Former undisputed heavyweight champion “Iron” Mike Tyson returned to the ring on Saturday against former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout. Prior to the match, it had been 5,649 days since Tyson stepped in the ring.
The 54-year-old Tyson last fought in June 2005. Jones, 51, last fought in February 2018. Although it was billed as an exhibition bout, the two approached it as a real fight. Tyson threw power punches and Jones Jr. displayed his head movement and elusive style that made him a legend.
The bout ended in a draw according to the unofficial celebrity judges. Tyson was guaranteed a $10 million payday for the bout and plans to donate it to charity. During the event’s post-fight press conference, Tyson stated that he plans to do more exhibition bouts with his earnings going to humanitarian causes.
“God willing, I’ll be better in the next exhibition,” Tyson said. “I just want to continue to do this from a humanitarian perspective.
“I’m capable of helping a lot of people less fortunate than myself. That’s what I’m capable of doing, all over the world. In a perfect world I’m a missionary,” said the former champion.
“Before, it was all about me, the nice chick, the nice car, the planes, and boats. It doesn’t do it for me anymore, so I went another way. I help somebody else.”
Tyson not only plans to compete in more exhibition bouts, he wants to do it often. If he had his way, he’d be in the ring every two months.
“I had 15 fights in one year, so let’s just try to work on closer to that,” he said. “I would like to have one every two months. I’d like to have one fight every two months.”
“The old Mike Tyson no longer exists,” he said. “This is not who I am right now. That guy was a platform to become me.”
(Photo courtesy of Triller and Joe Scarnici)
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Mike Tyson plans to do more exhibition bouts with earnings going to charity
