Mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Fedor Emelianenko is interested in the idea of holding an exhibition boxing match.
But he doesn’t want to do it with a non-athlete – he wants to do it against a seasoned boxer like former four division champion Roy Jones Jr.
Jones returned to the ring last year, when he took part in a high-profile exhibition clash with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
In the last few months, Jones expressed his desire to have more exhibition fights – including a clash with another MMA legend, Anderson Silva.
“I would be interested, I have already worked with Denis Lebedev, with other guys [in boxing]. I have been boxing myself since 2000. So, yes, it would be interesting to have such a fight, but not with bloggers and singers, not with people from outside the world of sports. Roy Jones is a legend of world boxing, so of course it would be interesting to do it with him,” Fedor said to Igor Lazorin.
Both Jones and Fedor are up there in age, but the MMA fighter is not going to look past the abilities of the one-time pound-for-pound king.
“He has such a track record. He will always be Roy Jones, although he will no longer have that crazy [hand] speed,” Fedor said.
Emelianenko is 44 years old. In the world of MMA he has 39 victories and six defeats, with one fight being declared a no-contest.
Jones is 52 years old and retired in 2018. In 2015, the American boxer received Russian citizenship. Because of his popularity in the country, Jones has fought four times on Russian soil. In total, he has 66 wins (47 by knockout) and nine defeats.