MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. Former undisputed boxing champion and Russian citizen Roy Jones Jr. told TASS on Friday that his possible exhibition bout against heavyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Fedor Emelianenko might take place this year.
Speaking in an interview with a TASS correspondent, Jones said the bout may be organized this year and Red Square in Moscow could be the perfect venue for this event.
The US-born boxer, 55, told TASS earlier in the week that the two had already previously agreed to such a fight. The contract had been signed, but, due to coronavirus, the bout had to be put off.
Roy Jones Jr.
In September 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to grant Russian citizenship to Roy Jones Jr. The professional career of the US-born boxer began in 1989 and he has won world titles in four weight classes.
At one point, he was considered the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer. He is also a unique sporting figure in that he is the only fighter to win belts in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.
Jones Jr. had 66 wins over his professional career, including 47 knockouts, and lost nine fights. In 1988, he won a silver medal at the Seoul Olympics.
'The Last Emperor' Fedor Emelianenko
Emelianenko, 47, boasted an official MMA record of 40 wins (16 by KO/TKO; 15 by submission; nine by decision) and six defeats (five by KO/TKO; one by submission) before the final bout of his career, a rematch against American MMA champ Ryan Bader in Los Angeles in February 2023, which resulted in a first-round loss for the retiring Russian.
The MMA star temporarily retired from 2012 to 2015. During that hiatus, Emelianenko held the post of president of the Russian MMA Union and also served from November 2012 as an advisor to then-Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.
Following his 2015 comeback, Emelianenko had eight bouts, defeating India’s Jaideep Singh, then clinching another victory over Brazil’s Fabio Maldonado. In June 2017, he lost by TKO to US fighter Matt Mitrione. In April 2018, he defeated US heavyweight Frank Mir with a KO win in the first round, and in October 2018 he enjoyed a TKO triumph over American fighter Chael Sonnen. In January 2019, he lost by TKO (punches) to Ryan "Darth" Bader of the United States and then knocked out US fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in December 2019.
In September 2022, Emelianenko defeated 35-year-old Timothy Johnson of the United States with a KO win in the opening round of their Bellator 269 tournament fight in Moscow.
Born on September 28, 1976, in Rubezhnoye, Ukraine, Emelianenko fought his way to the top, earning numerous titles throughout his career.
He was the MMA Pride Fighting Championships Heavyweight Champion (2003-2007), FIAS World Combat Sambo Championship Heavyweight Champion 2002, 2005, 2007, and the Russian Judo Federation National Championship bronze medalist (1998, 1999).
In 2009, the esteemed American sports magazine, Sports Illustrated, named him "the top MMA fighter of the decade."