Mike Tyson versus Roy Jones Jr.
Yes, this is happening.
The pair of boxing all-time greats will collide in an eight-round heavyweight exhibition match, taking place live on Triller Pay-Per-View (Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET, $49.99) from a crowdless Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Tyson (50-6, 44KOs) weighed 220.4 pounds for the occasion, his lightest since hitting the scale at 218 pounds for his June 1997 rematch with Evander Holyfield in the infamous “Bite Fight.” The former undisputed heavyweight champion from Brooklyn—now 54 and based out of Las Vegas—weighed 233 pounds for his final career fight, a 6th round stoppage loss to Kevin McBride in June 2005.
Jones (66-9, 47KOs) checked in at 210 pounds, the heaviest he has ever weighed for a prizefight. The 51-year old former four-division champion from Pensacola, Florida has only touched 200 pounds on four previous occasions throughout his illustrious career, the last coming in a 2nd round knockout of Vyron Phillips in June 2016 when he weighed 201 ¾ pounds.
The career-high for Jones in a fight that counts on his official ring record came when he weighed 204 pounds for a 6th round knockout of Eric Watkins in August 2016. The former middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight titlist fought for the last time in February 2018, tipping the scale at 199 pounds for a 10-round unanimous decision over Scott Sigmon in his Pensacola hometown.
Saturday’s PPV headliner will be fought at eight two-minute rounds and with both combatants wearing 12-ounce gloves. The outcome will not count against their official record.
Among the bouts that will come, YouTube personality and first-year pro Jake Paul (1-0, 1KO) fights for the second time in 2020. The 23-year old from Cleveland—who now lives in Calabassas, California—faces former NBA star Nate Robinson in a cruiserweight bout scheduled for six rounds.
Paul weighed 189 pounds, nearly three pounds lighter than his official weight of 191 ¾ pounds for his 1st round knockout of fellow YouTube boxer AnEsonGib this past January in Miami.
Robinson tipped the scale at 181 pounds for what will serve as his pro debut. The 36-year multi-sport athlete from Sammamish, Washington was a three-time Slam Dunk champion during his 11-year NBA career from 2005-2016.
Former two-division titlist Badou Jack (22-3-3, 13KOs) checked in at a career-heaviest 188.9 pounds for his clash with unbeaten but unheralded Blake McKernan (13-0, 6KOs), who weighed 186.8 pounds. Their bout is scheduled for eight rounds at cruiserweight, a temporary stay for Jack who hopes to revisit the light heavyweight title stage in 2021—namely a rematch with secondary titlist Jean Pascal against whom he dropped a disputed 12-round split decision last December in Atlanta, Georgia.
The opening bout of the PPV telecast was a last minute medical scratch, proving doubly damaging for Rashad Coulter. The unbeaten boxer and former mixed martial artist was due to face Hasim Rahman Jr., a late replacement for an injured Viddal Riley but who is now out as well after testing positive for COVID-19 as previously reported by BoxingScene.com's Manouk Akopyan.
Coulter weighed in at 211.2 pounds for the now-canceled six-round heavyweight bout, stepping on the scale to make his weight official in order to get paid for the event.
Jamaine Ortiz (13-0, 7KOs) has been promoted to the PPV portion of the show as a result. The unbeaten junior lightweight from Worcester, Massachusetts weighed 133.5 pounds for an eight-round bout with Uganda’s Sulaiman Segawa (13-2-1, 4KOs) who weighed 131.8 pounds.
Other weights:
Edward Vazquez (Fort Worth, Texas ; 7-0, 1KO), 125.4 pounds vs. Irvin Gonzalez (Worcester, Massachusetts; 14-2, 11KOs), 124.4 pounds—8 rds, featherweight
Joe Cusumano (Danville, Virginia; 18-3, 16KOs; 225.4 pounds vs. Gregory Corbin (Dallas, Texas; 15-3, 9KOs) 291.8 pounds—8 rds, heavyweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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