Roy Jones Jr. enters the Staples center with purple and gold gear to honor the life of Kobe Bryant.
A dream match in the world of boxing took place on Saturday night as the 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr. entered the ring for the first time in three years against Mike Tyson who hasn’t fought in a sanctioned bout in 15 years. The match, considered a dream fight amongst fight fans became an early tear-jerker when Jones Jr. debuted his gear for the match. He rocked the Laker purple and gold for the exhibition as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant.
Roy Jones will be wearing these @rivalboxinggear gloves tonight versus Mike Tyson in honor of the late Kobe Bryant. The fight is at Staples Center. Thank you @Mcaz & @RussAnber. pic.twitter.com/rbsfOqVgXx
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 29, 2020
The bout took place in the Staples Center, the historical home of the Los Angeles Lakers and where Bryant cemented his legacy as a hero not only to basketball fans but to current and former Los Angelinos the world over.
Roy Jones Jr., boxing Mike Tyson at Staples Center, with No. 8 on one glove and No. 24 on the other for Kobe Bryant pic.twitter.com/n69MdHwKRq
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 29, 2020
Bryant, who spent his entire 20-year career in Los Angeles and lead the Lakers to five world championships, and earned himself 18 NBA All-Star team appearances and two finals MVP’s. He tragically died in January of this year when his helicopter went down in Los Angeles following a basketball tournament for his daughter. All nine passengers on the helicopter tragically passed in the accident including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant.