When Saturday's fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. was announced for the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the head of the California State Athletic Commission, Andy Foster, said the eight-round exhibition won't be treated like a real fight. The rules stated that it would be contested with 12-ounce gloves, no headgear, and two-minute rounds instead of three.
Even though Foster has made the proclamation loud and clear, Tyson and Jones have been insistent that they will be going full-throttle and a knockout could occur. Most people feel Tyson and Jones won't be taking it easy and will give 100 percent once they step through the ropes.
It was revealed last week that UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya would make his debut as part of the broadcasting team alongside Al Bernstein and "Sugar" Ray Leonard. Knowing how Tyson and Jones have fought during their illustrious careers, Adesanya fully expects them to turn it on once the bell sounds.
"I expect there to be full-fledged violence," Adesanya passionately told DAZN News. "I don't know what the f— the commission was talking about like there's going to be no knockouts. This is not a game to these guys. It's an 'exhibition,' but it's not going to be an exhibition."
The sports world was surprised when Tyson announced he'd be returning to the ring to face Jones. The last visual fans had of the former undisputed heavyweight champion was on the canvas in a losing effort to Kevin McBride in 2005. When Adesanya heard the news, he knew people would be in for a treat.
"Shocked, to be honest, and mind-blowing," Adesanya admits. "When I saw Mike Tyson back training for the first time, that threw me off guard. I was like, 'What the hell is happening? I just saw Mike Tyson beating up the pads. Then I was like, 'How's he moving like that?' Granted, it's jump cuts, but it's still Mike Tyson, and in an unedited version, you still see him going at it. And this was early on when he first started training back. Roy Jones has always been active and still be fighting in Russia for a while, and I kept up with his work. Mike Tyson was the one that shocked me because I was like 'Whoa'. When the fight came to be, I knew it was going to be history."
On Tuesday night, Tyson tweeted out the fight had already broken pay-per-view presale fight records and is on pace to have one of the biggest buyrates in recent memory. Whether that happens remains to be seen.
What does that say for combat sports as a whole if the 54-year-old Tyson and 51-year-old Jones can generate a high pay-per-view buyrate?
"I think it's awesome for combat sports," Adesanya said. "These are two guys who are past their prime, and they're bringing people back to when they used to watch combat sports. In doing that, you have guys like myself commentating. This is crossing over into what's happening right now. You do have (former NBA player) Nate Robinson and (social media star) Jake Paul fighting in the co-main event. Even though they're not exactly boxers, I think they will put on a good enough show to at least hold the audience to watch Tyson to stick around."