Boxing veteran Roy Jones Jr. is getting cold feet ahead of his November exhibition match against Mike Tyson.
The 51-year-old Jones is set to fight the former world heavyweight champion on Nov. 28 in California, after previously complaining over the delay in setting a date and his payment for the bout.
Jones acknowledged that he is far from the favorite going into the clash, telling Sky Sports (via BoxingScene): "He's still Mike Tyson, he's still one of the strongest, most explosive people who ever touched a boxing ring. If anything, I made a mistake going in with him. He's the bigger guy, he's the explosive guy.
"When it comes time to fight, we're going to fight. If it comes down to bite, we're going to bite. Whatever has to happen, is going to happen, that's just what it is.
"He's going to have all the first-round fireworks, not me. I do have first-round fireworks, but he's known for more first-round fireworks than anybody to ever touch boxing, other than maybe George Foreman … With him having the first-round fireworks, he'll be against a guy smaller than him, maybe 40-to-50 pounds smaller than him."
Jones’s last fight came in 2018 against Scott Sigmon, though he has since been working as a trainer and analyst. After training Chris Eubank Jr., he suggested that being in the gym with younger fighters has inspired his return.
"Man, with training these guys like Chris Eubank Jr., they inspire me to get my mind going," explained Jones Jr. to Sky Sports.
"They're so good already, but you've got to take their mind to another level. You've got to take them somewhere they haven't been yet, or you can't really train them … When they do it, they also awaken me. Things that I forgot, that I don't do anymore. It turns me back into a better fighter, because it made me remember things that I did once upon a time."