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Roy Jones vs Bobby Gunn
Jones Jr. to fight journeyman Gunn on Feb. 17
After Roy Jones Jr. scored a 10-round shutout decision against journeyman Rodney Moore on Aug. 13 in front of his hometown fans in Pensacola, Florida, despite suffering a torn right biceps midway through the fight, Jones said he was strongly considering retirement.
After all, at age 47, Jones was way past his prime but on his way to the International Boxing Hall of Fame as one of the sport's all-time greats, having won world titles in four weight classes -- middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight -- and reigned as the pound-for-pound king for most of the period between 1993 and 2004.
But Jones has decided to fight on, and on Thursday night, promoter David Feldman announced that Jones would face Bobby Gunn in a 12-round cruiserweight fight on Feb. 17.
Roy Jones Jr. has won two fights in a row since a fourth-round knockout loss to Enzo Maccarinelli in December 2015. Rich Schultz/Getty Images
A news conference is scheduled for Tuesday at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, the probable site of the fight, although that was not officially announced.
Jones confirmed the fight to ESPN, saying of Gunn, "He's been wanting it, so here it is."
Jones (64-9, 46 KOs), who will turn 48 on Jan. 16 and will be in his 28th year as a professional boxer by fight time, has won two fights in a row against very low-level opponents since former cruiserweight world titleholder Enzo Maccarinelli, a tremendous puncher, severely knocked him out in the fourth round in Moscow in December 2015.
"I know Bobby Gunn is coming to bring it," Jones said. "He's a hard-nose, tough fighter that comes right at you, but I'm going to show him why I'm one of the best that ever did it and he doesn't belong in the ring with me."
Gunn (21-6-1, 18 KOs), who turns 43 later this month, is best known for his exploits as a bare-knuckle fighter. He claims to be 72-0 with 72 knockouts in bare-knuckle fighting.
As a boxer, he is a journeyman who has lost three bouts in a row, to Glen Johnson, James Toney and Tomasz Adamek, who knocked him out in the fourth round of a cruiserweight world title bout in 2009.
Gunn, a Hackensack, New Jersey-based Canadian, has not boxed since 2013 and has fought only twice since 2009, the losses to Johnson and Toney, both former world champions who were way past their best days when they faced him. Gunn also got knocked out in the first round by Maccarinelli in a 2007 cruiserweight world title fight.
Gunn has wanted to fight Jones for years.
"It's an honor to share the ring with a legend like Roy Jones," Gunn said. "I've been chasing him for a few years now, and on Feb. 17, I will catch him."
Feldman said the fight would be televised on pay-per-view but offered no details.
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Originally Posted by Master
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