By Alexey Sukachev
On September 26, future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. (59-8, 42 KOs) impressively demolished Egyptian Hani Atiyo (14-3, 10 KOs) in just 75 seconds. A short time after the fight, BoxingScene.com and a number of local sources were informed that Jones-Atiyo was either unsanctioned or improperly sanctioned by one of the local sanctioning bodies.
Mikhail Denisov, president of the Eurasian Professional Boxing Federation and also president of the Russian Professional Boxing Board, has fired back at the critics - and stating that Jones-Atiyo was absolutely sanctioned properly.
“The Roy Jones fight against Hani Atiyo, which took place on September 26 in Krasnodar, was sanctioned absolutely correctly according to both Russian and international rules and regulations in this field," Denisov was cited by boxing911.ru. “All of those people, who are deliberately trying to spread the word of this fight being unsanctioned or improper, are just jealous and trying to revive their own names in the shadow of a legendary boxer. They don’t give a damn about Russian prizefighting and Roy Jones Jr. There are several local sanctioning bodies in Russia, and none of them have an exclusive right to approve fights and events. A monopoly is dangerous for boxing. I just hope that Roy won’t pay attention to this horrible, freaky campaign by some mass media, and that he will continue to please us with his magnificent performances."
