Chalk one up for the doubters ahead of Mike Tyson's planned in-ring return. Tyson's exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr. has been pushed back from its originally scheduled date of Sept. 12 to Nov. 28, Tyson and Triller, the social media platform behind the event, confirmed to TMZ on Tuesday.
"Changing the date to November 28th will give more people the opportunity to see the biggest comeback in boxing history," Tyson said."This temporary inconvenience will last longer than Roy Jones Jr. He better be ready, I'm coming full force."
"Given the enormous interest, the holiday weekend will make this historic battle an even bigger viewing event," Triller elaborated, "marking the first live Pay-Per-View event brought to the world by Triller as the first of the 'Triller Battles' series."
In addition to the new date being confirmed on Tuesday, new fights on the undercard were also announced. Badou Jack vs. Blake McKernan and Vidal Riley vs. Rashad Coulter will be joining the previously-announced Jake Paul vs. Nate Robinson showdown on the slate leading into the main event.
The event, which is planned to air on traditional pay-per-view and social media app Triller, is scheduled to take place at Dignity Health Sports Park in California. The California State Athletic Commission will sanction the bout, though executive director Andy Foster has stated, "We can't mislead the public as to this is some kind of real fight," and made it clear that the fighters are expected to avoid "using their best efforts to hurt each other."
The initial report from The Ring stated that Tyson's team felt they would be able to maximize revenue by postponing the fight to Thanksgiving weekend. However, an ESPN report claimed the issue was one of more time needed to secure international television deals and hammer out final pay-per-view details. According to ESPN, the contracts for the fight have not yet officially been changed.
Also of note, Sept. 12 was originally the planned date of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's next fight before the slot was taken over by Tyson vs. Jones. The prime date is now left open without a major fight.
Tyson, 54, had been teasing a return for "charity exhibition fights" for months when the fight with Jones, 51, was announced. A fight between the two men was floated when Jones jumped to heavyweight and defeated John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight championship in 2003, but never materialized.
Tyson retired in 2005 after quitting in the ring against Kevin McBride. Jones retired in 2018 after a run of fights against mediocre opposition over the final years of his career.