Long past their primes, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. stayed competitive throughout their eight-round exhibition, ending the opening night of Tyson’s Legends Only League with a draw.
via: Complex
We had no idea what to expect. If anyone told you they knew how the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight was going to go, they were lying. How could you? For one, it’s 2020, so we never know what’s going to happen. But even so, these guys are in their 50s and haven’t fought professionally in years. It was a total mystery, but guess what? Mike Tyson is still the ultimate draw in sports. The fascination in this fight had social media on full tilt and more tuned in than maybe any other sporting event in 2020 sans the Super Bowl. Just ask Nate Robinson about all the memes that were born after he was knocked out by Jake Paul.
54 and 51 years old. 8 rounds.
Salute to these legends. pic.twitter.com/FoUnuRTlsr
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 29, 2020
They delivered on a pure entertainment level even if it was clear that both these guys were past their prime. It didn’t even matter. Hell, they’re pretty damn old, so props to them for even doing this. We won’t know the PPV numbers immediately, but I’d be shocked if they weren’t massive. Just off of pure curiosity, you had to tune into this and see what was going to happen. And you know what? Tyson still had shades of classic Tyson. He’s clearly past his golden years in the ring, but some of those shots still hit hard and gave you that classic Tyson feeling. That Tyson Saturday night fight feeling was restored. Also, shout out to Roy Jones Jr. for even doing this and holding his own. He took some hits and held strong to put on a good show. They both delivered in a major way.
Let us also give major props to Snoop Dogg for stealing the show in the announcer booth. Let Snoop announce every major sporting event going forward.
Snoop is the greatest commentator off all time ? pic.twitter.com/IOVYk9MEgK
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 29, 2020
Flat out, it was thoroughly entertaining and kept the viewers attention from the start. That’s what Tyson does. He delivers. For his entire career, he has delivered. Love him or hate him, you just have to tune in. He did it once again tonight. And no, it didn’t end with a classic Tyson knockout, but it was simply better than any of us could imagined. Even the most skeptical of boxing purists need to applaud this fight. I will never claim to be some kind of purist, but you have to admit that this brought attention and eyes to the sport whether you like it or not. Will it save the sport? Who knows, but you can’t convince me that this hurt the sport of boxing. This was entertaining as hell and a night we’ll all remember for a long time. Even though Nate Robinson would probably like to forget it.
The real winner of the night was Snoop and his commentary, but much respect to the two legends Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.
