Former four division world champion Roy Jones Jr. may assume office in the Russian Boxing Federation, according to statements made by the organization’s Secretary General, Kirill Shchekutyev, to Tass.
Shchekutyev was unanimously appointed as the RBF’s secretary general during the Federation’s report and election conference on Friday, replacing Umar Kremlov, who was elected as the president of amateur boxing authority AIBA.
Jones obtained Russian citizenship several years ago and received a Russian passport from country president Vladimir Putin in 2015. Because of this, he was banned from entering Ukraine.
Last year, Jones told media outlet RT that he “feels very Russian.”
Jones fought in Russia on four occasions and held several concerts in the country. Occasionally he travels over to stage master class training sessions with the local amateurs.
“Roy plans to come to Russia shortly,” Shchekutyev said. “We will meet with him and will certainly discuss this [this position with the RBF]. We would also like to see him in some type of position in the Russian Boxing Federation. He is a big patriot of our country; he did a lot to popularize boxing. We are ready to work in this field together.”
Jones, 51-years-old, is very proud of his Russian citizenship and is widely viewed as an icon in the country.
The retired boxer was in action back in November, when he fought to an eight round draw with former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Their pay-per-view was a financial blockbuster – with 1.6 million purchases.
–boxingscene.com
