Clad in his trademark black shorts and black boots, Hall of Famer ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson made his return to the boxing ring after 15 years and fought former pound-for-pound superstar, Roy Jones Jr. to a draw on their headlining bout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Tyson, 54 and Jones, 51 put on an entertaining and nostalgic match despite being retired for 15 and 3 years, respectively. Jones still displayed some of the old cockfighting style and techniques that he was famous for and Tyson was still the ball of force that was always stalking and coming forward. It resembled more of a hard sparring (minus the headgear) instead of a traditional boxing match. Neither man was particularly hurt by the other.
It was not a typical boxing match. The eight-round bout featured two-minute rounds. Also, the judges were not official judges. Instead the judges were all former WBC titleholders: Chad Dawson, Vinny Pazienza, and the Hall of Famer, Christy Martin. Dawson scored the match a draw at 76-76, Martin 79-73 for Tyson, and Pazienza scored it 80-76 for Jones.
This fight was the headliner of a Triller pay-per-view and was the introduction of Tyson’s Legends Only League for former sports athletes. Tyson himself sounded as if he would participate again saying, “I’m just happy I’m not knocked out and next time I’ll do better……..God willing I’ll be better at the next exhibition”
In the co-feature bout, Youtube star, Jake Paul knocked out 3-time NBA Slam Dunk champion, Nate Robinson in 2 rounds. Paul had initially knocked down Robinson in the 1st round before knocking him down twice in the 2nd. The final knockout saw Robinson lying face down on the mat for a moment before he was able to come to. Paul, 23 moves to 2-0 with 2 knockouts in his professional career.
