Two of boxing’s iconic figures are finally going to lock horns on Saturday, Nov. 28, as former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson meets former four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr. from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The eight-round exhibition fight, which is titled, “Frontline Battle,” is the first event of a series produced by Legends Only League will be for the newly created WBC Frontline Battle Belt.
According to sportingnews.com the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, Andy Foster, Tyson and Jones won’t be wearing headgear, and he thinks both fighters will be wearing 12-ounce gloves.
Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) won the WBC heavyweight title at the age of 20 when he stopped Trevor Berbick in the second round in November 1986.
He went on to take the sweet science by storm, becoming the undisputed champion in 1987 and holding that distinction until 1990 in a stunning upset to James “Buster” Douglas. “Iron Mike” returns to the ring for the first time since a sixth-round stoppage loss to Kevin McBride in June 2005.
Jones (66-9, 47 KOs) is a former four-division world champion who is viewed as one of the most skilled boxers of this generation, winning championships at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight.
Jones won the latter by moving up two weight classes in March 2003 and dominated John Ruiz to capture the WBA belt and becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in 106 years. Jones last fought in February 2018, beating Scott Sigmon by unanimous decision.
Tyson and Jones have made it clear that despite Foster saying the bout will be nothing more than a “hard sparring session”, they will be going for the finish.
Compile by Ebenezer PK Brinful (Noble)