Pettis vs. Jones Jr. at Gamebred Boxing 4 - Why did Roy Jones Jr. agree to come out of retirement?

Jorge Masvidal caught the combat sports world by surprise when he announced that boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. will be fighting former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in the main event of his upcoming Gamebred Boxing 4 event.

Despite returning to the ring for this unique bout, the boxing legend doesn't plan to make a permanent return to the sport. While speaking to the media during the Gamebred 4 virtual press conference, the 54-year-old mentioned that the reason he agreed to a return to the ring was because he always wanted to do a crossover bout with former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

However, the bout never materialized. He has finally received an opportunity to fight another former champion in Pettis.

He said:

" I was through with boxing. I was like, 'Nah, I'm done. I shouldn't fight no more. I'm 54-years-old...Then they said, 'You know, one of the greatest ever at 155[lbs] said he'd come up in weight to fight you and you don't have to come lower than 200[lbs].' It sounded kind of intriguing."

'Superman' complimented 'Showtime' for his accomplishments in MMA and what he has done inside the cage throughout his career. He mentioned that he felt the offer was too good to pass up and decided to accept the fight, saying:

"[Anthony Pettis] he's done things in the MMA [cage] that no one else will do...For me to get the opportunity to face someone who has that same type of creative mind in their own respective sport, like I have in boxing, I was like, 'Wait a minute. Should you say no to this?'...The pros, I guess, outweighed the nos. So here we are."

It will be interesting to see how Jones Jr. performs, especially considering that he'll be fighting a much younger opponent.

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When did Roy Jones Jr. last compete?

Roy Jones Jr. has competed against and defeated some of the greatest boxers of all time. The 54-year-old will be stepping into the squared circle possibly for the final time when he fights former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at Gamebred Boxing.

'Superman' last competed in 2020, when he fought Mike Tyson in an exhibition bout. The fight was spectacular and exceeded expectations as Jones Jr. and Tyson put on an entertaining bout despite their age.

The exhibition bout went the distance and was ruled a split draw. It was a successful event as it generated 1.6 million pay-per-view buys.