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Brazilian UFC Icon Accuses Boxing Legend Roy Jones Jr. of Picking “Easier” Fighter: “He Said I’m Lefty. This and That”

Published 02/10/2023, 9:45 AM EST

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After having a glorious career in MMA, it was not so long ago that Vitor Belfort decided to try his hand in boxing. The former UFC light heavyweight champion made his intentions to retire from MMA clear after his bout in UFC 224. In UFC 224, he fought against Lyoto Machida, and luck didn’t favor him. He lost the fight by knockout in round 2. Furthermore, the UFC star decided to retire from the octagon when his UFC career was facing a tumultuous time. Nonetheless, the champion never lost his enthusiasm a bit. Soon after retiring from MMA, he decided to try his hands at boxing.

The Brazilian fighter, who competed in a boxing match in 2006 against Josemario Neves, came back to the ring in 2021. However, his boxing career is taking longer than expected to blossom. Recently, Belfort talked about why he never got to fight the boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.

Vitor Belfort never got to fight Roy Jones Jr

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‘The Phenom’ was having a conversation with MMA underground. When asked about his upcoming bout, the UFC 12 tournament champion said that everything is business at the end of the day. The MMA star said, “I was supposed to box Roy Jones Jr, but he picked an easier fighter. I don’t mind. I mean, it’s all business.

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He further talked about what the audience desired. “He picked Anthony Pettis. I think that’s not what the fans wanted to see. Everybody wants to see me and Roy Jones Jr, but I mean, who knows when he’s gonna say yes? You know, he said I’m Lefty. This and that. You know I have respect for the guy and I know he is looking for a business. So I mean it’s time for my thing. I want to put my dreams, to put this to a sport together.

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The slow boxing journey of Belfort

After retiring from MMA, the 45-year-old has expressed his desire to fight against the boxing legend Roy Jones Jr on several occasions. After retiring from the UFC, Belfort joined ONE Championship. There ‘The Phenom’ hoped that he would get to fight fighters like Roy Jones Jr. Nevertheless, even after calling out Junior, he hardly showed any interest in boxing against Belfort.

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After a series of dramatic events, Belfort finally got to fight former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in the exhibition match. Belfort won the match by technical knockout with 1:49 seconds left in the first round. However, the later scheduled boxing matches between Belfort and professional heavyweight, Hasim Rahman Jr never came into fruition as Belfort had to back off from the bout after contacting COVID-19. Now the UFC star is all set to face Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a professional boxing match at Gamebred Boxing 4 on April 1, 2023.

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Written by:

Priyanka

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Priyanka is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. She has been an ardent fan of the UFC since 2018. She is passionate when it comes to writing about the sport and this is evident in her articles.
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Edited by:

Vineet Nandwana