Mike Tyson is returning to the boxing ring. He is set to fight Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition match on September 12.
Former boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is making a comeback to the ring. Tyson will fight Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition on September 12.
Tyson (50-6), 54, hasn’t fought since losing to Kevin McBride in 2005, fifteen years ago.
On his Legends Only League website, Tyson announced the bout against Jones, a 51-year-old fighter. “It’s just going to be amazing,” Tyson said.
Tyson caught the attention of the boxing world in May this year when he posted a short video of a workout that showed he possesses plenty of the punching power and speed, which qualities had allowed him to become the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles.
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when he won the title in 1986 at age 20 and for a time was the most feared fighter in boxing. But his career became littered with distractions and he hasn’t boxed since 2005 after losing his second straight fight.
Jones, 51, won titles in the middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight before moving up to win the heavyweight title in 2003, becoming the first former middleweight champion to do so in 106 years.
The event will air on pay-per-view and the social media music platform Triller. Further matches on the card and musical entertainment will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tyson had said then that he was considering a return to the ring for some exhibition bouts to raise money for charity.