UFC legend Jon Jones tipped to ‘do great’ as a boxer in Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury’s heavyweight division
FUTURE UFC Hall of Famer Jon Jones would ‘do great’ in boxing if he were to ever compete inside the squared circle.
The former long-reigning light-heavyweight champion has flirted with a transition into the boxing ring in recent years.
Jones, who is currently bulking up in preparation for his long-awaited heavyweight debut, reiterated his willingness to compete against the likes of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder last June during a since-resolved dispute with the UFC.
And three-division boxing champion Claressa Shields, who has been training with Jones at JacksonWink MMA ahead of her PFL debut in June, believes Bones would take to the sport like a duck to water.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist told SunSport: “He’d do great just because of his work ethic. He’d do great just learning.
“And yeah it’s a big difference, but he’d do great just as long as he [gets the best trainers].
“Just like me, he’s got to get the best trainers for that.”
If Jones, 33, were to pursue a career in boxing, Shields reckons he’d benefit from perfecting the tools of the trade with her own coach – former WBA middleweight champion John David Jackson.
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She added: “I think him working with coach John David Jackson would be a dream.
“John David Jackson, he knows how to create fighters. And people always say, ‘Oh he didn’t create me’.
“You’re right. I was a two-time Olympic champion before I got with Coach John David and I was world champ before I got with him.
“But I added some much to my arsenal just being with him. He’s so knowledgable and he’s just made me a better fighter. I’m actually more relaxed.
“I used to be really, really tight when I boxed. But he just let me relax. ‘Let your punches go, use your feints.’
“Some stuff that I had really just got away from because I was so used to going in being the hunter.
“Hunting these girls down, hitting them as hard as I can. And now, we’re working on like, ‘We’re going to make these hard but sneaky.
“‘I want you to be loose and elusive and the head movement.’
“Just some of the stuff that I kind of forgot that I knew how to do, he definitely brought it back out of me. And we’ve added more to it.
“So I think Coach John would be the perfect boxing coach for Jonny Bones.”
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Although Jones has teased a switch to the boxing world, his sights are seemingly set on becoming a two-division UFC champion.
The New Yorker vacated the light-heavyweight title last August to begin preparations for his eagerly-anticipated move up to heavyweight, which many believe should’ve happened years ago.
A date for his return to the octagon, which he last graced in February 2020, hasn’t been set.
But UFC president Dana White recently revealed the man considered by many to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time will face the winner of Stipe Miocic’s title defence against France Ngannou next month.