Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua hopes Mike Tyson's return to boxing "adds value" to the sport.

Tyson, 54, will return to the ring for the first time in 15 years to take on 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr in an eight-round exhibition fight on September 12.

Jones was a four-weight champion – becoming the first former world middleweight ruler to win a heavyweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons 106 years earlier when he beat John Ruiz in 2003.

The all-time great has a professional record of 66-9 and has not fought since February 2018.

Former undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson retired with a 50-6 record following a defeat to Kevin McBride in 2005.

Reigning WBA, WBO and IBF king Joshua supports Tyson's return to the sport and hopes it can have a positive effect on boxing.

"Mike Tyson hitting the pads with that ferocious behaviour is just second nature to him, but to someone watching from home it looks like this guy's going to come and rule the heavyweight division," Joshua told Sky Sports.

"But I think that it's a passion they both love, it's what they know. Mike Tyson has been fighting since he was 13 years old. Roy Jones' dad pushed him and forced him to be a great.

"Good luck to them both, it's all they know. They haven't got to do it to compete with the young lions in the division now because we're bigger, we're stronger.

"Science has improved, there's more technology. The sporting world has developed as a whole.

"But if Mike Tyson wants to come back and fight someone from his era, for the love of the sport, crack on.

"I wish them both well, I hope they come out healthy and I hope it adds value to the sport of boxing – the sport we love."