(Editor’s note: This story originally published at Boxing Junkie, part of the USA TODAY Network.)
Roy Jones Jr. is threatening to pull out of his Nov. 28 pay-per-view exhibition with Mike Tyson over the postponement of the event.
Jones, 51, told the Daily Mail that moving the event from Sept. 28 to November will have cost him money. If he’s not compensated, he said, he’ll walk away from the much-hyped eight-round “fight.”
The digital platform Triller, which is co-hosting the event, announced that it was pushed back. Tyson said the delay would allow more time for marketing.
“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 said. “… 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 anymore, 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 he is working with organizers to resolve the issue.
“We’re trying to figure something out. My lawyers (are) 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,” he said. “… 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? They said they wanted to get a crowd. If you want to get a crowd, that’s a different type of money. If you want a big event, that’s a different type of money.
“You think I’m going to say, OK, let’s look at my money, but I’m not getting no better percent. How dumb is that to me? So let’s see what happens.”
Could the delay help him in terms of training?
“If everything works out, yes,” Jones said. “I don’t know if things … if everything will work out yet.”
