Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.
Don’t call it a comeback.
boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. says he has no intention of making a permanent return, even though he does have a bout with the former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis In Boxing Game 4.
Jones, 54 years old, will competing professionally for the first time since 2018 on April 1 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Pettis’ hometown. Streaming events on UFC fight ticket pay per view.
In response to the offer, Jones considers himself done competing, he revealed to reporters including MMA Junkie at an online pre-match press conference on Wednesday. However, he made a one-time exception to remove an item he had long sought from his sports to-do list.
Before Conor McGregor vs Floyd MayweatherJones support a war against then-UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Though years past his prime, Jones thinks the Pettis match was enough in many ways.
“When I was still in a position that I thought was pretty good, I wanted to fight Anderson Silva, but it kept getting pushed aside, pushed aside, pushed aside. It never happened,” Jones said. “So I almost died for it all. I ended up with boxing. I was like, ‘No, I’m done. I shouldn’t fight anymore. I’m 54 years old.’
“Then they said, ‘You know, one of the greatest boxers to ever hit 155 said he’ll put on weight to fight you and you don’t have to go lower than 200.’ It sounds appealing.”
The opportunity fell in his heart. Too good to ignore, Jones specifically considers the level of respect he has for the individuals involved: promoters Jorge Masvidal and Dean Toole, as well as someone he considers a combat sports legend. fight, his opponent, Pettis.
“I was like, ‘Well, [Pettis is] also very innovative in what he did, because he did many things in MMA [cage] that no one else would,’” Jones said. “For me, for a chance to face someone who has the same kind of creative mind in their respective sport, as I have in boxing, I thought, ‘Wait a minute. Should you say no to this?’
“I was like, ‘I’d say no, but it’s Dean (Toole). It’s Gamebred. That’s Milwaukee. Have you ever fought in Milwaukee before? ARE NOT.’ I guess the advantage outweighs none. That’s why we’re here.”
In 2020, Jones competed in an exhibition boxing match with fellow all-time great Mike Tyson and fought an unofficial draw. Gamebred Boxing 4 will be his first professional fight in almost 5 years. But just because Jones has opened the door for a few only, he wants boxing fans to know that it’s not a sign of things to come. These are the exception, not the rule.
“No, no, and no,” Jones said of a full-fledged comeback. “The only reason I’m doing this is because Anthony wants to try to change and break into the sport. With him and Masvidal and everyone involved. They all made it into such a good situation that everyone benefits.
“It was a good situation. It is pay per view. That’s what I want to do, which is to have a cross match with a good name in MMA. I was the first to come up with that idea. I didn’t get paid for it, but I came up with the idea. Floyd and Conor must be paid for it.
“But at this point in my career, I still want to do it, because damn, I want to do it. This is a perfect opportunity, a guy who is also a legend for what he has done. Yes, he’s in the smaller weight category, but he weighed 205 pounds when they told him about it. So he’s big enough.
“He knows how to control himself and I know he will train hard with boxing because he is one of the great boxers. If I was going to play a one-on-one basketball game with Michael Jordan, I would have the best basketball coaches I could get because I was playing GOAT.
“I know it is what it is and he will be ready for it. But I don’t intend to do it again, no.
