Roy Jones Jr. suffered a shock loss to former mixed martial artist Anthony Pettis, breaking a seemingly unnecessary record.
Jones Jr. retired from professional boxing in 2018 but is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time for his achievements across four weight classes.
He returned in 2020 for an exhibition bout against Mike Tyson, but it was purely for entertainment purposes, before announcing a shock full return to boxing in 2023.
At age 54, the legendary boxer decided to challenge former mixed martial artist Pettis to a shocking boxing fight that would go down in professional boxing history.
Jones Jr. knew he would break some incredible records given his 33-year career spanning 1989-2023. [12,384 days].
This was RJ's 76th professional fight, making him the longest-reigning career fight among 105 former and current heavyweight world champions.
It was a record that had held for nearly a century; former blue ribbon champion Jack Johnson competed from 1897 to 1931. [12,231 days].
However, this incredible feat did not always pan out as expected, due to Jones Jr.'s surprising fate.
His rival was the rookie Pettis, and most people expected the American's experience and natural skill to overpower him.
However, from the moment the first bell rang he showed his age and quickly found himself on the back foot.
He looked more agile and aggressive than he had against Tyson, but found himself far off the pace in the ring.
Despite his greater experience, Pettis was the more aggressive attacker, landing some hard combinations on the older veteran.
It was a worry for “Captain Hook,” which has several big-name actors worried about the health of its aging star.
He held out until the final bell of the eight-round bout and was likely relieved to have avoided a more violent attack.
But for Jones Jr., it was a sad end to a brilliant career, losing by majority decision to a rookie boxer.
Despite the loss, he was still open to further surprise matches, adding after the game: “For me, I like to go out there and entertain the fans.”
“My job is to make sure the fans get what they pay for, and I'm happy with that.”
“I thought it was a good fight. He did a great job and fought very smartly. I think I was able to teach him a lot and educate him a lot in this fight.”
“So if I fight him again, I think it'll be a better fight because he knows so much more now. I think it'll be a really good rematch.”
“I'm not going to do exhibitions, I'm going to do real fights. I'm not an exhibition guy, I'm a real guy. I want to win, I want to lose, but I'm going to fight with my shield on and I want to be able to do it again and again.”
“At 54, this is amazing and he's already said he'd do it again because one of the judges tied. That's what I love about it.”
Jones Jr.'s aborted return serves as a stern warning to exhibition rival Tyson, who is set to make his professional return against Jake Paul.
If a sanctioned bout takes place on November 15th, he could break the record in his 39-year career.
However, Iron Mike will be 58 years old when he returns, which has naturally raised concerns about any new comeback.
There are huge concerns about Tyson's health, but the former unbeaten champion has released footage to ease those concerns.
Evander Holyfield also helped set in motion another run of misfortune for the legend when he was knocked out in the first round by Vitor Belfort in a 2021 exhibition bout.
And Jones Jr. has admitted that if he is unable to compete, he would fight Paul instead of Tyson.
“I've been thinking about it for a bit. If it happens, I'll try to get myself in shape,” he said.
“I'd never thought about it before, but with the situation with games being postponed I think it's a great idea and I'm ready.”
“If the fight doesn't happen, I was thinking about the ideal guy to replace Mike Tyson and fight Jake Paul. If the fight does happen, then yes.”
“I'd jump at it, but with all the buzz right now about this, it would make sense for me to get in shape for the Jake Paul fight, which will be one of the biggest fights of the decade.”
The Tyson vs. Paul fight was originally scheduled to take place this week.
However, the match was postponed due to health concerns for the 58-year-old player.
Paul will instead face Mike Perry on Saturday night and if he wins he will advance to face Tyson in November.
