Mike Tyson says he's in 'search and destroy' mode ahead of his Roy Jones Jr. fight, and vows to KO the former champion

• Two of the most iconic boxing champions of the modern era, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., will take part in a September 12 exhibition in California.
• The exhibition will be held in conjunction with the California State Athletic Commission, is scheduled to last eight rounds, but will have no judges ringside to provide a score should it go the distance.
• This means the exhibition will automatically be a draw unless someone gets knocked out — a result which has been ruled out by the athletic commissioner.
• Regardless, Tyson said he'll still be going for the knockout come "fight" night.

Mike Tyson said he's in "search and destroy" mode ahead of his upcoming box office exhibition against fellow former heavyweight world boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. on September 12.

"I'm looking forward to recapturing my glory," Tyson, 54, told TMZ Sports on Sunday.

Tyson has not fought professionally since he suffered back-to-back stoppage losses in 2004 and 2005, bringing an end to a 58-fight career in which he became the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight belt, aged just 20.

Tyson returned to the ring for a series of four-round exhibitions in 2006, and is pulling on 12-ounce boxing gloves for another move-around 14 years later alongside the former four-weight world champion Jones Jr., 51.

The friendly bout will take place at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, is scheduled to last eight rounds, and will feature no ringside judges who would otherwise have provided a score should it last the distance.

This means there can only be a "winner" if one man finishes the other before the exhibition finishes — something the California State Athletic Commission said won't happen anyway.

"We can't mislead the public as to this is some kind of real fight," commissioner Andy Foster told Boxing Scene. "They can get into it a little bit, but I don't want people to get hurt. They know the deal.

"It's an exhibition," Foster said. "They can exhibit their boxing skills, but I don't want them using their best efforts to hurt each other. They're going to spar hard, but they shouldn't be going for a knockout."

Regardless, Tyson said he'll go for the knockout.

"If the opportunity comes I'm always looking for it," he told TMZ Sports. "The fighting game is what I'm about and hurting people is what I'm about."

Read more:

An unbeaten American boxer landed an uppercut so hard his opponent's body stiffened, losing by instant knockout

An MMA fighter choked his opponent but refused to release his grip, attacked the referee, and was then disqualified from the match

Daniel Kinahan, a suspected $1.1 billion Irish gang lord, ran boxing using fear and bullying, sources say

Inside UFC's 'Fight Island,' where its top stars took late-night joyrides at 160mph, sunbathed in 115 degree heat, and played golf at dawn

An American fighter destroyed her opponent with a 7-second knockout, and critics are aghast at the unequal mismatch