On Saturday, November 28, former World Boxing Champions Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. squared off against each other in the ring inside of Staples Center in Los Angeles. The exhibition match went the distance with eight two-minute rounds and both fighters looked like they could go a couple more – especially Iron Mike.

For someone like me who watched both fighters in their primes, it was both nostalgic and inspiration. Tyson, 54 and Jones Jr., 51, both danced and showed flashes of their former selves – proving that legends, and all-time greats, never lose their step or touch. While Iron Mike showed off that hunger inside him and that ready to knock you the f*ck out stare, Jones Jr. clearly looked like he was a little more gassed and spent a lot of time keeping Mike tied up so he couldn’t use those powerful arms. Don’t get me wrong though, RJJ still danced and looked light on his feet too. Unofficially declared a draw, the spectacle brought us back to boxing’s heyday and brought us a fantasy match, even if both men were out of their youth. Seeing Tyson in his traditional all black ware and Roy honoring Kobe with purple and gold and specially crafted gloves gave me goosebumps.

 

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In a 2020 filled with downs, we really needed something like this to cheer us up and set us up for potentially more exhibition matches like this in the future to help keep boxing alive. It even sparked former heavyweight champion George Foreman saying that Iron Mike could potentially become the oldest heavyweight champion if he got a title shot. The thing that did it for me though was Mike saying he smoked some Mary Jane before and after the match – the man is a f*cking legend forever.

Photo via Joe Scarnici/Getty Images/Triller