Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. will only fight two minute rounds in their upcoming exhibition fight.
The two boxing greats will slug it out in a eight round exhibition on November 28 at the Dignity Health Park, Carson, after it was pushed back from the initial September 12 date.
There's been lots of speculation as to what the rules will be and Jones, 51, has revealed the WBC have made the decision to make the bout shorter. Instead of 24 minutes, it has been whittled down to 16.
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His feeling is that the boxing governing body are thinking of the fighter's safety given their combined age is 105, but he believes the rule change makes 'Baddest Man on the Planet' even more dangerous in his first fight for 15 years.
"They've got me doing eight two-minute rounds now. That's to his advantage too. Everything's to his advantage, that's to his advantage to," Jones told Joe Rogan, as per Boxing Scene.
"At this point, the fans are so excited about it, I wouldn't want to pull the rug from under the fans... and they (Team Tyson) will try and sue me. It's not really worth it, so I'm going to go in and do these two rounds , but I'm going to have to work a little bit faster than I expected to.
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"They decided this just last week. They change stuff on me by the week. I think the WBC came in and said they want to put up some kind of title or something, so they want to cut it back to two minute rounds. They said something about the Arce and Chavez Sr fight, how fatigued they were after the fight and they feel like that's a safety measure.
"But what they don't realise is that the longer you keep Mike fresh, the more dangerous that is for me. I need to get Mike un-fresh quick, so that I can get out this danger zone.
"(Chavez Sr) and Arce fought a 'true' exhibition with headgear and big gloves, but they said they were so exhausted afterwards, that they felt that is what could inhibit somebody's health. I want it to be three minute rounds, it's safer for me.
"The pair will indeed be competing for an official belt, while California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Jones has gone on record to say there will be no headguards, no judges and 12 ounce gloves.
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Again, this is all in a bid to protect the heavyweight legends. But it doesn't sound like Jones, who has had 75 fights and mixed it up as recent as 2018, is treating it as a sparring match given he's been talking about death being a possibility in the ring.
"Mike Tyson is not just an ordinary puncher," he stated.
"I love boxing, so if I've gotta die boxing I'm gonna die a happy man. There are other ways I'd rather go, but if I went that way I'm not mad at that."
Topics: Mike Tyson, Boxing News, Roy Jones Jr, Boxing, WBC