Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. boxing fight ended in a draw as they showcased their skills over eight, two-minute rounds on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Tyson said he is “good with” the draw.
Jones says he’s never satisfied with a draw but said Tyson is strong and everything he hit with hurt.
Tyson seemed to pile up most of the early rounds, landing the cleaner punches and muscling Jones in the clinch. Jones was the more visibly fatigued man in the corner between rounds, but he continued to try to gut out the fight, turning up his volume in the later rounds. This despite Tyson being far more removed from his time as a professional fighter.
Jones’ late work served to score him enough late rounds to earn the win on one scorecard and a draw on the other. With Tyson winning the third scorecard, the fight was left a somewhat unsatisfying draw.
While Tyson said he was happy with the result, Jones was less thrilled, saying after the fight, “I wear draws, I don’t do draws.”
After the fight, Tyson told interviewer Jim Gray that he planned to move forward fighting more exhibitions and even seemed interested in running it back with Jones.
“I’m used to doing it for three minutes,” Tyson said of the rounds. “Sometimes, that two minutes felt like three minutes. I’m happy I got this under my belt to keep doing this and go further.”
Jones was less committed to fighting again, stating simply that it was “hard to say.”
Tyson did shut down any idea of coming back to the ring as a professional, however.
“This is bigger than fighting and winning the championship,” Tyson said of competing in exhibitions where he donates money to charity. “We’re humanitarians and we’re helping people.”
While Tyson and Jones’ in-ring performance definitely turned heads, what fans heard on the broadcast may have been just as good. Rap icon Snoop Dogg joined the team for the final two fights and the card and delivered some great one-liners while also openly rooting for Jones in the main event.
The lightness provided by Snoop’s commentary carried over into the post-fight interviews with Jones and Tyson, with the once feared fighters joking with each other while they basked in the bright lights of the sport’s biggest stage decades after being two of the biggest stars of their era.
Tyson vs. Jones scorecard, live coverage
| ROUND | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 76 |
| Jones | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 76 |
