Widely considered one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters of all time Jones, 65-9 (47KOs), competes in cruiserweight (200lbs) bout vs Scott Sigmon, 30-11-1 (16KOs).
The 10-rounder serves as the main event to a five-fight Island Fights main card which features both boxing and mixed martial arts bouts.
The event will be live-streamed and available on video-on-demand basis exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS, the UFC’s digital streaming service.
Joining combat sport play-by-play veteran TJ De Santis in the commentator booth will be Jeff Lacy.
Known as “Left Hook” during his boxing career, Lacy represented the United States at the 2000 Olympics and went on to win the same IBF super-middleweight title Jones had annexed a decade earlier.
Lacy also fought Jones in 2009 (the entire fight is available on UFC FIGHT PASS) and will bring a wealth of knowledge to the event.
Jones had this to say:
ON KEY CAREER FIGHTS
Vs Bernard Hopkins, May 22, 1993, wins IBF middleweight title on points
“It was a good fight for my first world title. The thing about that fight was I just wanted to make sure I stayed smart and I stayed focused because one of the first goals in my life was to turn professional and become a world champion. I felt a lot of pressure on my back because this was what I’d worked so hard to do for all those years. I fought the fight with one hand due to injury, but I did what I needed to become world champion.”
Vs James Toney, Nov 18, 1994, wins IBF super-middleweight title on points
“I was already a world champion, but he was the boss. James Toney was The Man at that time, they were calling him the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and to be the man you have to beat The Man. I couldn’t just get a win, I had to dominate him and show the world that not only was he not the best pound-for-pound, but there was no-one else close to Roy Jones Junior. And that’s what happened. I annihilated the man, dominated him. That was my coming-out party, I showed all my weapons in that fight, I showed everyone, no, hey, this is what the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world really looks like!”
Vs Montel Griffin II, Aug 7, 1997, regains WBC light heavyweight title via first round KO
“Losing my undefeated record the way I did (on a controversial disqualification five months earlier) was really bad for me. Y’know, even though everybody who ever saw that thought it was wrong, my undefeated record was still gone. Done. They took my “and 0” away and there was no getting it back. So the second fight came and I made sure to prove who was the better fighter.
“It wasn’t personal. I don’t blame the guy, he didn’t decide to disqualify me for nothin’. It was a life lesson, that’s life. But I made sure nobody would ever think he was a better fighter than me in that rematch.”
Vs John Ruiz, March 1, 2003, wins WBA heavyweight title on points
“I wanted to be a world champion my whole life but I never once thought of the heavyweight title until it presented itself. This was something that God gave me, way and above more than I ever asked for or expected. It was the chance to make history, to do something nobody would dream of me doing.
“This was history, the first fighter to jump from middleweight to win the heavyweight title in over 100 years. John Ruiz had no clue what he was dealing with or what he was facing. He found out the hard way.”
In addition to the historic Jones bout, the Island Fights 46 event features European boxing sensation Ikram Kerwat, who has five knockouts in her eight professional wins, plus 25-year-old prodigy Mike Davis. A former New York State wrestling champion and BJJ purple belt under Marcelo Garcia, Davis has a combined combat sport record – MMA and boxing – of 22 fights, 22 wins and 22 stoppages. He fights Montrel James in a MMA lightweight fight.
The event marks the first time UFC FIGHT PASS has added boxing to its live fight offering. FIGHT PASS already live streams weekly action from UFC, MMA organizations from around the world, kickboxing, Muay Thai and submission grappling. Plus subscribers have VOD access to over 16,000 historical fights from 37 promotions, Original content, documentaries and the UFC’s TV archive.
