Anthony Pettis secured a majority decision win over Roy Jones Jr. in his professional boxing debut at Gamebred Boxing 4.
Anthony Pettis secured a majority decision win over Roy Jones Jr. in his professional boxing debut during the main event of Gamebred Boxing 4. Pettis fought impressively in front of his hometown Milwaukee crowd, giving up size, power, and experience to his 54-year-old opponent. While Jones seemed to land cleaner punches, Pettis had a higher output, constantly advancing and throwing combination punches in succession.
When the fight ended, two judges gave Pettis scores of 77-75 and 78-74, with the third judge providing a score of 76-76, leading to a majority decision. Pettis was thrilled with the victory, but remained non-committal regarding his future boxing plans after a successful debut on Saturday. “He’s a legend of the sport,” Pettis said of Jones. “I’m going to take it one fight at a time. I’m 1-0 as a pro so I’m excited to see what the future holds. I had a great team behind me and I wanted this.”
Throughout the fight, Pettis showcased fast hands with combinations beginning behind his lead jab, in addition to targeting Jones’ body with straight punches and uppercuts. Although Jones occasionally unleashed well-timed leaping left hooks and a powerful jab, he rarely threw more than two punches at a time. Pettis, however, maintained constant movement and threw two- and three-punch combinations, ultimately outpacing Jones in activity and securing a victory.
Before the fight, Jones stated that he was entering the ring for the final time, but the majority decision loss caused him to reconsider his retirement plans. “I like to come in and entertain the fans,” Jones said. “I think it was a good fight. He did a great job. I think it would be a really good rematch. I don’t do exhibitions, I fight real fights. At 54 years old, that’s a beautiful thing.” Pettis was open to the idea of a rematch as well, so perhaps promoter Jorge Masvidal will have another headlining fight for an upcoming Gamebred Boxing event in Milwaukee.