MMA Legend Fedor Emelianenko Aiming for a Boxing Match With Roy Jones Jr

Fedor Emelianenko is regarded as a legend in the world of mixed martial arts. It has been 21 years since Emelianenko fought his first MMA contest. Now ‘The Last Emperor’ is 44 years old and has been in and out of retirement since 2012. Yet again, the Heavyweight has decided to make his return this year and is speculated to fight on his home turf in Russia.

But according to reports, ‘The Last Emperor’ is also eyeing a boxing bout against Roy Jones Jr. In the late stages of his career, Emelianenko wants to prove his mettle in the boxing ring. Yet he has confirmed he would not fight anyone outside the world of sports, i.e. bloggers or social media stars.

Fedor Emelianenko said “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.

“He has such a track record. He will always be Roy Jones, although he will no longer have that crazy [hand] speed (h/t:boxingscene.com)”

Roy Jones Jr. vs Fedor Emelianenko is an intriguing match up

Roy Jones Jr. made his boxing return against Mike Tyson in November 2020. It was an exhibition bout that took place under custom rules, as the pair fought for eight two-minute rounds with no scoring system. Both the legends displayed their skills and fought to a draw. Now, Jones is 52 with a professional boxing record of 66 wins and 9 victories. Although Fedor Emelianenko is eight years younger, he has not competed as a professional boxer.

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Boxing is a major part of mixed martial arts, yet MMA fighters are not the most technical boxers. Boxing is a disciplined sport where a fighter can only score or hurt his opponent by punching in a defined set of rules. But in MMA, fighters rely on my other techniques to finish their opponent.

There is no doubt it will be a demanding task for the Russian to beat Jones in a boxing ring. But Emelianenko is still a heavy hitter and has the weight advantage. Jons weighed in 210 lbs for his last fight, whereas Fedor Emelianenko usually weights above 230 lbs. So if the fight happens, it will be interesting to see at what weight class this bout takes place.

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