Exhibition match between legends Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr ends up in an unofficial split draw as the two battle it out at Staples Center on Saturday.
The fight between the two was impossible to predict, but they went as hard as could be asked for over eight, two-minute rounds.
“This is better than fighting for championships,” said Tyson.
“We´re humanitarians now. We can do something good for the world. We’ve got to do this again. I would absolutely do this again.”
The fight was a little rough around the edges, with neither seemed to throw more than one or two punches at a time.
Occasionally, Tyson lands his trademark left hook at a distance while Jones showed flashes of his old self with no-look jabs and showboating to boot.
While Tyson is far more removed from his time as a professional fighter, Jones was the more visibly fatigued in the corner between rounds.
This did not stop him from turning up his volume in the later rounds, despite Tyson piling up most of the early rounds.
Tyson was visibly happy with the result, but Jones was less thrilled as he said, “I wear draws, I don’t do draws.”
“The body shots definitely took a toll,” said Jones, “It’s something to take the punches that Mike throws. I’m cool with a draw. Maybe we can do it again.”
“I hit you with some good shots, and you took it,” Tyson said, “I respect that.”
Iron Mike has also expressed his interest in running it back with Jones, and expressed plans to fight more exhibitions.
“I’m used to doing it for three minutes,” Tyson said, referring to the length of each round.
“Sometimes, that two minutes felt like three minutes. I’m happy I got this under my belt to keep doing this and go further.”