Mike Tyson Returning to the Ring at 54

His opponent is over 50, too
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 23, 2020 4:22 PM CDT
Tyson Plans Comeback Against Another Boxer Over 50
Mike Tyson attends a celebrity golf tournament in California last August.   (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

Fifteen years is a long time between fights. And then there's the fact that Mike Tyson is 54 now. But the former undisputed heavyweight champ is returning to the ring "because I can do it," ESPN reports. "Just because we are 54, it doesn't mean that we have to start a new career and our lives are totally over," Tyson said. "Not when you feel as beautiful as I do, and I'm sure that other people feel the same way." He'll take on someone close to his own age: Roy Jones Jr., 51. They plan an eight-round exhibition on Sept. 12 in Carson, California, to be shown on Triller and pay-per-view. Tyson, whose last fight was a loss to Kevin McBride, said he's not worried about himself: "I never took that many punches."

And he's not worried about Jones, who last fought in February 2018, a victory by decision. "We're both accomplished fighters, we know how to take care of ourselves," Tyson said. The boxers will not wear headgear, said the head of the California State Athletic Commission, but they'll wear larger gloves than usual. "This isn't a situation where they're going out there to try to take each other's heads off," he said, per Yahoo Sports. "They're just going to be in there moving around the ring and letting fans see these legends." Jones said the fight wasn't his idea. "I've been trying to enjoy retirement, but people don't seem to want to let me retire," he said. "We always wanted to see it," Jones added of a bout with Tyson, "but I would've preferred it back then." (More Mike Tyson stories.)

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