Roy Jones Jr. receives Russian citizenship

MOSCOW -- Vladimir Putin has given Russian citizenship to former world heavyweight boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. Jones asked Putin for citizenship in August over a cup of tea when they met in Crimea -- the territory annexed by Russia last year -- saying it would make doing business in the country much easier. Putin said it would be possible if Jones planned to spend a significant part of his life in Russia, while the boxer said he hoped sport could help "build a bridge" between the United States and Russia. "I want to speak so well in Russian that people understand me without any problems," Jones said. "I think that'll take about a year. I hope that next year I'll already be speaking like a Russian." Jones added that he wanted to "earn 2 or 3 billion dollars," open boxing schools in Russia and develop his rap career.