A superfight for the ages: Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr preview

Mike Tyson meets Roy Jones Jr on Saturday for a superfight decades in the making and undoubtedly the biggest and most anticipated boxing event of 1997 2020.

The fight is scheduled for 8 rounds of 2 minutes, with no knockouts allowed, presumably because the California State Athletic Commission is worried about the combined age of the combatants exceeding a century (killjoys). The fight won’t have an official result or judges but the WBC has nonetheless commissioned former champions Christy Martin, Chad Dawson and Vinny Pazienza to score the fight in an unofficial capacity. The WBC also created a Frontline Battle title for the occasion, which will join the Family Feud title in the long line of prestigious belts awarded by the WBC.

Some might argue that both fighters are “well past their prime” and describe this event as a “cynical cash grab”. They all must have forgot that Roy Jones Jr fought (and won) for a World Title (the WBU (German version) belt) as recently as 2018 and famously cannot be touched. They might also point out that Tyson hasn’t stepped in a ring since before I started high school, but will conveniently omit to mention that in the 2015 documentary Ip Man 3, Tyson was shown fighting on even terms with Bruce Lee’s master himself. How’s that for “well past their primes”?

Ultimately, Tyson’s experience against such an accomplished Wing Chun legend makes me lean towards him in that fight but it’s tough to pick a bigger winner in this one than the fans.

If you’re still not convinced this event is worth $49.99 and your Saturday night, have you ever wondered whether the best base for boxing is Youtube or basketball? The co-main event will provide the answer by pitting social media influencer Jake Paul against 3 time NBA slam dunk champion Nate Robinson. I personally can’t wait.

Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr airs on PPV on Fite TV at 9 pm ET on Saturday November 28th.