Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.: the highlights of this weekend’s fight
Staples Center in Los Angeles hosted a legendary boxing match on Saturday, November 28 2020. Mike Tyson (50-6) and Roy Jones Jr. (66-9) stepped out of retirement for an exclusive fight. These former fighters may have ended their match with a draw, but it showed us everything we wanted to see.
Boxers
Mike Tyson (Michael Gerard Tyson) was a professional American boxer. Known as the great Iron Mike or Kid Dynamite, Tyson fought between 1985 and 2005. The heavyweight boxer is now fifty-four years old and has picked his old boxing gloves back up with pride.
Roy Jones Jr. had an incredible career in the light heavyweight division. The boxer from Pensacola, Florida made his debut in 1989. Jones Jr. retired thirteen years after Mike Tyson in 2018. The fifty-one year old entered the ring with Tyson to show the world what he’s made of.
The first few rounds
The fight had eight rounds with each round lasting two minutes. Mike Tyson took a while to find his feet in the first round. However, Roy Jones Jr. was solid as a rock and didn’t fall to his feet when Tyson got into his groove.
Roy Jones Jr. showed the audience why he earned his four-weight world champion title. Jones Jr. had incredible foot movement in the second round and needed to maintain this balance after a quick left hook to his face.
The New York Times reported tension between the boxers between the second and third round. The boxers looked slightly wounded up and appeared to have “some animosity” towards each other. Luckily, they gave each other a good nudge and continued to the next round. After all, the fight was only an exhibition and nothing more.
The end of the match
According to SkySports, Roy Jones Jr. had to clinch up for most of the fourth round with Tyson throwing some perfect right-hand punches. Tyson came in hot in the fifth round with another legendary hook.
Mike Tyson moved into his famous southpaw stance in the sixth round. This means Tyson’s right hand & foot were perfectly placed forward and ended with a left cross right hook. This is common for Mike Tyson since he’s a left-handed boxer.
Roy Jones Jr. enjoyed throwing some of his own punches in the seventh round. The eighth round ended the match with Jones proving his strength was equally matched to Roy Jones.
Score
The World Boxing Council created a panel of judges with three former boxers: Christy Marin, Vinny Paz and Chad Dawson. SkySports reported Christy Marin scored in favor of Mike Tyson with 79-73. Vinny Paz favored Roy Jones Jr. with 80-76. Chad Dawson scored the Tyson Jones duo with the drawing score of 76-76.
Boxers took the draw and Mike Tyson told BT Sports, “I’m good with it. I entertained the crowd. The crowd was happy with it.”
Roy Jones Jr. was overwhelmed by the way the match ended, telling BT Sports: “I don’t do draws, man, but I understand why they say certain things are bucket lists, because when he hits you, if it’s his head, his punches, his body shots, it don’t matter. Everything hurts.”
Roy Jones Jr. continued: “For me, I thought I did enough boxing on the outside, but I’m cool with the draw. We might have to do it again.” According to the New York Times, Roy Jones Jr. admitted, “I wear draws, I don’t do draws.”
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The fight between Mike Tyson & Roy Jones Jr. may have ended with a draw, but with the help of Snoop Dogg’s hilarious commentary, the boxers showed fans a great time. What were your thoughts on the match? Let us know in the comments!
