Mike Tyson, 50-something, Roy Jones Jr hungry to fight again when they return to the ring

Mike Tyson took to a prominent stage on Friday and weighed 100 kg, ripping his shirt to reveal a muscular torso that could belong to an athlete in his mid-54s.

The former heavyweight champion moved into a protective glass case from Covid and went head-to-head with Roy Jones Jr., once the most talented fighter in the world. Jones’ 95kg frame was a bit less toned, but he was still clearly in better shape than most of his 51-year-old teammates.

These two boxing greats are older and calmer men now, but they are returning to the ring (Sunday New Zealand time) with the intention of reclaiming a moment from their brilliant past, and they have both worked very hard to make sure it doesn’t. will be. embarrassed at this extraordinary boxing display.

“This is the fun part,” said Tyson, who will fight for the first time in 15 years. “Everything else to get here was hell.”

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Their fight at Staples Center is something of an eight-round sparring session. It will have two-minute rounds, no official judging and limited violence, although the limit depends on whether you are asking the California State Athletic Commission or the wrestlers who intend to let go of their hands.

“Maybe I don’t know how to take it easy,” Tyson said. “I don’t know. I don’t want to say anything wrong. I don’t want the commission to get mad at me.”

But for Tyson and Jones, this one-time pay-per-view program is less of a sporting event and more of an opportunity for two momentous athletes to prove that age is a number, and aging is a choice.

“I don’t see life as an age,” Tyson said. “I see life as energy. You don’t bring your age to the table. You bring your energy to the table. You’re not going to meet people: ‘Hey, I’m Bob. I’m 59 ‘. You don’t do that. “

Tyson still seems surprised by the wave of events that brought him back to the ring. He admits that the younger Tyson would never have believed he would be a middle-aged husband and father who needed to lose 45kg two years ago, because that headstrong kid from Brooklyn had never thought so far.

“I didn’t even think I would live that long,” he said. “It was so intense and I took myself very seriously.”

Tyson got back in shape at the urging of his wife, who started him doing 15 minutes a day on the treadmill. The 15 minutes turned into two hours, then expanded into biking, running, and eventually hitting, along with adopting a vegan diet.

“Never eat anything,” he said laughing. “Just starve and exercise.”

The momentum began when he posted a video of a training session on social media at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and his sharp, crisp hits led to millions of impressions and a subsequent stream of increasingly lucrative return offers, alongside with the opportunity to raise money for charities. .

“This is a part of my life that I had practically thrown away,” Tyson said. “My last fight, I had no interest in doing it. I’m interested in doing it now. “

Tyson refers to his loss to officer Kevin McBride in 2005, when he finally ended his singular career in ugly fashion. He became the heavyweight champion at age 20 and reigned in the division for five years, but his epic fall embittered him in the sport.

“I want to do it now,” Tyson said. “Most of the time I was forced to do it from a contract perspective: ‘If you don’t do this, we’ll take everything you have and you’ll be back in Brownsville.’ They were blackmailing me. It’s a different perspective now. “

While Tyson became an international icon for his brutal and dangerous image and numerous misbehavior, Jones was widely revered as perhaps the most skilled boxer of his generation. Jones was a supernaturally talented athlete who dominated his weight classes while still pursuing his passion for basketball.

Nate Robinson was a rookie guard for the Knicks in 2005 when Jones participated in full practice with the team.

“It was freaking me out,” said Robinson, 36, who is no stranger to extravagant athletic feats as a three-time winner of the 5-foot-9 NBA Slam Dunk contest. “That was one of the highlights of my life, being able to rub shoulders and play with one of your favorite boxers.”

Jones wrestled regularly throughout the 2010s, but thought he finally retired two years ago. When he received an offer to be Tyson’s return opponent, Jones couldn’t resist the opportunity to fight a legend he never met during a career that was primarily spent at light heavyweight.

So Jones embarked on his own return training regimen.

“It was the craziest thing you could have ever imagined,” Jones said. “I can’t believe I can keep up my speed at 51 years old. I’m still faster than 95 percent of the boxing world, and that surprises me. The aches and pains are there because you are 50 years old and they will be there no matter what you do. You just have to have mental strength to overcome adversity. “

Tyson and Jones are returning to a new world of consumer and boxing fandom. This show is being promoted by Triller, a video creation app and social media platform, with a fight night show featuring performances by various rappers, a surprisingly strong undercard, and a main event pitting Robinson on his debut on professional boxing against the YouTube star. Jake Paul.

Robinson and Paul seem appropriately stunned by the circumstances of their fight.

“You have to remember, I’m 23 years old, and this is the first time people my age will be able to experience a Mike Tyson fight live,” Paul said. “I can’t believe I’m part of it.”

Neither Tyson nor Jones are likely to have finished boxing after this show. Jones said he hopes to fight mixed martial arts legend Anderson Silva next, “if this goes well,” while Tyson will go wherever this strange journey takes him.

“My being here is already a success,” Tyson said. “The fact that I exist as a human being is a success.”