All eyes of the fighting world will be on the Staples Center this
Saturday when Mike Tyson returns to the ring to face fellow boxing
legend Roy Jones Jr.
According to the California State Athletic Commission, the fight
will be contested under special exhibition rules: The bout will be
eight, two-minute rounds instead of 12, three-minute rounds, and
both fighters will wear 12-ounce gloves in order to minimize
damage. CSAC executive director Andy Foster
has also said that the bout will be stopped if there’s a cut and
competitors will not be permitted to knock their opponent out.
However, Tyson’s trainer, Rafael
Cordeiro, believes the fighters trained hard in order to
provide an entertaining ending for the fans watching on
pay-per-view.
“As soon as there’s an athletic commission, three judges (the bout
will not be officially scored, but three ex-fighters have been
assigned to determine an unofficial winner) and one referee it’s
not an exhibition fight,” Cordeiro told Sherdog.com. “It’s gonna be
a fight and we are training hard for that fight to have a happy
ending. And when we talk about a happy ending for Tyson there is
only one — with his opponent’s body fallen on the ground.”
“During the whole camp he did 10 rounds of three minutes,” Cordeiro
said. “On his last day of sparring he did six rounds of three
[minutes] — but really hard.”
The Brazilian trainer came away impressed by the focus of “Iron
Mike.”
“I would say that training is like a drug to Mike,” Cordeiro said.
“The more he trains, the more mentally and physically balanced he
gets. He thinks that whenever he is not training his opponent has
an advantage.”
When it comes to strategy, the Kings MMA leader believes the
game plan for both men will be relatively simple.
“Roy must circle and move a lot to avoid Tyson´s knockout power,
while Mike will try to lead him to the corner,” Cordeiro said.
Though much depends on Saturday’s result and future offers,
Cordeiro believes that fans could have the opportunity to see Tyson
compete again soon.
“Who knows? He wants to have three more fights — of course the
opponents will depend on wht is offered,” Cordeiro said. “The fact
is that no other fighter in any other combat sport attracts the
audience’s attention like Tyson. His video was seen by 2.5 billion
people on the internet. No matter who is in the other side, Tyson
has potential to beat any pay-per-view record. Everything depends
on what he will decide to do next.”