Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr: Will you pay $50 to watch?

By Albert Craine - 11/25/2020 - Comments

Roy Jones Jr and Mike Tyson will be fighting it out in an exhibition match with an asking price of a cool $49.95 on pay-per-view this Saturday night on November 28th, starting at 9:00 pm ET.

With the kind of money that’s the fight organizers are charging boxing fans to watch the 54-year-old Tyson and 51-year-old Jones fight, it’s turned off many people that were mildly interested in seeing the two.

Tyson vs. Jones will be taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it can be seen on FITE TV pay-per-view for $49.99.

The fact that Jones vs. Tyson is an eight-round exhibition fight will make it difficult for boxing fans to want to purchase it. But what further hurts the promotion is the rules, which previously stated that knockouts weren’t allowed and that there wouldn’t be a winner.

In other words, it’s just a sparring match where no one gets hurt, and there is no winner. However, as of today, the rules have changed, and a knockout is now permitted. If it goes to a decision, the judges will score the fight, and a winner will be announced.

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The undercard has been emphasized with it rarely being mentioned in the build-up to the Tyson-Jones fight, but for the fans that care, this is what you’re getting as part of your $49.99:

  • YouTuber Jake Paul vs. NBA player Nate Robinson in a six-round fight.  The fans that are familiar with Robinson and Paul might like this fight. But for the rest of us who have never heard of either of them, this low-level match isn’t an attraction to make us want to purchase the card. In fact, it might make fans less willing to pay for the card because with this being the chief support, you’re not getting much value for your $50.
  • Badou Jack vs. Blake McKernan – eight rounds. This fight is a mismatch involving former two-division world champion Jack (33-3-3, 13 KOs) facing the 33-year-old McKernan (13-0, 6 KOs), who has never fought a world-class fighter before. It’s unclear where they found McKernan to use him as the opponent for the 37-year-old Jack, but you’d like to think they could have done better than this for a pay-per-view card.
  • Vidal Riley vs. Rashad Coulter – nothing to see here.

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“The speed that Roy Jones still has for a few rounds; it’s just how long can it last?” said Tony Bellew in analyzing the Tyson vs. Jones fight. “Tyson is a man that would frighten the living daylights out of you with just a look. It’s not an exhibition. When someone is punching you in the face, it’s not an exhibition. They’re going for it. Tyson, he’ll never lose that right hand that he has over the top. He’s the most ruthless right hand, left hook that I’ve ever seen. He’s absolutely ruthless.