"I'm Back" Tyson Returns After 15 Years... Who Is Jones Junior? How Much Is the Fight Money?

[Image source = Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] 'Iron Fist' Mike Tyson (54) is returning to the ring after 15 years.

According to foreign media, Tyson will face Roy Jones Jr. (51) in a boxing legend match at 11 a.m. (Korean time) on the 29th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, USA.

It is reported that Tyson lost an astonishing 45 kg to prepare for this comeback fight.

Tyson, who weighed in at 220 pounds (99.8 kg) the day before, will enter the match at a weight similar to when he became the heavyweight champion at age 20 in 1986 (100.2 kg).

Tyson debuted in 1985 and the following year, at the youngest age of 20, defeated Trevor Berbick to become the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion. A year later, he also won the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles, becoming the unified champion of the three major organizations.

Roy Jones Jr., who will face Tyson this time, is no pushover. He is a living legend who won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and conquered four weight classes: middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight.

This match is a big event for Tyson, who retired in 2005, marking his return after 15 years, and for Jones Jr., who officially retired in 2018, marking his return after 2 years. The news of this charity boxing match between two heavyweight stars has attracted various interests in live broadcasts, replays, and fight purses.

Although there will be no official winner, the WBC will unofficially form a judging panel of three former boxers to decide the winner. It is known that an honorary belt will be awarded to the boxer who receives the higher score.

The match will be held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be broadcast live on KT Olleh TV and Seezn. The replay will be aired at 4:30 p.m. on TV Chosun's 'Match of the Century '.

Meanwhile, the fight purses for both fighters are reported to be in the hundreds of millions of won. According to media reports, Tyson is guaranteed $10 million (approximately 11.05 billion won), while Jones is guaranteed $1 million (approximately 1.1 billion won) with the potential to earn up to $3 million (approximately 3.3 billion won).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.