Former Mike Tyson opponent Roy Jones Jr has thrown his hat into the ring to replace Tyson in his postponed fight with Jake Paul.
Paul and Tyson were scheduled to face off on Saturday, July 20, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but the fight was postponed after Tyson suffered a medical scare.
After getting dizzy following an ulcer flare-up on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles, Tyson was treated by paramedics after landing at LAX airport.
Despite reassuring his fans he was still okay to fight in July, medical professionals have advised ‘Iron Mike’ to pull out of the fight and the pair are now working towards a rescheduled date in late 2024.
Nonetheless, a number of fighters have since called out Paul to replace Tyson on the initial fight date and former four-weight world champion, Jones Jr, has also thrown his hat into the ring.
“I’m kind of thinking about that,” Jones told Betway when asked if he would consider replacing Tyson.
“I might try and get into shape in case that happens. Maybe I get myself in shape for that because I never thought about doing it before but with the situation of the fight (being postponed between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul).
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“I think that’s a great idea and I’ll be ready and in shape because if the fight doesn’t happen then the ideal guy to substitute in place of Mike Tyson to fight Jake Paul is something I have been thinking about. If the fight is out there then yes (I would take it).”
Jones, of course, fought Tyson in an exhibition bout back in 2020 which ended in a draw and given Paul was willing to fight Tyson, who is 30 years his senior, Jones, who is two years younger than ‘Iron Mike’ feels he could be the perfect replacement.
When asked how he would go about beating Paul, Jones added: “I haven’t thought about that because me being me, I only think about is being the best I can be and have never thought about that. Then I figure it out in the ring.
“There was obviously the Tommy Fury thing that came up and then the other day somebody asked me whether I would fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in an exhibition and that’s crazy.
“I would jump on it but now that this thing has came up, it makes sense to get into shape with Jake Paul and it would be one of the biggest fights of this decade.”
For all the biggest results and upcoming fights this year, check out Dexerto’s 2024 boxing schedule.
