Roy Jones Jr. still feels that he has some fight left in him.
The 54-year-old will meet former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in an eight-round professional boxing match on April 1 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The bout will headline a pay-per-view card promoted by UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Boxing. The show will feature several other high profile MMA fighters in boxing matches.
“I’ve always been a fan of Roy Jones,” Masvidal said while announcing the event and full fight card on “The MMA Hour” hosted by Ariel Helwani.
“Always wanted to work with Roy Jones in some capacity. He’s going to be fighting someone that inspired me in my career numerous times. WEC champion, UFC champion, I think both his wins for the UFC title were finishes. [Pettis] has knockouts and finishes at 145, 155, 170, it’s crazy what this guy has done in his career in MMA. Great striker.
“He agreed to fight the walking, living legend, the pound-for-pound king, one of the best fighters, athletes, I’ve ever seen in combat sports, period, versus Anthony Pettis.”
The former four-division world champion Jones (66-9, 47 KOs) has not fought professionally since 2018.
Jones last competed in a high-profile boxing exhibition against Mike Tyson in 2020.
Last summer, Jones was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Jones was supposed to be featured in an exhibition boxing match on Jan. 28 against bodybuilder “NDO Champ,” but the event was recently rescheduled to May 13.
Pettis (25-14 MMA) has never fought in a professional boxing match.
Pettis held the UFC lightweight crown from Aug. 2013 until March 2015. Pettis was also a champion for the now-defunct WEC. The 36-year-old, 16-year veteran has lost four out of his last five MMA bouts in the Professional Fighters League.
Several other notable MMA veterans will be featured on the “Gamebred Boxing 4” card as well in six-round professional bouts.
- Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo Souza
- Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens
- Pearl Gonzalez vs. Gina Mazany
- Paul Daley vs. Anthony Taylor
- Devin Cushing vs. Damian Marciano
- Dillon Klecker vs. Josh Burns
- Bi Nguyen vs. TBD
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.