Mike Tyson celebrated his return to the ring after a fifteen-year absence by drawing his comeback fight against Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition fight inside Staples Centre in the US on Saturday.
The controversial showdown between the two boxing legends, had been met with significant criticism and scepticism but the pair both emerged with credit from an absorbing, but largely incident free eight-round contest.
Tyson, 54, who hadn’t fought since his defeat to Kevin McBride back in 2005, was the main aggressor throughout, without ever threatening to inflict serious damage on his opponent.
The three judges, who scored the bout remotely, could not separate the American legends, despite most observers feeling that Tyson did enough to have won.
Reacting to the decision, Tyson said: “I’m good with that. I’m good with a draw, because I entertained the crowd, the crowed was happy with it.
“I’m used to doing it for three minutes, sometimes like two minutes or three minutes. I hope to go further, absolutely, and he can be on the card as well.
“I was very happy to be here, despite what everyone says I was happy to go to eight rounds. Nobody thought I could go eight rounds, but you’ve got to go the distance, that’s boxing.”
Jones Jr, meanwhile, admitted he would have to consult with his family before deciding whether or not to risk his health by getting back in the ring with Iron Mike in the future.
The 51-year-old Jones Jr said: “We’ve got to do this again, everybody loves Mike, I love Mike too but it’s something else taking punches from Mike.
“I’ll go talk to my family, see how they feel about it and if they want to do it again, we’ll do it again.”
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