Anthony Pettis will see where boxing takes him, but he's not done with MMA yet
A decorated mixed martial arts veteran, Anthony Pettis is about to step into the boxing ring for the first time as a pro and square off with a legend on Saturday night.
But don’t call the Milwaukee-born and -raised former champion a boxer. Not yet, anyway.
Call him an opportunist.
“That’s the cool thing about fighting right now, man,” Pettis said Thursday after the news conference at Fiserv Forum ahead of his match against Roy Jones Jr. on a card promoted by MMA star Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Boxing.
“I feel like there’s so many opportunities that are popping up. We’ve got leagues popping up crazy. This hybrid league, which brings mixed martial artists and boxing together, which I think is an ingenious idea. I’m a promoter myself so I know what it takes to put these events on.”
Many fights Saturday feature boxers from the MMA world, like Pettis
Thirteen fights are on tap Saturday night, headlined by Pettis, the former World Extreme Cagefighting and the UFC champion, against Jones, the 54-year-old, four-class boxing world champion.
Most of those involve at least one competitor – usually both – better known from another combat sport. A few of the 13 include up-and-coming boxers, such as Marquette graduate Luis Feliciano (16-0) getting an opportunity to fight in his hometown arena with a pay-per-view audience built on MMA fans.
One thing the UFC in particular and MMA in general has done well, Pettis and Jones have said, is bring together champions and top challengers regularly in fights fans want see. If boxing can take away ideas from crossover events such as Saturday’s while new opportunities open up for athletes, then everyone benefits.
The boxing world can learn from the UFC
“I think the fight worlds will collide,” Pettis said. “I think boxing and mixed martial arts will.
“Because right now if you’re a mixed martial arts fan you don’t necessarily watch boxing and vice versa. I live in Vegas and I see the crowd that goes to boxing and I see the crowd that goes to mixed martial arts. Things like this are going to bridge that gap.
“Not necessarily MMA guys winning in boxing fights or taking it over the top, or boxing guys vice versa, but fans realizing we kind of live the same life. Showing there are more opportunities out there, that you don’t have to just sign with one league and there’s only one way to become famous and one way to get to the top.”
Pettis’ preparation includes sparring against Caleb Plant and Luis Arias
Pettis will go into his match Saturday with a small bruise under his left eye, a testament to the boxing-specific preparation he has done.
Among his sparring partners, Pettis said, have been former IBF super middleweight title-holder Caleb Plant and former USBA middleweight champion Luis “Cuba” Arias. (Arias, a Milwaukeean, won his title in 2016 at the Wisconsin Center in the last high-level boxing event in the city.)
“I’ve had good boxing (technique) through my whole career, but my kicking took over in mixed martial arts,” Pettis said. “My hands are actually really, really good, and I think the fine tune of finding a rhythm of boxing is going be the transition.
“I fought a guy in PFL (the Professional Fighters League), Clay Collard. Had great boxing (skills). Had success in boxing. I felt his pace. It was a little different pace than mixed martial arts. I’m like, yeah, I need to add that to my game. That’s where boxing came in and I just fell in love with it.”
Pettis considers himself an underdog against Jones. He does get a chuckle out of the idea that at 36 he is once again the young guy.
“Everyone’s saying, hey, he’s older,” Pettis said. “But he has the experience, he has the size on me, and I have the youth. I’m going to have to capitalize on that part, and then my athleticism. But the odds are against me. He has experience. He knows how to milk the rounds. He understands.”
Pettis isn’t done with MMA and isn’t sure about boxing
Whereas Jones has said this will definitely be his last fight, Pettis remains unsure about his future in boxing. He may stop after Saturday, as well. He might have three fights. He might have 10.
“As far as an athlete, as far as my career goes, I'm still planning on doing a couple more years of MMA,” Pettis said. “There are some things I still want to get done in mixed martial arts.
“Not sure how many years left, but I still plan on finishing in mixed martial arts. But this boxing match, I mean, it’s a legend like Roy Jones Jr., I had to say yes.”
That alludes to another opportunity for Pettis: a sizable check.
“Boxing pays good,” he said. “Of course if I’m going to fight Roy Jones Jr., I’m going to ask for what I think it’s worth.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MMA star Anthony Pettis unsure about boxing future
