Former UFC and WEC world champion Anthony Pettis (1-0, 0 KOs) defeated Boxing Hall of Fame member Roy Jones Jr. (66-10, 47 KOs) by majority decision (76-76, 77-75 and 78-74) in the main event of Gamebred Boxing 4 live on pay-per-view from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. in an event presented by Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Boxing.
Pettis, a native of Milwaukee who was making his professional boxing debut, managed to pull out the victory with the backing of his hometown fans. The eight-round heavyweight clash showcased some exhilarating back and forth action between the pair of pugilists, with Jones Jr. using his decades of experience and angles to get the best of Pettis at times. But Pettis proved a more than worthy opponent and did enough to get the win on two of the judges’ scorecards.
“Man, he’s 54 years old, but you’ve got to give it up for this guy,” said Pettis. “He’s a legend in the sport, a GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). Praise God for allowing me to get this opportunity. Give it up for Roy Jones Jr., man.
“I’m going to take it one fight at a time, take it day by day,” continued Pettis. “I’m 1-0 as a pro and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Jones Jr. said, “For me, I like to come in and entertain the fans. My job is to come in and make sure that the fans get what they paid for, and I’m all good with that. I think it was a good fight. He did a great job and fought a very smart fight. I think I educated him and taught him a lot in this fight. So I think if I fought him again it would be even better because he knows a lot more now. I think it would be a really good rematch.
“I don’t do exhibitions, I fight real fights,” added Jones Jr. “I’m not an exhibition guy, I’m a real guy. I want to win, or I want to lose. But I’m going to go out on my shield, and I want to be able to do it again as many times as I want to. At 54 years old, that’s a beautiful thing, and he already said he’d do it again because one judge had it even. So that’s what I love.”
Pettis concluded things, adding, “I would love to do it again. Let’s go. It would be an honor, bro.”
In the co-main event, former UFC and Cage Rage world light heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (2-0, 1 KO) made his second professional boxing appearance in a six-round heavyweight battle against debuting fellow Brazilian and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (0-1, 0 KOs). Souza holds an MMA victory over Belfort, but Belfort jumped out to an early lead in their boxing contest, knocking Souza down twice in the third frame. Belfort tried to finish Souza early, but Souza was able to survive and made it to the bell.
Souza, showing the heart of a former champion, had strong fourth and fifth rounds. Belfort rocked Souza again in the final stanza, and although Souza was able to survive until the final bell, Belfort pulled away with the unanimous decision (57-55 and 58-54 twice) victory.
All-time great UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo faced former top UFC contender Jeremy Stephens in a six-round welterweight affair with Aldo entering a professional boxing ring for the second time and Stephens making his professional boxing debut. The pair first met five years ago in an entertaining MMA struggle won by Aldo that garnered him “Performance of the Night.”
In the squared circle, Aldo and Stephens showed signs of far more experienced boxers, giving the fight fans and judges a very evenly matched contest that resulted in a majority draw (58-56 for Aldo and 57-57 twice).
“Jeremy is a tough guy,” said Aldo. “I was very prepared for this fight. This is my second professional boxing fight, and Jeremy is really tough. But I think I did enough to win this fight. I was blocking a lot of his punches, and my corner was telling me I won the fight. So I don’t really understand. I need to go back to my house, see the fight and then train more for the next one.”
Stephens said, “Much respect to Jose Aldo. You know, I’m a big fan of this guy. I watched this guy growing up. He’s put it down for MMA. And it’s an honor to come here, close to the Midwest. Iowa, are you in the house, or what, baby?
“Let’s run it back for number three,” continued Stephens. “This guy is a legend. We put it down tonight, gave you guys a show. That’s what it is!”
Milwaukee’s own undefeated former NABF champion and rising contender Luis Feliciano (17-0, 8 KOs) defeated an extremely durable and game Clarence Booth (21-8, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision (78-74, 77-75 and 79-73) in an exciting eight-round super lightweight bout. With the hometown crowd behind him, Feliciano served up a dazzling performance, working the body and landing some thudding headshots on Booth, who refused to back down. And although the experienced Booth was coming on in the second half of the bout, Feliciano’s early lead proved insurmountable.
Undefeated rising super featherweight prospect Devin Cushing (13-0, 10 KOs) remained unbeaten, stopping the veteran Damian Marchiano (18-12-1, 7 KOs) by technical knockout. In a bout that was scheduled for six rounds, the flashy, slick Cushing used his jab and combinations to outland and outclass Marchiano en route to an easy stoppage win. Late in the third frame, Cushing landed a big right hand followed by a left that floored Marchiano. Marchiano got up in time, but referee Dave Smith had seen enough, deemed Marchiano unable to continue and stopped the fight at the 2:59 mark of the third round.
In an extremely spirited and competitive six-round featherweight bout, Pearl Gonzalez and Gina Mazany squared off in the center of the ring with Mazany cutting Gonzalez over her right eye near the end of round one. Gonzalez was able to weather the cut, and in a rock ‘em sock ‘em back-and-forth contest that saw both women landing some very heavy shots, it was Mazany that emerged victorious by majority decision (57-57, 59-55 and 58-56).
The second bout on the pay-per-view portion of the fight card featured heavyweights Dillon Cleckler and Joshua Burns going toe-to-toe with Cleckler defeating Burns by technical knockout. Cleckler caught Burns with a right hand that dropped burns early in the first round. Burns made it to his feet to continue, but Cleckler swarmed Burns and quickly landed several more flush right hands, sending Burns to the canvas for a second and final time. Referee Benjy Esteves Jr. called a stop to the action 1:20 into round one of their scheduled six-round fight.
In the pay-per-view opener, Bi Nguyen defeated Andy Nguyen by unanimous decision with all three judges scoring their four-round bantamweight contest 39-37.
Photo: Phil Lambert/Gamebred Boxing
