In an exclusive interview four-weight world champion Roy Jones Jr reveals:
- Mike Tyson nearly died before his last fight but has appetite to get back in the ring
- I love and respect what Jake Paul has done for boxing - he can become a world champion
- Manny Pacquiao will beat Mario Barrios
I want to fight Mike Tyson at Times Square - we would ‘outperform’ Tank, Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez
You put me in Times Square and you will get a Times Square performance, because even at my age, if I went to Times Square to fight, I gotta give you a Times square performance. I can't come to Times Square and not give you a Times Square performance.
Me and Mike Tyson would have an unforgettable night at Times Square, you understand me? He'd been trying to kill me. I'd been trying to piss him off so he wants to kill me, so I can have him coming for me; I'll be moving, being smart, entertaining every chance I get, it would be epic. Trust me.
Turki Alalsheik paid them way more than they gave. At this age I would outperform at least two of them, maybe all three, at 56. When you put me in a space like that. I'mgonna give you what you came for. You'regonna get some excitement. You're going to be entertained from the
from the ring entrance to the ring exit.
Mike Tyson has an appetite to fight again
Mike Tyson keeps an appetite to fight. That's what he does for a living. You see what people don't realize. The appetite never dies. It's just that the menu becomes so small, but the appetite stays there. So if you get the opportunity, of course you're going to fight. That's what we do. We grew up fighting. All we know is fighting. We love fighting.
You have to ‘love and respect’ Jake Paul for sending Mike Tyson into retirement with a $20M ‘favour’
I love what Jake Paul has done for female and male boxing, the attention he has brought, the way that he just sent Mike Tyson out with a 20 million dollar payday at 50 something years old. It's almost impossible and unbelievable what he's doing, so you have to love and respect everything about that.
I think he did Mike Tyson a favour and he's doing the same thing for female boxing. Look at the people that are benefiting from what he's doing. Who else you know at 50 something years old is making that kind of money to perform? Look what Mike did for the sport of boxing. Doesn't Mike deserve it for what Mike did in the sport of boxing? Jake showed gratitude and appreciation for Mike and for what Mike did.
It would take $20M to bring out of retirement
It'sgotta be a good figure. It is a huge figure, because it got to be huge enough to make me want to get up to be able to go to training because I don't want to train nomore. I love training people. But I don't want to train myself, I can, and I would if it was necessary. But if it ain't something like what Jake gave Mike, minimum $20M, why would you?
I’ll fight Julio Cesar Chavez Snr on the undercard of Jake Paul v Chavez Jr
It would all depend on what Julio Cesar Chavez Snr thinks. It will work because we are both legends, and we know what we're doing, so it'll be good. It'll be awesome. I would not want to kill him, and he's not there to kill me, which he couldn't, because he's much smaller than me. But I'm not there to kill him. We have to show people what we used to be, why people respected and revered us, so that we're not there to take each other's heads off. We have to show people true skills and understanding of what the sport is missing today - the skill level of boxing has dropped.
Jake Paul will ‘take out’ Chavez Jr
Chavez Jr wasn’t the same after the Sergio Martinez fight. I think that fight might have taken a lot out of him. So at that point I don't think he ever was the same, but he was a good fighter at one time, and all good fighters have a chance to show up one night because somewhere down in him there is a good fighter. Whether he can find it or not for the Jake Paul fight, we don't know. But I think Jake should probably take him out, mainly because Jake beat Anderson Silva.
And Silva beat Chavez. Sometimes it's a triangle, sometimes it goes like that. But from what I'm seeing right now, I think Jake beats him because Jake’s bigger, Jake's used to fighting more at that weight, and I think Jake just has more vigor right now, and will want to win more than Chavez does.
Jake Paul ‘has the power’ to become world champion
The whole purpose [behind the fight] is creating the argument for Jake Paul to fight for a world title. That's what he really wants to do. And it's not bad the way he's going about it. He's creating that argument, and eventually, if he keeps going, he'll get a shot.
I ain'tgonna say that [he will win a title], but he'll get a shot depending on who the opponent is, but he will get a shot, and he has the power to win anything. He can knock anybody out.
I’m backing Manny Pacquiao to become champion / Mike Tyson ‘almost died’ before the Jake Paul fight
The fact that Pacquiao can get in shape and go 12 rounds at 46 years old is beating most people right there. How many people can do that? There’s people that are 26 who can’t hardly go one round, and you're doing it at 46, double their age. You got to take your hat off to Manny. I give Manny a chance, you always gotta give him a chance. I’m backing him.
It’s dangerous if you’re 26 in the ring. You could have a stroke tomorrow. Tyson almost died before he fought Jake Paul, that wasn’t from fighting. Life is dangerous every day. Would you rather go out doing something you don’t want to do? Would you rather go out and get hit by a car? Would you rather go out fighting me? If you give me the option—I’mgonna go out fighting. At least I’m doing what I want to do.
I performed hit song ‘can’t be touched’ at boxing tournament in Georgia last week
I was supporting a professional boxing tournament in Georgia. I just want to watch and support it, but I also performed for them. I performed a song for them at the tournament. You ought to know the song I performed was ‘can’t be touched’ my hit. I probably performed it in front of about 800 fans,I’ve still got it.
I will step in to help train Ilia Topuria for Charles Oliveira
I would make a lot of difference [to Ilia Topuria’s camp for Charles Oliveira] because I teach how to get the most out of the striking, how to stay set while you're doing it. Because in MMA you gotta always be set because guys can take your legs out, but the way I fight you always stay set, so I think what I teach would be advantageous to anybody who chose to indulge in it and get what I really teach.
Roy understands the mechanics of all boxing, all fighting, not just boxing, all arts of fighting. Roy understands the mechanics of MMA totally well and totally understands what's necessary and what's not necessary to make you a better fighter.
Wladimir Klitscko can return - he is more advanced than Tyson Fury
Wladimir Klitscko is big enough to do anything. See, what people don'trealise is that for heavyweights it is a little easier to make a comeback. When you're that big and you do have power and IQ-wise, Klitschko to me is a little more advanced than Tyson Fury. Power-wise, he’s definitely more advanced than Fury. So why couldn’t he come back? If he could take the punch, why not?
But the chin is always gonna be a problem for Klitschko. You know that was one of his weaknesses in his prime—if you could get to the chin, you could get him. But you gotta get to it.
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