After the fight: Mike Tyson’s staying power and boxing during the pandemic

Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. greatly exceeded expectations. Tyson demonstrated his star power and did it without a live gate due to the pandemic.

At 54 years old and 15 years after his last professional boxing match, Mike Tyson controlled the world’s attention on Saturday, Nov. 28, against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. It was a testament to Tyson’s legacy, and he did it all in a large arena with no fans in attendance.

Many were pessimistic about the Tyson vs. Jones exhibition pay-per-view, myself included. Still, Tyson and the social media company Triller combined to create a unique boxing experience that combined nostalgia, legitimate boxing, absurd matchmaking, and the music scene. The fight commanded social media interest and will likely be a big winner when the pay-per-view numbers are announced.

Tyson is back and in a big way. He’s still one of the most marketable names in boxing, and he took his fight with Jones seriously. Even into his 50s, Tyson is in shape, quick, skillful, and powerful. No, he’s not the threat he once was, but there’s still enough of the Tyson magic left that you can see the foundation that made him one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.

Tyson and Jones were supposed to fight in September, but the fight was moved to November to “maximize revenue,” originally reported by The Ring. The fight took place at Los Angeles’s Staples Center, which holds 20,000 fans, and probably more for a boxing event.

Due to the pandemic and California state regulations, there were no fans in attendance. That’s a wise move considering that Los Angeles County has 390,891 COVID-19 cases and 7,623 COVID related deaths, according to John Hopkins University. Those numbers are tops across the U.S.

COVID-19 contraction rates and deaths are vastly increasing in the U.S., but sporting events are starting to allow a limited amount of spectators depending on state guidelines. There’s never been a national mandate for COVID regulations, and those decisions are widely left up to states.

Some states’ COVID-19 regulations are more strict than others. Mississippi has allowed live audiences for numerous combat sporting events since July. Florida and Texas are also allowing fans at sporting events.

For the Oct. 31 championship bout between Gervonta Davis and Leo Santa Cruz, there were over 9,000 fans present at the Alamodome, which seats 72,000 at full capacity for football games. Limited fans and masks helped with safety procedures, but many violated social distancing rules when fighters came out of the tunnels. Hundreds crammed together to get a glimpse of Davis and Santa Cruz as they made their ring walks.

“The one thing I thought you saw too much of, and this is putting more pressure on myself and my team, in the Santa Cruz fight was everyone came together,” Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn told FanSided during last week’s Daniel Jacobs vs. Gabriel Rosado media call.

Hearn was right in his assessment. The Jacobs vs. Rosado fight Hearn promoted took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida with no fans. However, Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promotes the Dec. 19 megafight between Canelo Alvarez and Callum Smith, which will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio with limited fans. Thousands will still be in attendance, as was the case with Davis vs. Santa Cruz.

Mike Tyson hosted the biggest boxing event of the year, and others may want to follow his model in more ways than one

It wasn’t wise to have fans at the Davis vs. Santa Cruz fight, and it’s still unwise for Alvarez vs. Smith and the Dec. 5 bout between Errol Spence Jr. and Danny Garcia, which will also be in Texas.

When asked by FanSided about his moral responsibility in having fans attend a live event, Hearn responded, “I think we follow the rules firstly. When you talk about morally and ethically, you can’t do that without science and the information, and everybody will make their own decision.”

Hearn added, “We’re working diligently with the state and the athletic commission to ensure that it’s done in a safe way.”

Hearn is genuine in his desire to host a live boxing event safely. He contracted COVID-19 early in October while enforcing careful testing and social distancing guidelines while hosting fights out of his childhood home that he poured millions into to keep boxing going.

However, just because Hearn and his team are mandating safety measures doesn’t mean that people will follow them or that they will be fully enforced. With 10,000 people, many will violate rules and regulations because of personal preference or political beliefs, unfortunately.

The pandemic and the safety of Americans shouldn’t be a political issue, but it is. What do you expect when the Whitehouse hosts large gatherings with no social distancing guidelines? Many believe that COVID-19 rates are over-inflated, or worse, a fallacy.

The facts are that COVID-19 rates in the U.S. are worse than they have ever been. Los Angeles County is getting rocked by the pandemic, but so is the state of Texas, which has over 1.2 million COVID cases.

Hearn and other promoters are preaching safety, but they are moving ahead with live audiences in the thousands.

“The blueprint has been done,” said Hearn. “I’m not saying it was perfect, but PBC made that move with Santa Cruz and Tank, and we have to keep that momentum going now. But it does have to be safe for the people that are attending.”

With all due respect, Hearn and Matchroom don’t have to “keep that momentum going.” There’s more peril now more than ever based on recent data, and hosting live events seems more like a desire than a logical decision.

Tyson vs. Jones reverberated around the world, and they did it with no audience. Maybe some promoters could learn a thing or two from Tyson and Triller. There are ways to build an event without fans present. It’s not ideal, but it’s also the only way to guarantee that no one will get sick or die because they attended a boxing match.