More on Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones & Jones Pulling Out

by Kris Anthony (krisanthonyboxing@gmail.com)

As reported yesterday, Roy Jones Jr. is not happy and has subsequently threatened to pull out. This can be taken in a number of ways:

He could genuinely be unhappy. He could financially be out of pocket with the change of date and all surrounding the move. “I’ve had to cancel other stuff to be out here, it’s upset my calendar, I’ve got to change things. That’s why we have to table bullsh-t now. That’s the biggest issue, I’m not a full time boxer anymore so I do other things to make an income. If I can’t do other things then I should be compensated for that, because it changes the schematics. It’s not acceptable,” Jones told Daily Mail.

Training could also be affected as all has been geared around the original fight date of September 12th. It can either help with more preparation for a fighter now in his 50’s (Tyson as well) or hinder with the disruption. When Jones Jr. was asked about the extra time to train and if it will help him he said “if everything works out, yes.”

This could be further ‘promotion’ for the overall pot of money this event will generate. We know for sure projected levels were not reached so the date was moved. Or, at the same time, it went so well they changed to cash in even further. Jones Jr. threatening to pull out has hit the boxing headlines. The original announcement, the move of date, Jones now threatening to pull out…. if this was just a bluff for self (or the events) promotion it is a little risky. As they say “all news is good news” but with a PPV amount of $49, some may not risk buying the event even if it is near (or on) the date.

I cannot say this was not expected, but I would of thought it would of been Tyson with any form of issue(s) with his past exploits being taken into consideration.

Tyson, on his promotional tour joined Dan Patrick on The Dan Patrick Show to clarify the status of how the fight is and what to expect in what now seems loosely termed an “exhibition”.”

“An exhibition means two people are fighting, and it’s not called a fight,” said Tyson.

“But it’s real?” asked Patrick?

“Pretty much, yeah. We’re throwing punches at each other,” Tyson responded. “This is going to be my definition of fun….broken eye sockets, broken jaw, broken ribs. That’s fun to me.”

Andy Foster of the California State Athletic Commission interjected “I wanted to have their assurances that they understand, ‘I don’t care if they spar. I don’t care if they work.’ They are world-class athletes, even still, they have a right to earn, and all these types of things. They’re about the same age. We can’t mislead the public as to this is some kind of real fight. They can get into it a little bit, but I don’t want people to get hurt. They know the deal.”

Tyson said “I didn’t really train [for McBride]. I wasn’t excited for that fight. It was a bill-paying, mundane day at the office.

“[Holyfield is] on the table, but I guess the people wanted Roy,” 

“Tyson Fury is a possibility. How many charities can we help? I’ll fight him, I’ll fight anybody for that. It’s not based on money – the money is only based on what we can do with it.”

“I never thought about coming out of retirement and fighting for real. But this is fun. Let’s see how many people and charities we can help out. Let’s see how long I can be around and hold up. This stuff feels pretty good. I feel pretty good. I’m ready …I hope this thing turns out the way I anticipate it will.”

Jones Jr. yesterday:

“I’ve had to cancel other stuff to be out here, it’s upset my calendar, I’ve got to change things. That’s why we have to table bullsh-t now. That’s the biggest issue, I’m not a full time boxer anymore so I do other things to make an income. If I can’t do other things then I should be compensated for that, because it changes the schematics. It’s not acceptable,” Jones told Daily Mail.

“We’re trying to figure something out, my lawyers is talking with their lawyers, trying to figure out ways to make it a better situation so that I can compensated for it, that is more beneficial for me to do. If they don’t make it make sense, it (the fight) would be off.

“Why would I change the date and mess up the rest of my year when I agreed to September 12. They said they wanted to get a crowd, if you want to get a crowd, that’s a different type of money. If you want a big event, that’s a different type of money. You think I’m going to say, okay, let’s look at my money, but I’m not getting no better percent. How dumb is that to me? So let’s see what happens.”

A huge Tyson fan, unfortunately I will say that nothing surprises me. I thought and still think it can be cancelled altogether. Many have said they will come back, have a fight date, train, occur expenses for all to collapse and be cancelled for a long list of reasons. With Tyson vs Jones Jr, I hope this is not the case as it has put boxing in some ways back on the map with the public, both good and bad.

I am curious, it’s like a guilty pleasure that I will and many others will pay vast sums of money to see. If it really is for charity then even better.

Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr….a fight late by 17 years.