Saturday night’s Triller fight card at Staples Center in Los Angeles headlined by Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. was a roaring success, even if the main event had a bogus outcome.
Tyson and Jones Jr. fought an eight-round exhibition match with a smaller ring, smaller gloves and shorter round duration than is standard for non-exhibitions. Before facing Jones Jr., Iron Mike, 54, hadn’t fought since 2005 but he looked good considering his age.
Tyson came out swinging and showed off good speed on his punches and his typical ability to strike from close range. He dominated the entire fight and clearly won it. Comparatively, Jones Jr. barely was throwing punches and didn’t appear to land anything of consequence. Despite that, the fight went the distance and was ruled a draw by the three judges.
Chad Dawson scored it 76-76, Christy Martin had it 79-73 Tyson and Vinny Pazienza scored it 80-76 for Jones.
“Yeah, but I’m good with a draw,” Tyson said afterward. Iron Mike was pleased because he entertained the fans.
Jones Jr. accepted the result but cracked a joke.
“I wear drawers, but I don’t do draws,” he said.
They talked about fighting a rematch.
“We gotta do this again. Everybody loves Mike. It’s tough taking punches from Mike,” Jones said afterward.
The event was a success because the fans loved it. First, the fight before the main event had the perfect outcome for social media. Former NBA player Nate Robinson was knocked out cold by Jake Paul and then got mocked on social media. Play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo was excellent, and Snoop Dogg stole the show with some funny lines as part of his commentary during the fight.
If they’re considering putting together another similar card, you can bet the fans will want to see it. The entire event delivered, even if the “draw” ruling did not.
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