Orlando Sentinel

Tyson, 54, to square off with Jones in exhibition

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Mike Tyson is coming back to boxing at age 54.

The former heavyweigh­t champion will meet fourdivisi­on champion Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition match on Sept. 12 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Tyson became the youngest heavyweigh­t champion in history when he won the title in 1986 at age 20 and for a time was the most feared fighter in boxing. But his career became littered with distractio­ns and he hasn’t boxed since 2005 after losing his second straight fight.

Jones, 51, won titles in the middleweig­ht, super middleweig­ht and light heavyweigh­t before moving up to win the heavyweigh­t title in 2003, becoming the first former middleweig­ht champion to do so in 106 years.

The event will air on pay-per-view and the social media music platform Triller. Further matches on the card and musical entertainm­ent will be announced in the coming weeks.

Colleges: John Blake, the former Oklahoma football player and coach who was the school’s first Black head coach in any sport, died Thursday. He was 59. Blake’s wife, Freda, said he had a “heart-related emergency” at his home in Dallas on Thursday morning. She said attempts to revive him at home failed and he died at Baylor University Medical Center. Blake was hired as the Sooners’ coach in December 1995. He had a 12-22 record in three seasons, but his recruiting success laid the foundation for the program’s resurgence.

Golf: Richy Werenski made a short birdie putt on the par-5 18th for an 8-under 63 and the first-round lead in the 3M Open in Blaine, Minn., while Dustin Johnson withdrew because of a back injury after a 78. Werenski, 24, is winless in on the PGA Tour and ranked 248th in the world. He broke a tie with Michael Thompson with his ninth and last birdie on the warm, windy afternoon at the TPC Twin Cities. Tony Finau and Nick Watney were tied for third at 65 . . ... Michelle Wie West was appointed to be one of Pat Hurst’s assistant captains for the Solheim Cup next year in Ohio.

NFL: The Cowboys and rookie WR CeeDee Lamb agreed on a four-year, $14 million, contract with $7.8 million guaranteed. Lamb joins a young receiving corps led by Amari Cooper and third-year player Michael Gallup, who is coming off his first 1,000-yard season . ... The Bears released veteran TE Ben Braunecker.

NHL: The Seattle expansion franchise announced it will be known as the Kraken. “I think that we felt like this is so authentic and noble and we hit all the main things that we really wanted, that we feel really strongly that this is the right choice,” Heidi Dettmer, the franchise’s vice president of marketing, told AP . ... Hurricanes All-Star D Dougie Hamilton didn’t practice and his status is unclear as the team prepares for the return to play next week.

Also: Las Vegas Aces C Liz Cambage will miss the upcoming WNBA season after she was medically excused by the league’s independen­t panel of doctors. The Aces declared Cambage as a protected player who was at high risk for getting severe illness if she contracted COVID-19. ... The annual Ironman World Championsh­ip in Hawaii has been canceled for the first time in its 43-year history.

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