Iron Age
It’s confirmed! Mike Tyson is scheduled to fight Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout on September 12.
This is an unexpected but very interesting matchup as Roy Jones Jr was named the best boxer of the 90’s by Ring Magazine. At his best, Jones displayed a combination of speed, power, and defence while still being able to showboat. Jones won world titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and eventually heavyweight. He boasted a nearly flawless start to his career with only a single controversial disqualification in his first 50 fights. This loss, however, was avenged with relative ease in the rematch. Jones is simply one of the best fighters of all time.
On the flipside though, we have the Mike Tyson – one of the most feared boxers of all time. Tyson was ferocious and unstoppable. Incoroparating a slick combination of head movement, power, and speed, Tyson holds the record for the most first round knockouts. Tyson got to 37 – 0 before losing to Buster Douglas in one of sports biggest upsets. There has not been a boxer since that has had the same fearsome aura Tyson had in his prime.
Now these two legends are stepping in the ring with each other. There should be a big caveat attached to this though – both are now over 50. This means that there are rules in place for this event to occur. The boxing officials have sat down with both men to make them understand this is not a fight in the traditional sense. Both are professionals and both can do work; they can box with intent, but neither man is to go for the knockout. This keeps it an exhibition. This also prevents the public from being misled. This is essentially a sparring session, not a fight. For me, that is what I think it should be. However, there are people out there who think that once the punches fly, both men will not be able to hold back and they will go for the knockout. Personally, I hope this does not happen. Watching a display of skill from fighters of this level would be well worth it for me.
Stylistically, they do not match up well in my opinion. Tyson is a go forward fighter who used head movement to get inside taller opponents and unleash vicious combinations. Each punch Tyson threw had bad intentions. Jones was more of a defensive fighter that would us his evasive skills to slip and rip, making his opponent miss and then catch them with counter shots. I can see Jones backing up and Tyson moving in and when they are near the ropes Jones, throws a few punches. I don’t think there will be much action in the centre of the ring as Jones will definitely use footwork to stay out of trouble. Also, both fighters are in their 50’s so in the seven-round fight, both will likely get tired, decreasing the skill level, often resulting in tying up more often and a lot of single shots. For boxing, I really do hope they put on a good show and it sets up for more fights down the track.
The concern for the event is if the fighters do take it like a real fight and no one wants to see either fight get hurt. And with a couple of basketball players on the undercard, I hope it does not turn in to a circus. This could be really good for boxing with a technical exhibition between two of the greats. On the other hand, though, this could be a mess with two fighters well past their prime. Only time will tell but personally I want it to be a success as I am a big fan of both fighters.
Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor