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July 23 (UPI) -- Former undisputed heavyweight champion "Iron" Mike Tyson will return to the ring and fight ex-world champion Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match. Tyson, 54, will face Jones in an eight-round bout Sept. 12 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. According to ESPN and Yahoo Sports, the match will be broadcast on pay-per-view as well as multimedia platform Triller.
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Triller confirmed the bout with a teaser video on social media, and the platform plans to show a 10-part docuseries leading up to the fight.
Over the past few months, Tyson (50-6) has posted footage of himself training in the gym, leading to speculation about a possible return to the ring. He last fought 15 years ago, when Kevin McBride stopped him in six rounds.
During an appearance on ESPN's First Take on Thursday, Tyson explained his reasoning for a boxing comeback.
"It's because I can do it. And I believe other people believe they can do it, too," Tyson said. "Just because we are 54, it doesn't mean that we have to start a new career and our lives are totally over. Not when you feel as beautiful as I do, and I'm sure that other people feel the same way.
"I never took that many punches. After the last fight I had, I left and I lived my life, and I've been through some experiences, and now I'm back here. I feel like I took better care of my body and my state of mind than most of the fighters before me that retired and came back."
Last month, Jones, 51, expressed interest in a potential fight with Tyson. Jones (66-9) hasn't fought since Feb. 8, 2018, when he defeated Scott Sigmon by decision.
"I've been trying to enjoy retirement, but people don't seem to want to let me retire," Jones said. "They keep calling me, telling me that Mike wants to come back, and that you'd be a great opponent for Mike.
"We always wanted to see it, but I would've preferred it back then. Tyson is a hell of a specimen still. Still a problem to deal with. But at the same time, life is life, you only live once. You want to know what it's like, you go in there and see. You still got to see it."
Andy Foster, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, said Tyson and Jones won't be wearing headgear, but the fighters will use 12-ounce gloves.
"This isn't a situation where they're going out there to try to take each other's heads off," Foster told Yahoo Sports. "They're just going to be in there moving around the ring and letting fans see these legends."
Also Thursday, The Athletic and Yahoo Sports confirmed that former NBA player Nate Robinson and YouTube star Jake Paul agreed to fight on the undercard of Tyson-Jones.
It will be the first boxing match for Robinson, who is a three-time NBA slam dunk champion. Paul has fought twice, most recently picking up a first-round technical knockout of fellow YouTube star AnEsonGib -- also known as Gib -- in January.
