three of his last four bouts before retiring in 2005. Jones however would end his career in 2018, after winning nine of his last ten bouts albeit against lesser competition.
More details on the card have trickled out as well, and one of the bouts on the undercard is YouTuber Jake Paul taking on former NBA player Nate Robinson. Paul, who notably won his professional boxing debut earlier this year, was rumored to fight fellow Youtuber KSI later this year. However, instead, he is facing off against the former NBA veteran Robinson. Robinson has no actual boxing experience, however the fight sprung up after Robinson and Paul had beef on Twitter.
The rest of the card is yet to be confirmed, however, there will allegedly be multiple MMA fighters on the undercard taking on boxers. There was reportedly talks of former world champion James Toney taking on former UFC champion Tito Ortiz, but according to Ortiz that bout is not going to happen.
