(AllHipHop News) Don’t call it a comeback! Roy Jones, Jr. and Mike Tyson are not the only boxing luminaries set for a return to the sport of boxing.
Legendary boxing promoter Don King hosts a fight between a pair of undefeated heavyweights – Trevor Bryan and Christopher Lovejoy – on September 26 for the WBA interim heavyweight title.
AllHipHop’s Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur got Don’s thoughts on the upcoming exhibition fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson in an exclusive interview.
“You know, those are two icons. They’re both icons. You know, it’s a great form of entertainment, but it’s also a great message,” the 88-year old said. “[Men are] still out there, you know, putting their lives in jeopardy. I don’t care who you are. You got to respect it, man. Waking up those three steps [into the ring]. You ain’t got a league [like other sports] where you can take a ‘time out’ to sit in a separate room. When you go in there, you had to deal with it real! That guy? That’s your opponent.”
He said he intends to invite the two champs to his fight after theirs on September 12 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“I’m going to invite Tyson and Roy to the fight,” King said, “Both of them are heroes as far as I’m concerned. As a promoter, Don King has promoted iconic fights for Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Bernard Hopkins, Félix Trinidad, as well as Tyson and Jones, Jr.
He continued, “I love Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson came to me and he says, ‘Don [anytime] I tell the truth about you. They won’t give me nothing. But if I tell the lie about you, [I can get paid],'” he said of a conversation with Iron Mike. “I said, ‘Get the money! Whenever you want to get the money.'” I’ve never said anything negative about Mike Tyson. But Milke Tyson has berated me to the high heavens. I let him survive. Yeah. I have Roy Jones. Roy Jones [split from] his father [who trained him in the 90’s], Roy Jones. His father did everything in the world to get Roy Jones [successful] and give him that and you can’t forget for your father. You know Roy Jones made a little slip there, you know because you don’t forget the dirt road.”
The fight between Trevor Bryan and Christopher Lovejoy is to be broadcast on the Impact Network. His team is working on logistics around the location.
In our full interview with Don King, the 88-year old legend talks about his friendship with Donald Trump, his hopes for Black America, his favorite fights, and much more.