Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones, Jr. Event Review

When I was younger,  there were all sorts of pay per view events that were huge.  Sometimes, it was wrestling.  Most of the time,  though,  it was boxing.  Not surprisingly,  Mike Tyson featured prominently in those events. Just like I associate HBO,  a cable network that I never had,  with the Star Wars movies that I could not access,  I associated pay per view with prize fights,  and particularly Tyson fights. 

These fights almost never lived up to their billing, especially the ones featuring Mike Tyson. More often than not, he wound up winning the fights in the early rounds,  often even in the first round. Any sports fan - even one like me who at the time barely paid much attention to boxing  - will remember the anticlimactic 91 second destruction of Michael Spinks in the summer of 1988, when Tyson was at his absolute peak. All of that hype surrounding a fight that barely lasted half a round. 

Still,  there is an undeniable draw to these events,  a desire to see what all of the hype is about. 

For the first time ever,  I can now say that I saw a live pay per view event,  and fittingly,  it was a Tyson fight. Yes,  my coworker was able to program it so that we could watch the fight live on four large screens. 

It was interesting. A lot of talk and speculation before the event,  and some hip hop performances,  most notably Snoop Dog.  A bit more talk.  And then,  finally,  the fight itself. 

It was an unusual fight.  Both boxers were in fantastic shape,  but they were also both past the half century mark.  Without a crowd,  you could clearly hear the talk in each corner in between rounds. And you could hear the labored breathing of both boxers,  but particularly Jones. Both men entered the ring with masks on,  and the ring looked smaller than most rings. Also,  the lights looked very low. 

As for the fight itself,  it was okay.  Eight rounds,  each round lasting two minutes. Neither man was knocked out,  or even knocked down. It went the full eight rounds,  and in the end,  it was officially a draw. 

It was entertaining enough,  and made the time fly. I felt that Tyson won,  but it was close enough for a draw to be understandable.

In the end,  though,  my coworker summed it up pretty well,  when he said at the end that it was okay,  but he was glad that he didn't pay to watch that. 

Ditto.