By: Sean Crose
Oddly enough, the talk of late summer – at least when it came to boxing – was the upcoming exhibition bout between former heavyweight great Mike Tyson and former pound for pound king Roy Jones. Although experts and analysts rolled their eyes, much of the public appeared ready and willing to see two greats, Tyson in particular, get back in the ring again. Now, however, the match may (“may” being the operative word here) be in doubt. For the fight date has been pushed back to November 28th – which is months after the original September date for the throwdown had been announced. Needless to say, Jones is apparently none too happy about this recent development.
“For me,” Jones told the Daily Mail, “it was more about pushing to go ahead and do it, firstly because I’m focused and you need to stay focused.” Although this may be an exhibition bout, it’s clear that both fighters are taking it seriously – and it’s important for Jones to remain in the zone before facing even an older version of the feared Iron Mike. Yet there seems to be more at play for Jones than just matters of preparation. “I’ve had to cancel other stuff to be out here,” he said to the Mail, “it’s upset my calendar, I’ve got to change things.” Just how upset is Jones that fight date has been pushed back several months?
‘We’re trying to figure something out,” he tells the Mail, “my lawyers is (sic) 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.” Jones has even made it clear that he’s willing to pull out of the fight if matters aren’t worked out to his satisfaction. According to the Mail, the bout was pushed back because the promotional machine felt more viewers would be available around the holidays than there would be in September
‘They said they wanted to get a crowd,” Jones is quoted as saying, “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.” Both Jones and Tyson have earned millions for their ring exploits. Even though both men are in their 50’s, their exhibition bout, should it happen, will be no exception.
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