For years, we thought Mike Tyson against Roy Jones Jr. would go down as a mythical matchup, but on Saturday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles, the myth became a reality. However, the eight-round exhibition fight, which was unofficially scored by former boxing champions Vinny Pazienza, Chad Dawson, and Christy Martin, ended in a draw. Goforitradio.com scored the fight 78-74 for Tyson.
The 54-year-old Tyson seemed to be in complete control of the fight, which featured two-minute rounds. The 51-year-old Jones, did a lot of holding in the fight. In addition, Tyson appeared to land the harder shots. Most importantly, the two former world champions walked away healthy.
According to CompuBox, Tyson landed 30 more punches than Jones(67-37). Also, Tyson had the edge in power punches(57-28).
“I’m cool with the draw,” Jones said after the fight. “It means we just might have to do it again, but I don’t know.”
Tyson is willing to do another exhibition fight and hopes to be better the next time around.
“Everything I was doing, I could’ve done it better, so God willing, I’ll be better the next exhibition,” he said.
According to reports, Tyson will earn $10 million for the fight, while Jones will earn $3 million.
It would appear the logical opponent for Tyson would be former world champion Evander Holyfield, who seems to be interested. The two fought twice in the 90s, with Holyfield winning both fights. The second fight ended in a disqualification after Tyson bit Holyfield’s ears.
After breaking pre-sale records, it appears Tyson-Jones did very well on pay-per-view, which is excellent news for all involved. A fight with Holyfield could keep the momentum going for Tyson.
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