EXCLUSIVE | Bobby Gunn: Roy Jones Jr. was not interested in bare-knuckle fighting bout

Two legends from the sport of boxing and bare-knuckle fighting will meet in the boxing ring this Friday on February 17 as Roy Jones Jr. takes on Bobby Gunn in Wilmington, Delaware at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. Jones and Gunn will compete for the vacant World Boxing Foundation World cruiserweight title live on pay-per-view.

BJPenn.com was able to catch up with Gunn ahead of the fight as he gave some of his time to talk about the competition that he says has been 10 years in the making.

“The fight with me and Roy Jones originally was planned 10 years ago and it fell apart,” Gunn told BJPenn.com. “Three years ago we come close to having it and he pulled out at the last moment. Now the third time is the charm.”

Being the current bare-knuckle fighting heavyweight champion, Gunn said the bout with Jones could have taken place in the sport of bare-knuckle fighting.

“Yes, we offered him to do this under the official bare-knuckle fighting rules but he said he was not interested in that,” said Gunn. “For me, bare-knuckle boxing or regular boxing, it doesn’t make a difference. I’m a very versatile fighter. I am the only legitimate world bare-knuckle champion recognized by the National Police Gazette Magazine and the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame. There are a lot of Mickey Mouse organizations out there that claim to be bare-knuckle boxing but they are not. They use bandages and hand wraps. In reality, what they do is false advertisement. We are the only legitimate bare-fist regional bare-knuckle boxing.”

If Gunn is victorious over Jones in their championship boxing match, he will hold a boxing title and bare-knuckle fighting title and plans to continue in both sports.

“Yes, I will continue to fight bare-knuckle boxing,” Gunn stated. “I’m the reigning world champion and if I am victorious [in] my fight with Roy Jones Jr., I believe with all my heart that I will be, I will continue to fight regular boxing as well. To me boxing and bare-knuckle boxing are two different sports but very similar to each other.”

Will you be catching the World Boxing Foundation World cruiserweight title fight between the two legends on Friday? Let us know who you see getting their hand raised in the comment section!

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This article first appeared on 2/13/2017.