Mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko, 45-years-old, is still very much interested in boxing one of his idols, former four division world champion Roy Jones Jr.
Emelianenko, with an MMA record of 40-6, recently picked up a knockout victory over Timothy Johnson at Bellator 269.
Jones, who is 52-years-old, returned to the ring last November for an exhibition fight with former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Their contest proved to be a huge pay-per-view hit with 1.6 million buys.
The last time Jones had a sanctioned fight was back in 2018.
Since the exhibition with Tyson, Jones has been in talks for several other exhibition opportunities, but none of them have come off.
For his part, Fedor has no issue with staging the bout as an exhibition.
“I have great respect for him as an athlete, a person, like a legend,” Emelianenko said to Tass. “He is one of the most outstanding boxers in the world of all time. Of course, it would be a great honor for me to perform in such a fight. I am interested in such fights. There are a few things we need to do—we need a promotion that is ready to organize such a fight. We also need to discuss the terms.
“We probably will not fully commit to strikes. But even without committing to punches, Roy can show everything he is capable of. Hopefully, I won’t pale in comparison.
“We now have the wind blowing in different directions. I think that this fight will be interesting for many. But there are many pitfalls, including many people who will take it negatively.”
