Roy Jones Jr. Talks UFC

In a recent interview, former four-division champ Roy Jones Jr. touched upon the UFC, with a more positive outlook.

It looks like bashing the UFC and mixed martial arts was the "in" thing to do if you were an attention craving boxer (i.e. Floyd Mayweather Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Tommy Morrison). However, Roy Jones Jr. decided to separate himself from the pack and had only good things to say about the sport.

The following is from an article featured at Boxingscene.com:

"I watch it all the time. They have the best fighters fighting the best fighters and that's what boxing needs. You never can tell what will happen in a fight. Look at the last [Chuck] Liddell fight. Bam, 10 seconds it was over. They got that explosion they were waiting for. Boxing didn't get the same explosion out of Mayweather-De La Hoya.

UFC is a great thing, but boxing has to get on it's a game. UFC is the best fighting the best and that what boxing has to do. If you are an ultimate fighter, you are going to fight someone who is going to fight. In UFC, if you lose to a good fighter, you lost, you still know you are good fighter, and you come back the next day and fight again. In boxing, if you lose and that's it. You are done.I lose a few fights they want to tell me I'm washed up and I don't have it no more."

When Jones was asked about his chances with taking a jab at the UFC, he replied with this:

"Now, I can't get on the ground and start wresting because I know nothing about that. But if I hit him before he gets to the ground, he's not going to get up and have the chance to wrestle."

Now this might be the first intelligent analysis and viewpoint a boxer has had on MMA. Roy Jones Jr. is surely a class act in my book and it wouldn't hurt if boxing learned a thing or two from MMA.

The Lianger