Roy Jones Jr. ready to welcome Fedor Emelianenko to boxing: “We are both Russian athletes!”
Roy Jones Jr. would love to welcome former Bellator heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko to the boxing ring.
‘The Last Emperor’ famously retired from the sport of MMA earlier this year after his rematch with Ryan Bader. Four years after suffering a first-round stoppage loss to ‘Darth’, the rematch went the same way. In the main event of Bellator 290, Fedor Emelianenko suffered a first-round knockout loss.
Following the defeat, the Russian legend stayed true to his word, retiring from MMA in the center of the cage. Since then, Fedor Emelianenko has been quiet, save for training footage with the likes of Vadim Nemkov and others. However, last week, the former heavyweight champion called out Mike Tyson, having been impressed with his 2020 fight with Roy Jones Jr.
While ‘Iron Mike’ hasn’t responded to the callout, Roy Jones Jr. has. In a recent interview with Russian News Agency TASS, the former boxing champion offered to welcome Fedor Emelianenko to the ring. ‘Captain Hook’ opined that the former Bellator heavyweight doesn’t need to fight Mike Tyson, but him instead.
Continuing, the former boxer opined that a fight between himself and Fedor Emelianenko would be massive. Roy Jones Jr. also noted that like the former PRIDE champion, he, too, is a Russian citizen.
“Fedor doesn’t need to box Mike Tyson. It’s high time he had a fight with me,” Roy Jones Jr. stated regarding a fight with Fedor Emelianenko. “I’m sure that it will be an incredibly big event. We are both Russian athletes and it would be very interesting.” (h/t BloodyElbow)
While not heavily discussed, Roy Jones Jr. has been a citizen of Russia for over a decade. While first attaining citizenship to fight in the country, it seems that it could aid him in scoring a bout with ‘The Last Emperor’.
What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Roy Jones Jr. vs. Fedor Emelianenko?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
Topics:
Boxing News Fedor Emelianenko Roy Jones Jr.
