Mike Tyson set to enter the ring after 15 years; here's what you need to now about the exhibition game
Legendary boxing icon Mike Tyson, 54, is all set to enter the ring again after a 15-year hiatus. He will take on Roy Jones Jr, 51, in an eight-round exhibition on November 28 night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles
Boxing legends Mike Tyson, 54, and Roy Jones Jr., 51, will exchange blows in an eight-round exhibition (two minutes each) on November 28 night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (Image source: ESPN)
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Tyson hasn’t entered the ring in 15 years, since failing to answer the bell in the seventh round against journeyman Kevin McBride. Jones Jr.’s career began a precipitous decline after his shocking 2004 loss to Antonio Tarver, the first of five knockouts he would suffer over the last 14 years of his professional career. Still, Saturday’s showdown is the most marketable spectacle boxing can offer. (Image source: Essentiallysports)
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The exhibition game will be available on the streaming service Triller. Set up in 2015, it has positioned itself as the US version of TikTok and, in August, tried to buy the app’s US operations for $20 billion. The site is backed by Hollywood producer Ryan Kavanaugh, a co-founder of the film studio Relativity Media.
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The undercard features a line-up that includes Jake Paul (20.2 million subscribers on Youtube) going head-to-head for six rounds against Nate Robinson, a former basketball player for the New York Knicks. However, there will be no judges, no cumulative score, and no winner will be announced for the main event as Andy Foster, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, which is sanctioning the bout, doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.
Novelty boxing matches aren’t new. Fifty years ago, The Super Fight depicted the results of a fictional contest between Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano, at that time the only two undefeated heavyweight champions in history. Released in 1970 at 1,500 movie theatres around the world for one night only, the film generated close to $35 million in today’s adjusted US dollars. (Image Source: Fox Sports)
