Mike Tyson has explained his kids are against him making a boxing comeback.
The former undisputed heavyweight champion will fight Roy Jones Jr for an eight-round exhibition on September 12 in California.
Now 54 – with Jones Jr 51 – many have doubts over whether this is a wise decision for either man to make.
These doubters include Tyson’s own children.
‘Iron Mike’ told The Tonight Show: “My kids think I should sit my old ass down, but what do they know?
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“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?”
The interview concluded with Mike being asked how he would fare in a series of jokey fantasy match-ups.
The opponents put forward were Rocky Balboa, Ivan Drago, Conor McGregor and the Karate Kid.
Tyson backed himself against all except for the Karate Kid.
Regarding McGregor, who is a friend of Tyson’s, he replied: “I would kick his ass anyway! We’re gonna play in boxing rules.”
Slowly, details of the exhibition bout are starting to emerge.
The contest will be an eight-round affair, with both men wearing bigger 12oz gloves, but no headgear.
Interestingly, Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, who’ve decided to sanction the fight, has now told BoxingScene that there will be no judges scoring the fight and so no winner, unless there’s a knockout.
However this is absolutely not the plan.
Foster said: “We can’t mislead the public as to this is some kind of real fight.
“They can get into it a little bit, but I don’t want people to get hurt. They know the deal.
“It’s an exhibition. They can exhibit their boxing skills, but I don’t want them using their best efforts to hurt each other.
“They’re going to spar hard, but they shouldn’t be going for a knockout. This isn’t a record-book type of fight.
“This is not world championship boxing right now. It’s not what this is. People shouldn’t be getting knocked out.
“The public can see what kind of shape Roy and Mike are still in.”
