Roy Jones Jr, 51, ‘wouldn’t rule out’ fighting Jake Paul, 23, as trainer reveals legend finds YouTube boxing ‘foreign’
ROY JONES JR ‘wouldn’t rule out’ fighting Jake Paul – despite finding the new age of YouTube boxing ‘foreign’. Jones ended his brief two year retirement to come back and fight the returning Mike Tyson in an eight-round exhibition bout in November. The iconic pair boxed to a draw, and despite Tyson fighting for the […]
ROY JONES JR ‘wouldn’t rule out’ fighting Jake Paul – despite finding the new age of YouTube boxing ‘foreign’.
Jones ended his brief two year retirement to come back and fight the returning Mike Tyson in an eight-round exhibition bout in November.
The iconic pair boxed to a draw, and despite Tyson fighting for the first time since 2005, the night belonged to social media sensation Paul.
Before the heavyweight headliner, the 23-year-old social media star left ex-NBA point guard Nate Robinson out cold and into a viral meme.
Paul, who moved to 2-0, has since made as much noise outside the ring, calling out superstars such as former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor.
And it would lead to an interesting conversation if Jones, 51, was approached to cross paths and generations with the internet phenomenon.
His trainer Tom Yankello told SunSport: “I think Roy is from that old school era.
“It’s almost a really foreign thing to him and even myself on how these YouTube guys get so much exposure and how big they become.
“I don’t think it’s something that has ever crossed his mind but I wouldn’t say he’d rule it out either.
“I wouldn’t say it’s something that couldn’t happen, that’s for sure. It’s something that is very interesting if it got presented to us.”
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Coach Yankello, a student of the game, was too busy warming up Jones to catch a glimpse at Paul’s undercard knockout.
But with no amateur experience and just three years worth of training, he has been left impressed with the work ex-cruiserweight BJ Flores has done with the boxing beginner.
Yanekello said: “I think BJ did a great job as he was far and beyond Nate Robinson for sure.
“It looked like he did have some skills and was polished to the point of being a true professional fighter.
“But to what level? That would have to be determined and I didn’t watch enough to predict that.”
Paul is yet to test himself against a seasoned professional, having only beaten YouTube rival ‘AnEsonGib’ and Robinson – who had been in the gym only five months.
But Yankello admits the determined and hard-hitting upstart cannot be underestimated – especially for someone of Jones’ age.
He explained: “Considering the kids age and the vitality I wouldn’t say it would be a gimme for anyone.
“Roy is definitely the legend with the skills but Jake being a young kid it would be interesting.
“I think Roy still has a lot of skill and you see him fight a guy like Mike Tyson, who was in great shape, and I feel like they could both be competitive against young guys.
“If you don’t have boxing experience just because you’re young and in great shape it doesn’t mean you could beat a legend.
“Roy was sparring with young guys in the gym that were probably a higher calibre than Jake Paul and he was doing his thing.”