Chael Sonnen has backed Jon Jones’ plans of stepping into a boxing ring in the future.
With Jon Jones recently stating he would need just two years of serious boxing training to compete against the sport’s elite competitors, Chael Sonnen has expressed he feels Jones could do more than just hold his own in the boxing world.
MMA fighters showing their interest in crossing over to boxing has become a common theme of late. After Conor McGregor’s mega fight against Floyd Mayweather last year, UFC heavyweight Stipe Miocic has showed interest in fighting Anthony Joshua in a boxing ring, whilst current UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has traded shots with Gervonta Davis on social media.
Jones briefly discussed his own plans to step into the ring when he appeared on the JW Raw with M&M podcast earlier this month.
“When I started doing MMA, I found myself in the UFC about nine months after my first practice, so I’m aware that I have a mind for fighting. I have a lot of faith and confidence in myself. I believe that if I were to hire the right people to be around me, that’s maybe four boxing coaches. That’s what the guys at the highest levels (have). Hire guys to come in here, and we spend two years focusing on boxing and only boxing. I believe I’d be able to compete with the best in the world.” (Transcription by MMAjunkie)
Sonnen, who last month traded shots with Jones over Twitter, surprisingly backed the former UFC light heavyweight champion’s plans to crossover to boxing in a video he posted on social media, stating that he “just doesn’t know” if any boxer in the world could beat Jones.
“Some guys are winners, and some guys aren’t,” Sonnen said. “That is just a reality. And it does not come down to hard word and dedication and discipline and focus and experience. Sometimes it just doesn’t. Sometimes you just have a winner. Jon Jones’ highest level that he ever reached in wrestling was the national junior college championships. And guess what? He won it. The highest level that he ever put himself into in mixed martial arts was a light heavyweight championship fight. And guess what? He won it.
“Some guys are just winners, like it or not. I do not think that Jon Jones is the world’s greatest boxer. I just don’t know that I’m sure that any boxer in the world can beat him.”
Before stepping foot into a boxing ring, Jones (22-1, 1NC) will have to face Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch at UFC 232 on December 29th.