By Max Seitelman: Mike Tyson says his two children both want him to stay retired, but he states that neither of them knows how to fight and they can’t beat him now even at 54.
Obviously, that’s kind of an odd thing for ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) to say for him to justify his decision to return to the ring after being retired since 2005, but he feels he’s making the right decision to come out of retirement.
Former IBF/WBA/WBC heavyweight champion Tyson is supposed to be taking on Roy Jones Jr (66-9, 47 KOs) on September 12 on pay-per-view. There are some who doubt the fight will come off between the two legends, but he’ll have to see
The former four-division world champion Roy Jones is 51-years-old and hasn’t beaten a significant opponent since his victory over Antonio Tarver in November 2003. That was 17 years ago, and he’s looked shot to pieces in every fight since then.
Tyson excited about his comeback
“I’m so happy coming back into the ring facing Roy Jones on September 12. It’s going to be so awesome,” said Mike Tyson on the Jimmy Fallon show. “He’s the greatest fighter of his generation, and I’m the greatest fighter of my generation.
“It’s just a no-brainer that we should clash together. No, we planned on fighting [many years ago], but it never happened, but the opportunity came now. I don’t know how it came back. I started training.
“I’m back in shape. I’m 228, and I’ve been boxing. I can’t believe it either. I don’t believe in the Fountain of Youth, but something came over me, and I’m back. Well, it’s really painful,” said Tyson when asked how does it compare training at 54 compared to when he was 24.
If nothing positive comes from Tyson’s comeback, at least he’s gotten himself in shape, and given boxing fans something to look forward to during the lockdown. There’s nothing going on right now in terms of significant fights, and Tyson has been an excellent distraction to give fans something to look forward to.
Even if Tyson’s fight with Jones turns out to be a dud, it’s still not a bad thing for fans to see the two old legends return to the ring.
‘Iron’ Mike’s kids want him to sit down
“From this experience right now, I’ll never call another fighter a bum again, because anybody that does this or attempts to do this is no bum,” Tyson said.
“Well, my kids think I should sit my old a** down, but what do they know? I’m very confident. They don’t know how to fight.
“Neither one of my kids can beat me in a fight, so what are they talking about?” said Tyson.
Well, just because neither of Tyson’s kids can beat him that’s no reason why he could be making a bad decision in returning t the ring. Of course, there’s less risk n Tyson losing to a chinny fighter like Jones Jr, however.
Jones started his career at middleweight [160], and he spent most of his best years in that division. Where Tyson may run into a problem is when or if he takes on someone like Evander Holyfield or one of the young heavyweights that are currently fighting.
The worry is that Tyson’s ego will go out of control if he beats Jones Jr, and it may plant some ideas in his head, making him think he can beat someone good. At this point, even the 57-year-old Holyfield might be a bit more than Tyson can handle.
Holyfield will likely force Tyson to battle hard for more than four rounds, and that point, he could gas out as we saw in his losses to Lennox Lewis, Kevin McBride, and Danny Williams. When Tyson fades in his fights, he’s defenseless and falls apart.
A lot of casual boxing fans have gotten excited about Tyson after seeing him work out on his videos that he’s been posting on social media, but it’s a different thing when it comes to a real fight with something throwing punches back.