Roy Jones jr threatens to pull out of Mike Tyson exhibition fight after postponement
Boxing legend Roy Jones jr has threatened to pull out of his exhibition bout with Mike Tyson after the fight was postponed.
The pair agreed to an eight-round exhibition event to be held on September 12 but social media app Triller, who has the pay-per-view rights for the fight, announced it would be postponed by over two months - with a new date set on November 28.
The decision was made with the view of cashing in on gate revenue that both sides wouldn't be privy to if the fight was staged in September.
"For me it was more about pushing to go ahead and do it, firstly because I'm focused, and you need to stay focused," Jones Jr, 51, told the Daily Mail.
"I've had to cancel other stuff to be out here. It's upset my calendar. I've got to change things.
"That's the biggest issue. I'm not a full-time boxer any more, so I do other things to make an income. If I can't do other things, then I should be compensated for that, because it changes the schematics. It's not acceptable."
Jones said his lawyers are seeking compensation over the scheduling change.
"We're trying to figure something out, my lawyers is talking with their lawyers, trying to figure out ways to make it a better situation so that I can compensated for it, that is more beneficial for me to do.
"If they don't make it make sense, [the fight] would be off.
"Why would I change the date and mess up the rest of my year when I agreed to September 12."
The fight was due to go behind closed doors, with an unnamed but recognised sanctioning body overseeing the bout.
Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show, Tyson, 54, refuted claims both men would be treating the fight as an exhibition, promising fight fans a genuine match-up.
When questioned whether the exhibition bout was a "real" fight, Tyson said:"Pretty much, yeah. We're throwing punches at each other.
"An exhibition means two people are fighting, and it's not called a fight.
"This is going to be my definition of fun – broken eye sockets, broken jaw, broken rib. That's fun to me."
