Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr are set for Saturday night’s pay-per-view exhibition fight (which you can order here), with the two legends weighing in today in California.
The 54-year-old Tyson weighed in at 220.4, with the 51-year-old Jones at 210 even. That’s the heaviest Jones has ever been for a fight in his career; even when he beat John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title back in 2003, Jones weighed in at 193, putting on some bulk from his normal 175 at the time, but opting to maintain as much of his speed as he could, which turned out to be the right idea.
How to Watch Tyson vs Jones
Date: Saturday, Nov. 28 | Start Time: 9:00 pm ET
Location: Staples Center - Los Angeles, CA
TV: PPV ($49.99) | Stream: FITE TV PPV ($49.99)
Live Online Coverage: BadLeftHook.com
Previously, Jones’ heaviest weight came in 2015, when he weighed 204 for a fight against club fighter Eric Watkins. He last fought as a pro in 2018 in a cruiserweight win over Scott Sigmon at home in Pensacola, Florida. He has a career record of 66-9 (47 KO), though of course Saturday’s bout will not count toward his pro record.
Nor will it count for Tyson, obviously, who hasn’t fought since 2005 and has a career record of 50-6 (44 KO). Once arguably the biggest active sports star on the planet, Tyson’s return to the ring in any form has attracted considerable buzz. People really seem to just want to see what he can still do, even if it’s an exhibition. (And it is an exhibition, to avoid any confusion.)
Tyson was weighing in the low 230s when he was last fighting, and obviously ballooned up in weight for a while after he retired, but his hard work has been noted many times in the lead-up to this fight, and it showed on the scales.
Here’s a look head-on and a look from the side:
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Obviously this is not peak condition for either man, but these are men in their 50s.
The undercard will feature YouTuber Jake Paul (1-0, 1 KO) fighting again, facing former NBA player Nate Robinson, who will be making his boxing debut, in a six-round cruiserweight fight.
The 23-year-old Paul weighed in at 189 for this one, with the 36-year-old Robinson at 181. Of everything on this card, this may be the most unpredictable, as we simply have no idea what Robinson can or can’t do, but obviously he’s an NBA-level natural athlete, and when you consider he’s 5’9” and not some 6’5” guy, that means he is a truly spectacular athlete. He’s also always been a feisty, fiery, scrappy dude. Boxing is a whole other animal, and Paul has been at it in training and whatnot for a lot longer than Robinson.
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Paul-Robinson, for the record, is a sanctioned pro fight. No exhibition there.
Former two-division titlist Badou Jack (22-3-3, 13 KO) will also return to the ring, facing Blake McKernan (13-0, 6 KO) in an eight-round cruiserweight bout. Jack, who has held belts at 168 and 175, weighed in at 188.4, obviously his career high. McKernan, a cruiserweight by trade, came in at 186.8, which is a career-low for him. McKernan is 33 and having seen him before, his skills are not in Jack’s league, even with Jack being 37 and past his best days. But the size could potentially be a factor.
Bad Left Hook will be here at 9 pm ET tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 28, with full coverage of the pay-per-view, including live, up-to-the-minute, round-by-round updates for Tyson-Jones and Paul-Robinson.