Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr

Mike Tyson was denied a victorious return to the sport as his one-sided exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr was scored a draw in Los Angeles.

The 54-year-old Tyson has made a comeback, 15 years after entering retirement, for an exhibition bout with the 51-year-old Jones Jr. The former world heavyweight champion exceeded expectations with a lively display that failed to receive recognition on two of the scorecards.

An unofficial WBC panel of judges was made up of three former fighters and Tyson received a score of 79-73 from Christy Martin. Vinny Paz favoured Jones Jr with a wide tally of 80-76, while Chad Dawson scored it 76-76 to seal a draw after eight two-minute rounds.

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“I’m good with it. I entertained the crowd. The crowd was happy it,” Tyson told BT Sport Box Office.

But Jones Jr admitted: “I don’t do draws man, but I understand why they say certain things are buckets lists, because when he hits you, if it’s his head, his punches, his body shots, it doesn’t matter. Everything hurts.

“For me, I thought I did enough boxing on the outside, but I’m cool with the draw. We might have to do it again.”