Mike Tyson is returning to the ring. According to multiple reports, the former boxing heavyweight champion has booked a fight against another boxing legend, Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition match. TMZ is reporting the fight will take place on Sept. 12 in California and will be called Frontline Battle. The bout will be available on Pay-Per-View and the social media platform Triller.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports is reporting the undercard will be boxers vs. MMA fighters. The event will also include live musical performances from top artists. On Thursday, Jones talked about the idea of facing Tyson in an exhibition match. “Yes, it’s true – Mike is a legend,” Jones said via boxingscene.com when asked if an offer to fight Tyson was on the table. “It would be crazy to receive an offer to enter the ring with him and refuse.” Jones also said he had no plans of returning to the ring, “but for the sake of Mike Tyson, I agree to make an exception. For me, this is an opportunity that I cannot refuse.” Jones also noted of all the fighters Tyson could have selected, “he chose me. And since he did that, how can I say no?”
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Tyson, 54, has been teasing a comeback for the last couple of months, showing off his boxing skills on social media. Once his videos went viral, he started getting offers including $1 million to fight Australian rugby stars and $20 million to compete Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. He also made an appearance on AEW Dynamite back in May, getting into a fight with Chris Jericho.
Tyson is considered one of the best boxers in the world. He won 50 bouts while losing only six from 1985 to 2005. Tyson has the record the third-longest unified heavyweight championship reign in history with eight consecutive title defenses. He’s a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Jones is also considered one of the all-time greats as he held multiple championships in four weight classes — middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Jones is also the only boxer in history to start his career at junior middleweight and win the heavyweight title. He won his first 34 matches before suffering his first loss in 1997 to Montell Griffin via disqualification. He won a total of 66 fights with just nine losses.
