By: Hans Themistode
With 15 years since his last ring appearance, fans of Mike Tyson should have no problem waiting a bit longer for his return.
As first reported by The Athletic, the former heavyweight champion will have his highly anticipated matchup against Roy Jones Jr. pushed back from its original September 12th date, to November 28th.
Reasoning behind the postponement is reportedly due to time and money. When the news first broke of the iconic boxers agreeing to terms for a heavyweight matchup, social media exploded. Despite the $50 dollar price tag associated with their September bout, most were seemingly onboard to watch two legends settle a near 20 year question of who is the better fighter.
In the early 2000s, Tyson’s aura of invincibility was all but gone. Losses to James Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis proved that the Brooklyn native was no longer “The Baddest Man On The Planet.” Jones Jr. on the other hand, was fresh off his fourth world title win against then WBA champion John Ruiz. Talks of a contest between the two never materialized however. Until recently.
The entire vision behind the Tyson vs Jones Jr. contest needed more time to complete as a ten part docu series will lead viewers into the bout. That, along with the assumption that the slightly longer anticipation will generate more dollars have led to the delay.
While fans will have to patiently wait a bit longer, the unexpected setback will give both fighters, who are well into their 50s, more time to prepare.
For both men, the end of their careers was not kind. Tyson hung up the gloves in 2005 after back to back knockout losses to Kevin McBride and Danny Williams. Following his matchup with McBride, Tyson revealed that he was no longer the same man who wanted to annihilate his opponents.
“I just don’t have the desire nomore,” said Tyson in 2005 following his loss to McBride. “I don’t have the stomach to do it no more.”
Nevertheless, 15 years later, Tyson has seemingly found that desire once again.
As for Jones Jr. his career stretched out far beyond his golden years. The Florida native may have called it a career in 2018, but with no world title wins under his belt since 2003, Jones Jr. fought as a shadow of his former self for nearly two decades.
With that being said, he did win his last four contests albeit against subpar competition.
In both of their primes, the question of who was the better fighter always drove boxing circles crazy. Now, well into their 50s, they won’t be able to answer that question completely, but they can certainly give a glimpse into what could have happened.
Still, fans will have to wait a few more months to see how things play out.
