Roy Jones Jr. returns to the ring this week, and the talk of the combat world is about the first major boxing/mixed martial arts crossover event that it will headline.

By all accounts, the MMA side of the card is bad at best. From a boxing perspective, the card is equally bad. But overall, the card is intriguing. Nobody seems to think that there is a good matchup in either sport on the entire card, but the card is the first of its kind, and how the production goes may be far more important than the quality of the fights.

In the main event, Jones takes on Omar Sheika, a fighter with a solid, but by no means great career. The card will also feature B.J. Flores and a bunch of other boxers that most people haven’t heard of.

On the MMA side, well I’ll let Jake Rossen of Sherdog.com (via ESPN.com) fill you in:

For their part, MMA fans are being courted into purchasing the show based on two fights that defy comprehension: Jeff Monson versus Roy Nelson and WWE expatriate Bobby Lashley versus Jason (brother of Clay) Guida, a late replacement for Ken Shamrock. (Contrary to expectations, I suspect this won’t be the end of Shamrock. He refuses to take hints, cosmic or otherwise, to retire and remains “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” only to himself.)

Lashley, who might actually possess the lean muscle mass of both Guida brothers put together, is being courted as a hot prospect in the sport. Jason Guida has been around the block a few times, knows a few tricks and might be able to pull one out. As fights go, it’s all right. As main events go, it’s best paid for with Monopoly money.

So why make the event?

It’s simple enough really. If this card can show any success, either in ticket sales, pay-per-view sales, fan enthusiasm or critical review, then there is something to build upon.

For years, Jones has refused to partake in the ridiculous boxing vs. MMA argument, and has consistently offered support and respect for his colleagues in the mixed martial arts world. He is not trying to resurrect boxing and he’s not trying to defeat MMA. He’s simply taking a shot at having a business model to work off of after boxing.

Jones famously got close to sharing a ring with Anderson Silva last year in a boxing match, before UFC top-dog Dana White put the kibosh on it. Jones has always spoken highly of MMA and seems to truly want to enter a business partnership with the sport, but despite Silva’s desire, Jones will never fight him or any other UFC fighter.

If this event can please the folks down in Pensacola this weekend, or at least break even financially, expect to see this happen more.

The problem is, what boxing promoters are going to want to let their guys share a stage with MMA fighters, and what MMA league is going to allow their sport to not even have top billing at an event. For these reasons, barring some type of partnership with a major organization, Jones’ Square Ring company will only be able to put on average to below average cards.

But the bigger picture is beyond Jones. The bigger picture is the potential for a major event down the road, if this model can prove successful. Let’s face it — if this card has any success, then a card with real matches and real draws could be huge.

Don’t expect Dana White and the UFC to share a card anytime soon — why would they want to — but there is potential for some of the smaller, struggling organizations to mix shows.

Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions has a partnership with Affliction and is beginning to dabble in MMA. Count on Golden Boy’s eyes to be firmly fixed to Pensacola Saturday night, taking notes of what works and what doesn’t. With the Golden Boy stable and Affliction’s MMA name recognition, they could potentially put a massive crossover card on at some point in the future.

Jones’ respect for MMA has allowed him to make this card happen, but at the same time, he may put to rest once and for all the notion of boxing fans and MMA fans uniting. Mature and knowledgeable fans of both sports understand that they are different and only minimally in competition with each other. Getting them to coexist on the same stage is a much bigger issue.

You might not care about a single fight on this card, but I assure you — it’s one of the most important fight cards of the year.

***

Originally published at BoxingInformer.com

Share this story...

Discussion

No comments for “Roy Jones Card Stirs Up Boxing/MMA Debate”

Post a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.