Boxing legend Mike Tyson’s first appearance in the ring for 15 years ended in a draw with fellow-legend Roy Jones Jr.
The fight between the two heavyweights took place at Los Angeles’ Staples Centre and in light of the ongoing health crisis, the bout had no spectators or judges.
At the weigh-in prior to the fight, 54-year-old Tyson came in at 220lb, while Jones (51) came in at 210lb.
Despite there being no winner, the pair seemed to be quite content with a draw, with Jones saying: “I don’t do draws but the dude (Tyson) is so strong.
“When he hits you, his head, his punches, his body shots, everything hurts. I’m cool with the draw.”
Tyson responded by saying to Jones: “I hit you with some good shots, and you took it. I respect that.”
The pair took part in the heavyweight exhibition as a way to raise money for several charities with Tyson reportedly paid $10 million for the fight, a large amount of which he will donate.
He said: “This is better than fighting for championships. We’re humanitarians now. We can do something good for the world. We’ve got to do this again.”
The match had a ‘no knock-out’ rule that saw the two boxers engage in heavy sparring instead, with Jones describing Tyson’s body shots as ‘taking a toll’ on him.
Many of the sport’s fellow-legends expressed their satisfaction with former heavyweight champion, George Foreman tweeting, ‘Best exhibition I have ever seen’, while Amir Khan wrote, ‘Well done to my friends @MikeTyson & #RoyJonesJr. great performance from both legends. Both guys looked in great shape. I’m happy nobody got hurt, Well done [sic]’.
However rapper Snoop Dogg described the fight as watching two uncles fight at a family BBQ.
Following his commentary, many people joked that Snoop was the real winner of the fight with NBA star LeBron James tweeting, ‘My Unk @SnoopDogg is simply the greatest at whatever he does man!!!’
