Ahead of their November 28 exhibition match, both Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. have contradicted the California State Athletic Commission's statements that the two boxing legends are only going to "exhibit their skills" and will not attempt to knock each other out.
"It's an exhibition," said CSAC executive director Andy Foster. "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."
Last month, Tyson said on the Dan Patrick Show, "We're throwing punches at each other. This is going to be my definition of fun...broken eye sockets, broken jaw, broken rib. That's fun to me."
In an interview with Sky Sports, Roy Jones Jr. reiterated Tyson's comments and stated that he'll seek a knockout if the tone of the fight calls for it. However, Jones acknowledged that he's facing more danger due to him being the smaller guy.
"When it comes time to fight, we're going to fight," Jones said. "If it comes down to bite, we're going to bite. Whatever has to happen, is going to happen, that's just what it is."
Jones later added, "He's still Mike Tyson, he's still one of the strongest, most explosive people who ever touched a boxing ring. If anything, I made a mistake going in with him. He's the bigger guy, he's the explosive guy. He's going to have all the first-round fireworks, not me. I do have first-round fireworks, but he's known for more first-round fireworks than anybody to ever touch boxing, other than maybe George Foreman. With him having the first-round fireworks, he'll be against a guy smaller than him, maybe 40-50 pounds smaller than him."
