On November 28th, for the first time in nearly 15 years, Mike Tyson will step back into the ring. Mike has said, “the gods of war have resummoned me.” leaving me to think the Mike Tyson we see on November 28th, although he is 54, will be the Mike we all came to love in the 80s and early 90s before he was sent to prison. His opponent is no slouch; however, Roy Jones Jr last competed professionally in November of 2018 at 49 years old. Boxing fanatics widely considered the former seven belt holding multiple weight world champion to be the number 1 pound for pound in Tyson’s decline period and unanimously the number 1 in Tyson’s absence. The two even talked about having a bout in 2003 while Roy was the heavyweight champion. But now, when the world needs it most, they return to bring us a fight card of massive proportions—one that will be discussed for years to come.
The preliminary card will begin at 4 pm Pacific time and can be seen on FITE TV or tysonontriller.com for a pay-per-view price of 49.99$. The opening fight on the card will take place in the heavyweight division and will have the USNBC heavyweight belt on the line. Juiseppe Cusumano (9-3) will take on Nick Jones (9-3). Jiuseppe will be searching for his first defence of his USNBC title while Jones will look to capture the title for the first time. Nick Jones has previously fought for this belt, losing to Cassius Chaney by K.O. in the 9th round. For Jiuseppe Cusumano, a title defence will allow him to stake his claim for international heavyweight superstardom. As most heavyweight boxing fights go, expect nothing more than a rock em sock em robots style fight between these two giants.
The main card begins at 7 pm and will kick off with a cruiserweight (200 lbs) contest between Viddal Riley (4-0) and former UFC fighter Rashad Coulter (1-0), who hasn’t fought professionally in boxing for over five years! Both of these men possess finishing power having many boxing fans thinking this fight won’t see the scorecards. Although no belts are on the line, this contest is a huge one for both fighters. Viddal Riley is relatively new in the boxing world, having not competed yet on pay-per-view. A finish over a name like Coulter could jump Viddal up into the ranks of the cruiserweight division. Possibly aligning a title fight opportunity against the division’s best Oleksandr Usyk if Riley can continue is winning ways into 2021. For Coulter, a win could mean a fresh start again in the pro boxing world, allowing him to leave behind the shallow pay of pro mixed martial arts.
The second fight on the main card will be contested at light heavyweight (165lbs) when Mayweather promotions associate and all-around badass Badou Jack (22-3-3) takes on fellow American Blake McKernan (13-0). Many boxing enthusiasts remember Jack’s infamous brawl against Marcus Browne in January of 2019 when he left both Browne and referee Tony Weeks covered in blood. For Mckernan, Jack will be a giant step up in competition for him. Jack is Blake’s first opponent with more than twenty professional wins, leaving many to wonder is Blake a contender or a pretender?
The co-main event is not something I’m incredibly proud to report on, but the two individuals competing will bring many first time viewers to boxing. Jake Paul, yes Youtube’s Jake Paul, former Disney child actor Jake Paul will battle it out against former NBA star “Tiny” Nate Robinson. The bout will take place in the cruiserweight division (200lbs). Yes, we all know Jake has boxed before in the Youtube boxing events, but none of that counts when taking on a lifelong pro athlete. What Jake makes up for in size, he will lack in discipline and speed. Jake stands at 6 feet 1 inch tall, making him 4 inches taller than Robinson at 5 foot 9 inches. Jake Paul is undefeated in amateur boxing with a 1-0 record, while Nate will make his amateur debut. For enthusiasts, this fight is nothing more than a cash grab, which it is! However, I believe the two can put on a great battle with adequate amounts of amateur skill being put on display. Floyd “Money” Mayweather trained Robinson for this contest, and Jake Paul has invested millions into his boxing camps. If that doesn’t scream amateur scrap, I don’t know what does. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see a corpsed Jake Paul in the center of the ring with “Tiny” standing victoriously above him.
Now the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the main event of the evening. “Iron” Mike Tyson (50-6-2) will come back to something he swore never to do again: enter the ring as a competitor. Although the California State Athletic Commission has sanctioned the bout to be an exhibition, both Mike and Roy know that there will be nothing exhibition about this fight. Mike fights with one speed. Full forces until I stop him or he stops me, and with 44 K.O.s in 58 pro bouts, who has the guts to tell Mike to “take it easy” on Roy. Roy is no coward either, with a record of 66 wins and only nine losses while holding 7 title belts at the same time. It is hard to dispute Roy not being Mike’s most skilled opponent in his career. With wins over all-time greats such as James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, and Antonio Tarver, Roy experienced one of the most prolific boxing careers in the sport’s history. But on November 28th, it’s not about the past and what these guys accomplished. It’s about what you can achieve when everyone doubts you. Both these legends are passed their prime age of professional fighting, but when you deal with rare cases of inhuman super athletes, the impossible can happen. On November 28th, both Mike and Roy will fight for the “Frontline Championship.” A championship meant to honour all those that have helped so far during this crisis of a year. Get ready roll back your clock again, this time to the 90s when we see the lights shine down at the Staples Centre in L.A. when two of the sports best go at it one last time.