Roy Jones Jr: “At this age you never know when it’s going to be your last one, but if it is I’m going to make sure I go out with a bang!”

Former four division world champion, Roy Jones Jr, is set to return to the ring tonight against bare-knuckle boxing champion Bobby Gunn. The fight is set for 10 rounds and could very well be the last professional bout for the now 48 year old Jones, who hopes to turn back the clock and bring out some of his signature moves for the boxing fans.

In part 1 of my “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with Roy Jones Jr, I discuss with him his upcoming fight with Bobby Gunn and get his thoughts on what kind of challenge he faces. Jones also talks about his training for the fight and how he feels at his age. Additionally, Jones talks about his future beyond this fight and if he might retire this year. Here is what Roy Jones Jr. had to say.

Jenna J: You’re about to get back into the ring to fight Bobby Gunn. Can you talk a little about the fight you have coming up?

Roy Jones Jr: Yeah, Bobby is a good fighter, you can’t take anything away from Bobby. He’s a very good boxer, a great bare-knuckle guy, a guy who has done so much in the bare-knuckle world that to me it would be unfair to not grant him his wish to fight the great Roy Jones Jr. because he’s done so much in that world that I can’t see myself not granting him that wish. It’s almost like Floyd willing now to negotiate and grant Conor McGregor his wish, but that’s for much more money and a bigger situation but it’s really the same kind of thing to me.

I can’t wait for it to happen and I look forward to it because it’s a great opportunity for both of us. It’s a different type of an event because I always like to do things differently in my whole career, so I always enjoy doing the stuff nobody else has done or something that is outside the lines. With that being said, I’m very happy and enthusiastic to face Bobby Gunn in a boxing match.

Jenna J: How did you feel in the preparations leading up to this match?

Roy Jones Jr: I felt very good, the best I’ve felt in a long time. I’m looking forward to the outcome because I had some really good training. It’s been great how my body has responded to the training, so I’m really looking forward to it.

Jenna J: Bobby has not been very active in the professional ranks, but he’s had a lot of bare-knuckle fights in-between. Does it give him an advantage that he has these bare-knuckle bouts?

Roy Jones Jr: Yeah it gives him a little bit of an advantage because he’s been a lot more active than I have, so that does give him somewhat of an advantage. But with my boxing skills and because we’re doing what I do best, it kind of neutralizes that advantage, so we’ll see what happens.

Jenna J: You’re fighting for the WBF Cruiserweight title. How do you feel about fighting for that belt again?

Roy Jones Jr: You know me, I love fighting for any type of belt, so the fact that there’s a belt on the line was my main motivation. Anytime there’s a belt on the line, Roy Jones Jr. is highly motivated and ready to go.

Jenna J: How do you feel now at 48 years of age compared to when you were 38 years old?

Roy Jones Jr: Well when I was 38, my body was still in a little bit of a shock situation where I was coming off of losing that 25 lbs of muscle. Now my body feels like it’s almost fully recovered from that shock of losing that much muscle and I think my body is back where it needs to be at and that’s where I wanted it. Now I feel much better.

Jenna J: Do you think this may be your last year in boxing?

Roy Jones Jr: Yeah I think it’s my last year in boxing, and I tell people all the time, “When you’re my age, you never know which one will be your last.” Bernard Hopkins fought a fight where he thought it was probably going to be his last one and it probably was his last one. At this age you never know when it’s going to be your last one because it may turn out how you want, it may go way better than you expect, or it may not turn out how you want.

There’s a lot of different factors that factor into whether it’s your last one or not. At this age you never can tell, but guess what I decided? I decided since I know that, then I’m going to make sure I go out with a bang and I’m going to go out an enjoy myself and have one of the best nights I ever had and if it ends up being my last one, then I went out the last one like I went out in the first one, I went out with a bang. If it’s not my last one then they got more of a bang to look forward to next time.

This time I’m properly prepared, I’m ready to go out and do things the way I do things and I’m doing my best right now. Believe me when I say this, I’m doing my best effort to make sure I go out with a real bang this time.