Hip hop star Snoop Dogg's witty television commentary was among the loudest noises inside Staples, and he had a handful of zingers: "This is like two of my uncles fighting at the barbecue!" Tyson and Jones were the headliners in the most improbable pay-per-view boxing event in years, engineered by social networking app Triller and featuring fights interspersed with hip hop performances in an empty arena.

The event was derided as an anti-sporting spectacle by some critics, yet both Tyson and Jones appeared to handle themselves capably and safely. Fans were clearly enamored, with the show getting enormous traction on social media.

"I hit you with some good shots, and you took it," Tyson said. "I respect that." In the co-main event, YouTube star Jake Paul knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson, stopped in the second round of Robinson's pro boxing debut. Paul, in his second pro fight, recorded three knockdowns against Robinson, the three-time NBA Slam Dunk contest champion, before an overhand right put Robinson flat on his face and apparently unconscious.

Tyson retired from boxing in 2005, saying he longer had "the fighting guts or the heart" after he quit in a dismal loss to journeyman Peter McBride. Finally free of his sport's relentless pressure, Tyson gradually straightened out his life, kicking a self-described drug addiction and eventually succeeding in acting, stage performance, charity work and even marijuana cultivation while settling into comfortable family life in Las Vegas with his third wife and their children.