Mike Tyson smoked a joint before his Saturday-night exhibition with Roy Jones Jr., then threw 193 punches in 16 minutes and said he’d take part in similar events again.
The former heavyweight boxing champion then turned up to the post-fight press conference that Insider attended virtually and vowed to never be “fat, cokehead Mike” again after his eight-round bout.
The exhibition topped a six-fight behind-closed-doors show at Staples Center in Los Angeles, following Jake Paul’s vicious knockout win over Nate Robinson. The event was organized by Triller and Tyson’s “League of Legends” company.
Though Tyson had said he was planning to “disable” Jones in their match, there was no brutal finish, with the competitors fighting to a draw.
The decision was not a reflection on activity in the ring, as while Jones displayed the signature left hook he was famous for during his 1990s heyday, it was Tyson who appeared to land not only more shots but also the more punishing blows — particularly to the body.
What was perhaps even more remarkable was that Tyson apparently did all that having smoked marijuana beforehand.
A reporter at the media event asked the 54-year-old whether he’d already smoked.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Tyson said.
“Listen, I can’t stop smoking,” he added. “I smoke during fights. I have to smoke. Sorry, I’m a smoker. I smoked every day, I never stopped smoking.”
On whether he smoked literally just before the exhibition, Tyson said: “Absolutely, yeah. It’s just who I am.”
According to CompuBox data sent to Insider, Tyson out-landed Jones in seven of the eight two-minute rounds, and though Jones threw more shots in total, it was Tyson who was more effective.
Tyson landed 67 of his 193 punches for a 34.7% accuracy rate, compared with Jones’ 37 landed shots from 236 attempted (15.7%).
“It has no effect on me from a negative standpoint,” Tyson said. “It’s just what I do, who I am, and how I’ll die.”
He later fielded a question from a different reporter who asked whether it was a good idea for him to be throwing and absorbing punches considering his age, and his 14 years away from the ring.
“What happens if I die? No one knows what dying’s like. It has to be beautiful. Dying can’t be bad because living is great,” Tyson said. “Dying has to be something special.”
“He’s very smart, so it’s quite hard to hit him with a solid punch,” Tyson said of his exhibition partner for the night, adding: “He played possum really well and didn’t let me know I hurt him.”
As to whether he felt aggrieved that the exhibition was scored a draw, rather than a win for him, he said: “I was just happy to be in there with him and go the eight rounds.
“The scorecards didn’t mean nothing to me. Everyone knew I could knock people out — going the distance is real fighting. That’s endurance. You’re not going to knock everybody out. I learned that.
“I wanted to go the distance. This is all about going the distance. I was interested in that, and I’m training for duration now, rather than the quick kill.
“At 54 I realize I didn’t know nothing as a champ — that was just youth. My body feels splendid. I’d like to beat it up some more because it feels great now.
“I always think of myself as a roaring gladiator, like a ruler accomplishing something. Nothing is impossible to somebody who tries, so I never think about failure in that perspective.
“I belong here. This is where I belong. My first day of sparring I got my rib cracked and a guy was just smashing my jaw. I never once said, ‘What the hell am I doing here, am I crazy?’ I just said, ‘Wow I’m in the right place.'”
Tyson said he was not aware of how the event performed from a business point of view, saying he’d only ever been interested in fighting.
He added, however, that he’d like to now see the show go on the road by taking exhibitions to “Monaco, the south of France, Saint-Tropez,” to do it alongside a European fighter.
“I just want to continue doing this from a humanitarian perspective,” he said.
“Before, it was all about me … a hot chick, a nice car, and the boats and planes, but that doesn’t do it for me anymore.
“I went another way. I help somebody else, I guess. I like my pigeons, fancy clothes, but other than that I don’t want anything else out of life. But, oh of course my children and my wife! But also my pigeons, clothes, and my joint.”
Tyson said the charity component was to help youngsters in local communities. “It’s a grassroots charity … a friend of mine involved in stopping crime and helping the youth.
“We don’t want to lose the next generation to crime, drugs, the pandemic.”
On what he’d do upon waking up on Sunday, Tyson said: “I’m going to work out. It’s my lifestyle. I’ll never be fat, cokehead Mike anymore.”