Jorge Masvidal’s upcoming boxing event will feature some of MMA’s biggest names.
Masvidal announced Monday on "The MMA Hour” that Gamebred Boxing 4 will be headlined by a showdown between Anthony Pettis and Roy Jones Jr. at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on April 1. Pettis vs. Jones Jr. will be contested over eight rounds.
“I’ve always been a fan of Roy Jones,” Masvidal said. “Always wanted to work with Roy Jones in some capacity. He’s going to be fighting someone that inspired me in my career numerous times. WEC champion, UFC champion, I think both his wins for the UFC title were finishes. This guy has knockouts and finishes at 145, 155, 170, it’s crazy what this guy has done in his career in MMA. Great striker. He agreed to fight the walking, living legend, the pound-for-pound king, one of the best fighters, athletes, I’ve ever seen in combat sports, period, versus Anthony Pettis.”
Pettis will be making his professional boxing debut. The former UFC and WEC lightweight champion is coming off a 1-4 stint in Professional Fighters League, where he was eliminated by Steven Ray in the 2022 playoffs this past August.
The 54-year-old Jones Jr. is a former four-division world champion in boxing with a career record of 66-9. The Pensacola, Fla., native was last seen battling Mike Tyson to a draw in an exhibition bout in November 2020.
Gamebred Boxing 4 will include plenty of star power throughout the card. Jose Aldo and Jeremy Stephens will lock horns in the boxing ring after Aldo won their MMA clash via first-round TKO in July 2018. Other pairings for the event are as follows: Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo Souza, Pearl Gonzalez vs. Gina Mazany, Paul Daley vs. Anthony Taylor, Dillon Cleckler vs. Josh Burns and Devin Cushing vs. Damian Marciano.
According to Masvidal, every fight on the card will be classified as a professional bout, and every matchup other than the main event will be contested over six rounds. Gambred Boxing 4 will be available via pay-per-view. The card will occur one week before Masvidal returns from a one-year hiatus to face Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 on April 8 in Miami.
More must-reads: