London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr roll back years but boxing is no game at any

Boxing lived up to its reputation as the theatre of the unexpected with Saturday night’s much-anticipated exhibition fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. Shockingly, it wasn’t terrible.
The two quinquagenarian fistic legends fought to an unofficial split draw in their eight-round outing, which headlined a fast-moving, sleekly produced telecast from a first-time broadcaster filled with unexpectedly entertaining fights and seamlessly integrated musical performances.

Yes, the main event was nostalgia porn that promised customers a glimpse of what made Tyson and Jones such compelling athletes in their prime. But it improbably delivered. Tyson spent most of the night squarely in his opponent’s chest, conjuring the energy to explode with a combination once or twice a round.

Jones, weighed down by inferior conditioning, spent most of the night keeping his distance, looking to peck away with counterpunches. As it was sanctioned as an exhibition, there was no official scoring. But the World Boxing Council commissioned three former fighters to score it remotely and hand down an unofficial result.

Christy Martin scored it 79-73 for Tyson, Vinny Pazienza (absurdly) had it 80-76 for Jones while Chad Dawson scored it 76-76. (The Guardian had it 79-73 for Tyson.)Expectations for the event were so tempered that anything but a total farce could have been considered a win.

But the entire event came off so well that afterwards Tyson was bubbling with enthusiasm to do it again as soon as possible. The former undisputed world heavyweight champion said during a lengthy post-fight news conference that he wants to fight “once every two months”, primarily to support his charitable efforts. “This is better than fighting for championships,” Tyson said. “We’re humanitarians now. We can do something good for the world. We’ve got to do this again.” He added: “It has to be competitive.

I once had 15 fights in one year. Let’s just try and work closer to that.”It wasn’t long before the idea was raised of Tyson fighting exhibitions against the present-day heavyweight champions, a prospect the self-described “egomaniac” did not dismiss outright. “They probably could take me now, but could they take me 10 fights later – if I have 10 fights?” he said. Let’s not get carried away. Remember, the California State Athletic Commission approved Saturday’s event as an exhibition, and not without criticism. Tyson and Jones fought two-minute rounds instead of the usual three and used the larger 12oz gloves, which deliver less force than the 10oz standard for heavyweights.

The highly controlled setting ensured the fighters’ safety. Andy Foster, the executive director of the CSAC, said Tyson and Jones would be on a short leash and the referee would be ready with a quick hook to intervene if it did get hairy. “We can’t mislead the public as to this is some kind of real fight. They can get into it a little bit, but I don’t want people to get hurt. They know the deal.”Tyson, who weighed in
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×