On September 12 Mike Tyson returns to the ring for an 8 round exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. The boxing world has made a lot of noise about the potential dangers of the bout and the majority seem to concede that it shouldn't be happening.
In theory, I don't see a problem with two old warriors having some fun and making a bit of retirement money in the process. It is only an exhibition and the rules will be far removed from that of a professional boxing match.
It should then, be a pretty tame affair, provided both men go in with the right mindset, but in reality, these men are fighters and neither will want to lose. Should the referee allow it, the 'exhibition' has the potential to descend into something uglier.
Let's hope that doesn't happen. Few members of the boxing community would take any pleasure from seeing either man hurt or humiliated. The referee must keep on top of this one, and if he does, we should all be in for an entertaining match up.
Provided all goes to plan, what we should see with Tyson vs Jones Jr. is nothing more than a high profile sparring session, but what would have happened had a genuine match taken place while both men were still active in the pro ranks?
Cast your mind back to 2003 when Jones Jr. had just beaten John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title and Tyson was nearing the end of his career, coming off the loss to Lennox Lewis. If the two were ever to meet as pros, it could only have been then.
Jones Jr., having lost only once at that point in his career, would be the obvious favourite, but he wasn't a natural heavyweight, having spent the better part of his career at super-middleweight and light-heavyweight, venturing up to heavyweight just once to claim the title from Ruiz.
Could the ageing Tyson have gotten close enough to make his ferocious power count or would Jones Jr.'s skill have proven too much for Iron Mike?
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Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. Who would have won? - Public Vote
Fantasy match-ups27 Jul, 2020 by Deke Smith | Quick read
Derivative work of - Mike Tyson by Glenn Francis (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Roy Jones Jr. by Fedyanin Nikita (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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