A day after MMAJunkie.com reported that Bellator was close to signing a boxing match between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and former boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., Jackson’s manager Anthony McGann, who refused to discuss details, said all will be revealed very soon.
“What I can say is that the Bellator/Viacom strategy for entering into the pay-per-view market is a very interesting one,” McGann said. “It is innovative and will be announced at the Bellator event in Albuquerque on the 31st of this month.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, both Jackson and Jones will be in attendance at the Bellator 97 event next Wednesday at the Santa Ana Center Albuquerque, N.M. The fight, which is expected to take place at the end of the year, and the pay-per-view plans will be announced on the Spike TV broadcast.
“We’ve been talking to Roy and his people about a potential Rampage vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight for over 7 months,” McGann added. “If it happens, it would be an incredible fight. Boxing and MMA have both been discussed, and [Bellator CEO] Bjorn [Rebney] has been in these discussions every step of the way.
“Can’t say much more than that. We’ll see what happens.”
Jackson (32-11) left the UFC in January to sign a multi-fight contract with Bellator and Viacom last month, which will also see the 35-year-old host his own reality show and appear on TNA Wrestling.
The 44-year-old Jones (56-8 boxing record) has all of a sudden become a player in the MMA world. This news comes just weeks after he was at UFC 162 campaigning for a boxing match against Anderson Silva. His last boxing match was in June 2012.