Roy Jones Jr. apparently won’t be the last man Mike Tyson will battle in a boxing ring. The 54-year-old former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world is gearing up for his first fight in more than 15 years, a bout that will take place on Thanksgiving weekend, but his trainer says that Iron Mike’s comeback tour won’t end with Jones as Tyson is apparently planning on three big fights in 2021.

Mike Tyson last fought in 2005

The last time Mike Tyson stepped foot in a boxing ring, at least competitively, was on June 11, 2005, against the relatively unknown Kevin McBride. No, we’re not counting that four-round exhibition against his former sparring partner in 2006 and it’s likely that Tyson wants to forget that ever happened as well.

Tyson was about three weeks shy of his 39th birthday when he faced McBride that night in Washington, D.C., and was clearly out of shape. Iron Mike admitted that he’d only taken the fight for the paycheck and it certainly showed. He was clearly out of shape and it was easy to see that his heart wasn’t into it.

Tyson was winded by the sixth round as McBride, who had an eight-inch height advantage and a 38-pound weight advantage, used his size and reach to wear down the former champion. Clearly frustrated, Iron Mike essentially tried to break McBride’s arm in the sixth while the two were tied up, which got him a warning, and then received a two-point deduction for an intentional head butt. But the biggest shock was yet to come.

At the end of the round, Mike Tyson went to his corner and decided to stay there. He refused to answer the bell for the seventh round, giving McBride the TKO victory, and retired right then and there, claiming he had nothing left to give to the sport.

Iron Mike is set to face Roy Jones Jr. on November 28

Earlier this year, numerous videos of Mike Tyson training began to surface, which naturally brought on rumors of a comeback. As it turns out, those rumors were true and Tyson announced that he was indeed training for a comeback.

Numerous big names were mentioned as possible opponents, the biggest being Evander Holyfield, who Tyson famously fought twice back in the mid-’90s. However, a deal between the two sides could not be reached and it was announced in late July that Mike Tyson would be squaring off against 51-year-old four-division champion Roy Jones Jr., who many believe is the greatest pound-for-pound champion in boxing history.

The original date for the Tyson-Jones bout was September 12. However, it was announced in August that the fight had been moved to November 28 in order to maximize revenue, which Jones was not happy with. There was talk that he was thinking about backing out of the fight but that never came to pass and the fight is still on. While billed as an exhibition, both fighters aren’t treating it as such, which should make for some interesting entertainment.

Mike Tyson is apparently planning three big fights for 2021

In a recent interview on YouTube, Mike Tyson’s trainer, Rafael Cordeiro, says that the Jones fight certainly won’t be Iron Mike’s last. He says that Tyson is gearing up for three big-money fights with big names in 2021 but failed to mention any fighter specifically (h/t The Sun).

“He is very happy to do three more fights next year and suddenly fight for great things.

“I can tell you, if he wants to do something in the future, he is going to be ready to do that – 100 percent.”

Rafael Cordeiro on Mike Tyson

Cordeiro seemed to be hinting that Mike Tyson might actually be looking to compete in the current heavyweight division although, again, he didn’t come right out and say that. Many people have talked about Iron Mike stepping into the ring with current heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, which would obviously bring a large pay-per-view audience and a monster payday. While that seems highly unlikely, Cordeiro says that Tyson is training like a madman.

“The power is different level. I have trained a lot of heavyweights in my career, with not a lot of respect for everybody, but he is almost as powerful as Wanderlei Silva is right now.

“When you talk about power, I held his right hook and thought ‘he is going to kill somebody’.”

Rafael Cordeiro on Mike Tyson

It will be very interesting to see what happens for Mike Tyson following his fight with Roy Jones Jr. If he wins, it looks as if he’ll be ready to line up another big name. But what if he loses? While not many people are expecting that right now, it’s certainly a possibility. After all, Jones had an actual fight just two years ago and has long created problems for a lot of boxers. So would Iron Mike continue this comeback if he takes a loss? We’ll just have to wait and see.