Mike Tyson’s return to ring at 54 excites and questions

It will only be a fight-exhibition, but the return to 54 years of heavyweight legend Mike Tyson, Saturday in Los Angeles against Roy Jones, ignites the boxing world. However, with a nagging question: is it reasonable to let two fifties clash?

It all started with videos posted in May by “Iron Mike” on social networks. Particularly sharp, the former king of the queen category there martyred his unfortunate sparring partner with supersonic sequences, causing a huge buzz (more than 12 million views on Instagram).

A last pathetic fight

Long in the state of fantasy, the comeback of this giant then became reality on July 23 with the officialization of a duel at the Staples Center against Roy Jones, 51 years old and world champion in four different categories between 1993 and 2004 (middle, super-middle, light-heavy, heavy), organized by a charitable structure (Legends Only League).

The former terror of the rings, which dominated the heavyweight between the 1980s and 1990s, will be keen to show a different face than during his pathetic final defeat fifteen years ago against an almost unknown, Kevin Mc Bride. A setback that had put an end to his rich career, made up of high and low.

Mike Tyson: “If Cus D’Amato was still here today, he would have asked me why it took me so long to get back into the ring! He would have criticized me for giving up afterwards my very last fight … That my emotions got the better of me “???????? pic.twitter.com/dIVsyJCcS9

– Ilies Mkt (@IliesMkt) November 26, 2020

For boxing fans, seeing Mike Tyson in action again is something to arouse excitement but it was still necessary to surround this fight, which will not be official and will take place behind closed doors because of Covid -19, with maximum precautions, given the advanced age of the two protagonists. The California Athletic Commission (CSAC) has thus enacted special rules to preserve the physical integrity of boxers.

“These are the women who box for two minutes”

Tyson and Jones, who had to go through full medicals and been tested for doping, will challenge each other in 8 rounds of 2 minutes, without a helmet but with wider gloves. There will be no winner or count of judges, with scores being given by WBC members for “entertainment” purposes only. KOs will also be prohibited and debates stopped at the slightest cut.

The only concern: Tyson and Jones got so caught up in the game that they absolutely do not plan to box under these conditions. “I’m going to come fight and he will come and fight. That’s all there is to know. These are the women who box for two minutes, ”said Tyson, youngest world champion in heavyweight history (20 years, 4 months and 23 days in 1986). “The last guy who did an exhibition with Mike Tyson got knocked down in the first round. It will be for real, ”said Roy Jones.

Pay attention to the heart and brain

As a sign of his determination not to miss this true-false return, the proceeds of which will be donated to charities, Tyson has been doing an impressive physical job for several months. The one who has known glory and then a progressive decline (prison, drugs, failed return, bankruptcy) has found an athletic body and is even thinking of other appearances in the ring next year. “The last time I weighed 97 kg, I was 17 or 18 years old. I have total confidence. It’s unbelievable, ”he said.

Nevertheless, for many, this fight is a real “stroke of madness”, as summarized by George Foreman. “Big George” knows however in a victorious comeback since he was world heavyweight champion at 45 years old. From a medical point of view, there are also many fears about possible consequences on the health of the two boxers. “The real risk at this age is on the heart and the brain,” said Dr Amine Mokhtar Benounnane, member of the medical commission of the French Boxing Federation.