The Mike Tyson Vs. Roy Jones Jr. Odds Are In—And They’re All Over The Place

Mike Tyson will face Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition on Sept. 12 in Los Angeles.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A few hours after the surprising announcement that Mike Tyson would fight Roy Jones Jr. in September, the betting odds for the eight-round boxing exhibition are already in. And it’s certainly not a unanimous decision.

Though at least two online sports books have made Tyson a substantial betting favorite, one has actually had made one of the most feared heavyweights in history the underdog.

According to MyBookie, Tyson is -300, meaning you’d have to bet $300 to win $100. Meanwhile, Jones is +200, which means you’d earn $200 on a $100 wager. BetOnline.ag is in agreement. That sports book has Tyson at -350 and Jones at +275.

In an interesting twist, though, Bovada has made Jones, one of the greatest boxers of all time who is a former heavyweight titlist himself, the favorite. Those opening odds saw Jones at -160 and Tyson at +120.

Recently, Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) made big noise by posting training videos to social media. In those clips, Tyson, who stated “I’m back” at the end of one of the videos, looked extraordinary for a 54-year-old former fighter with his speed and punching power. But he hasn’t fought since 2005 when he was knocked out by journeyman Kevin McBride. Tyson, it should be noted, hasn’t won a fight in 17 years.

In other recent Tyson-related odds, he was a -120 favorite to beat Evander Holyfield (who was also -120) in an exhibition. He was also -150 to knock off former heavyweight titlist Shannon Briggs. Those potential fights, though, haven’t come to fruition.

Jones (66-9, 47 KOs) is 51 years old but he fought as recently as 2018 when he beat a no-hoper named Scott Sigmon. Although Jones is nearly 20 years past his prime, he’s still won 12 of his last 13 fights, mostly against less than stellar competition. He’ll almost certainly have less ring rust (and probably more stamina) than Tyson.

The Tyson-Jones exhibition will take place on Sept. 12 on pay-per-view from Los Angeles.

“This isn’t a situation where they’re going out there to try to take each other’s heads off,” Andy Foster, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, told Yahoo Sports. “They’re just going to be in there moving around the ring and letting fans see these legends.”

And letting some of those fans make money from it.

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