Eddie Hearn thinks the highly anticipated exhibition fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr could be an 'absolute disaster,' as neither man is allowed to go for a knockout.
Tyson is set to come out of retirement on September 12th to have his first fight since 2005 and he'll face one of the all time greats in Jones Jr.
The exhibition fight will happen over eight rounds and the men have been told by the California State Athletic Commission that they can't go for the KO.
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That's something that doesn't sit right for the Matchroom Boxing chief, not that he thinks allowing them to go hell for leather would be a good idea either.
"The Commission has said they can't [go for a knockout]. Can you imagine? Tyson comes out and goes for [a knockout] and the commissioner [waves] if off. That's an absolute disaster," Hearn said to Boxing Social.
"I'm never comfortable with an exhibition bout? Because what are you getting, what are you actually paying for? This shouldn't happen, but I'd rather they went at it hammer and tong. I'd buy that. I don't think it's ethically right or good for boxing but I would probably buy that. I don't think you're going to buy an exhibition.
"What are they going to do? Mess around after a round or do an interview mid-round? Sky got approached [to air it]. They spoke to me about it. I'm not saying they won't take it. You could be a round or two in going 'Oh my God, what is this?'
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"I would rather they went in and tried to take each other's head off. Like I said, ethically, that wouldn't be right either but I'd prefer that."
Despite the commission saying neither man will be going for the knockout Tyson apparently has other ideas, telling TMZ he'd be looking for the stoppage.
This is search and destroy and I'm looking forward to recapturing my glory," he told the American news outlet on the weekend, "If the opportunity comes, I'm always looking for it [the knockout]."
Hearn's own return to boxing went pretty well at the weekend, with the Matchroom HQ garden hosting the first of four 'Fight Camp' shows without crowds.
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Ted Cheeseman beat Sam Eggington in a very entertaining main event on Saturday night and the next show sees a WBC and IBO super-featherweight clash between champion Terri Harper and challenger Natasha Jonas, the first ever women's title match between two British boxers.
Are you looking forward to Tyson vs Jones Jr? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: PA/TMZTopics: Heavyweight boxing, American boxing, Mike Tyson, Boxing News, Roy Jones Jr, Boxing, American sports, Eddie Hearn