Over the last few months, Mike Tyson created quite the stir as he began posting videos online of his training sessions and looking physically great for a 54 year old. Those videos prompted speculations that Tyson could be looking to step back into the ring.
The speculations then turned from “if” to “when” and who Tyson could be fighting. Names from Evander Holyfield to Tyson Fury were all mentioned. But, to the surprise of many, it was Roy Jones Jr. who was recently named as Tyson’s opponent for an upcoming exhibition match.
This boxing bout will feature two legends of the sport both over the age of 50. Yet, that hasn’t stopped fans from going crazy over it as social media platforms were on fire over this news.
The exhibition fight is set to take place on September 12th at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. It will air on PPV and Triller, who will also do a 10-part docuseries on these two boxing greats and the build-up to this match.
Boxing betting sites have released odds on this bout with Tyson the early favorite. Let’s take a look at the betting landscape for this exhibition fight and see if we can KO some early predictions.
I. AM. BACK. #legendsonlyleague. September 12th vs @RealRoyJonesJr on #Triller and PPV #frontlinebattle @TysonLeague pic.twitter.com/eksSfdjDzK
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) July 23, 2020
Tyson vs Jones Jr. Betting Odds
The following betting odds are courtesy of 5Dimes:
- Mike Tyson (-145)
- Roy Jones Jr. (+115)
When news broke of this matchup, Mike Tyson opened as a -230 betting favorite. Since then, he has settled down to a range of -130 to -170. Roy Jones Jr. opened as high as +170, but has now come down to an underdog range of +110 to +140.
If you believe Mike Tyson will win this bout then hop on these odds now. There’s good value with the lower end of his betting range. If you believe Roy Jones Jr. will win then look to get the higher end of his betting range.
Keep in mind, there’s a good chance that these boxing odds will change as we get closer to the event date.
More Details About the Exhibition
In addition to the date, time, venue and broadcasting, other details have also been released about this exhibition bout. Speaking of broadcasting, Triller reportedly put up $50 million dollars for the rights to broadcast this fight.
Early speculations by the California State Athletic Commission believe that the boxers will use 12-ounce gloves, but that they won’t wear headgear.
Additionally, this bout is supposed to take place under the premise of an exhibition that displays skills, not a match where both men try their hardest to win.
Tyson is Ready for a Return
For those critics who are worried about the health of these two legends, Mike Tyson (50-6) fired back and told them not to worry because he and Jones are professionals who know how to take care of themselves in the ring.
With that in mind, Tyson has been chomping at the bit to get back into the ring. For the last few months he has posted videos, done interviews and made it clear as recently as last week that he wants to box again:
“Just because we are 54, it doesn’t mean that we have to start a new career and our lives are totally over. Not when you feel as beautiful as I do, and I’m sure that other people feel the same way. I never took that many punches. After the last fight I had, I left and I lived my life, and I’ve been through some experiences, and now I’m back here. I feel like I took better care of my body and my state of mind than most of the fighters before me that retired and came back.”
Mike Tyson is considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time. He was the most ferocious boxer we’ve seen in generations and he became the youngest heavyweight champ in history. “Iron Mike” dominated the sport until an epic upset loss to Buster Douglas and then a three year prison sentence.
He returned in the mid-90s to reclaim his throne. However, that reign also came crashing down with losses to Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.
Tyson last fought in June 2005 and lost via 6th round TKO to Kevin McBride. Since then, Tyson has gone on to have a respectable career in Hollywood and show business. Yet, the boxing great still had the urge to return to the ring and finally felt healthy enough to make it a reality.
Tyson has roughly 215 professional rounds of boxing in his career. That’s pretty remarkable considering he had 56 professional fights.
Tyson will donate his portion of money earned from this exhibition fight to charity. Furthermore, it doesn’t seem like this will be Mike’s only foray into the boxing ring. He’s reportedly looking to do a few exhibitions over the next year.
Roy Jones Jr. Could Retire After This Bout
Roy Jones Jr. (66-9) has competed in 19 more pro fights than Tyson and nearly 500 boxing rounds, which is twice as much as Iron Mike.
At age 51, Jones last competed professionally in 2018. He beat Scott Sigmon via unanimous decision. However his last notable competition came in 2015 against Maccarinelli who KO’d Jones in four rounds.
Roy Jones in preparation for his bout with Mike Tyson pic.twitter.com/lPVSvCwttw
— Boxing Exposure (@Boxing_Exposure) July 26, 2020
During the 90s, Jones became one of the pound for pound best fighters in the sport. He would go on to win world titles in four divisions: middleweight, super middle weight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.
When Jones won the heavyweight title in 2003, after beating John Ruiz, he desperately wanted a fight against Tyson. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but Jones will now get that chance nearly 20 years later:
“When I won the heavyweight title, the only heavyweight I wanted to fight was Mike Tyson. So If I got a chance 20 years later to get in the ring with Mike, of course I’m going to do it. How can I say no?”
For Jones, he’s leaning towards this being a “one and done” scenario where he will hang up the gloves afterwards. However, Jones did leave the door cracked for another bout if the fight against Tyson is a huge success.
Could We Still See a Holyfield vs Tyson Trilogy Fight?
Initially, the one name that most people thought would step into the ring against Tyson was Evander Holyfield. In fact, both parties said they were interested in a trilogy fight in the form of an exhibition bout.
At the time, boxing betting sites listed both fighters with odds of -120 apiece. Those odds changed over the next few months and saw Tyson go as high as -280 while Holyfield became a large underdog at +180.
Unfortunately for Holyfield, team Tyson decided to go with Roy Jones Jr. instead. Evander commented on this decision by Tyson and where that leaves him:
“Mike may have wanted another exhibition before fighting me. By him doing this, it may mess up a future one [against me]. We’d talked about it, but there was nothing solid on paper. We knew we wanted to do it first. When you do it second, people are going to judge how the first one is. Fans may not want to see it again once you stink up the place. It comes down to, ‘does he really want to fight me?’ Everybody wants to see me and him do it, so what is he doing?”
I expect this first exhibition to go well. I believe Tyson and Jones will do all they can to make this an entertaining event especially so both can continue getting paid for future exhibitions.
From there, I expect a Tyson versus Holyfield trilogy fight at some point. I think that could do even bigger numbers if this first fight between Tyson and Jones goes well.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Takes Credit for Tyson vs Jones
It should come as no surprise to many that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is taking credit for Mike Tyson’s comeback in the form of an exhibition fight. Mayweather considers himself a pioneer of exhibitions:
“I think that we seem to forget about who’s the pioneer about making exhibition bouts huge. I mean, I think it’s [Tyson-Jones] going to be very interesting, you know? I’m not here to say Tyson’s going to win, I’m not here to say Roy’s going to win. And I’m pretty sure it’s going to be entertaining. I’m pretty sure I’m going to watch it, absolutely.”
Mayweather went on to state that he won’t be there live because in all likelihood there won’t be any fans in attendance due to covid restrictions.
Who Wins Between Tyson and Jones?
The biggest winner will be PPV and Triller. I expect this event to draw a lot of interest because it’s Mike Tyson.
Since it’s an exhibition, the only way there’s a clear-cut winner is if the fight is stopped due to a knockout or cut. That means these betting lines are based on those two potential outcomes.
With that in mind, I like Mike Tyson for this contest. I believe he still has the power to rock Jones. However, Jones could look smoother in the ring since he last fought two years ago.
Either way, make sure you keep all expectations in check. This could be a fun event or a massive dud.
Tyson vs Jones Jr. Bet –Tyson (-145)
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
