Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Match Ends in Draw

Saturday night, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. faced off in a heavyweight exhibition boxing match. The highly-anticipated battle headlined a PPV event and sparked predictions about who would take care of business in the ring. Ultimately, the two former champions fought to a draw.

Tyson and Jones fought during an eight-round match, which featured only two-minute rounds instead of the traditional three minutes. The judges scored the fight evenly, ultimately awarding both men a commemorative belt. However, CompuBox released numbers showing that Tyson landed 67 of his punches while Jones only landed 37. Of these punches, 35% were body shots.

Tyson spoke to reporters at the Staples Center after the bout came to a close. He said that he could have done better. But also proclaimed that he would “absolutely” do another exhibition match in the future.

“I could’ve done everything better,” Tyson said, per ESPN. “Everything I was doing, I could’ve done it better, so God willing, I’ll be better the next exhibition.” Jones also spoke to reporters and mentioned the possibility of facing off with Tyson once again. He also admitted that the body shots took a toll on him during the eight-round match.

“I like him, but the dude is so strong, man,” Jones said. “I understand why they say some things are ‘bucket list’ because when he hits you if it’s his head, his punches, his body shots, it don’t matter. Everything hurts. So, for me, I thought I did enough boxing on the outside to edge it out, but I’m cool with the draw. It means we just might have to do it again, but I don’t know.”

Tyson told reporters that he won’t participate in any bouts outside of exhibition matches in the future. Although he also said that he is fearful of suffering an injury after being away from the boxing ring for so many years. Tyson also promised to donate his fight purse to charity.

“This is better than fighting for championships,” Tyson said about his match with Jones. “We’re humanitarians now. We can do something good for the world. We’ve got to do this again.”

While the ring’s action sparked several comments on social media, the other attractions during the PPV also provided entertainment for fans. Specifically, they expressed appreciation for Snoop Dogg, who performed during the event and then provided commentary for two matches. He helped call the action between YouTube star Jake Paul and former NBA player Nate Robinson. Dogg then commentated during the Jones-Tyson match.