Veteran Jones Jr wants world title after Maccarinelli meeting
Published:
Lee Gormley | December 10, 2015
Roy Jones Jr v Enzo Maccarinelli
- Saturday, December 12th
- Scheduled for: 19:00 GMT
- VTB Ice Palace, Moscow
- Live on Box Nation
Jones Jr targets another world title
Over two decades on from his first IBF middleweight title triumph, ring legend Roy Jones Jr will contest Enzo Maccarinelli in his 71st professional bout on Russian soil, with the now 46-year-old incredibly targeting another world crown in the near future.
The four-weight world champion last held his light-heavyweight strap back in 2004, when he lost it to compatriot Antonio Tarver, but the newly-declared Russian citizen is hoping a victory in Moscow can put him back on a path to glory.
Jones Jr (62-8, 45 KOs) last fought in Moscow in 2011 when he was defeated by Denis Lebedev, who is now the WBA cruiserweight champion, having been stopped in the second round, but the 1990s’ ‘Fighter of the Decade’ is odds-on at 8/11 with Coral to triumph this time around.
Rolling back the years
Although, Welshman Maccarinelli (40-7, 31 KOs) is by far the most astute opponent the American-Russian has come up against since world title-holder Lebedev, but he isn’t concerned by the daunting reality of losing his debut as a Russian fighter in his adopted country’s capital city.
“This is my show, the fans will be there for me,” declared Jones Jr. “I know that I can stop time and still win another world title.”
Fighting in one Moscow’s ice palaces during this weekend’s boxing action, Jones Jr is confident of edging closer to another world title, which would be a sensational feat for such an illustrious fighting great who made his pro debut in 1989.
The ring veteran secured his maiden world title in 1993 and a decade later in 2003 became the first ever former middleweight to win a heavyweight strap for 106 years, cementing his place in boxing history.
Maccarinelli out to topple ‘another Russian’
Jones Jr, originally from Florida, was presented with a Russian passport in October after president Vladimir Putin had signed a decree to grant citizenship to him in September.
However, his opponent Maccarinelli, who has not been a world champion since losing his WBO cruiserweight title to David Haye in 2008, is treating this Russian encounter like a world title eliminator, in which he is 11/10 to taste victory.
“I know he’s a Russian now and that suits me – I knocked out a Russian in Russia to win the European title in 2010,” stated the 35-year-old ‘Big Mac’.
Proving doubters wrong
The hard-hitting Swansea bruiser last contested for a world title in April 2014, but lost out to WBA light-heavyweight champion Jurgen Brahmer after suffering an extremely bad cut from an early clash of heads. But he managed to get back on track in March this year with a first-round stoppage of Gyorgy Novak in Manchester, leading to this latest high-profile bout with Jones Jr.
“There’s always been a lot of doubters. This (beating Jones) would prove a lot of the doubters wrong,” stated Maccarinelli’s trainer Gary Lockett.
A draw is 25/1 to occur in this match-up of ageing cruiserweights, but there’s unlikely to be any need for the judge’s scorecards in Russia between two veteran fighters, as both Maccarinelli and Jones Jr aim to edge towards one last shot at world title success in their long-standing careers.
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Coral’s top tip: Fighting on his new home soil of Moscow, back Roy Jones Jr to roll back the years with victory over Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli at 8/11.
