Former UFC fighter Jimi Manuwa has offered to meet UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in the squared circle if Jones transitions into boxing.
Manuwa retired from MMA last year following a head kick KO loss to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Sweden. Manuwa suffered four consecutive losses to end his UFC career but overall had a .500 record inside the Octagon with a 6-6 mark, including five wins by way of knockout. Some of his notable wins in the UFC include victories over Jan Blachowicz, Corey Anderson, and Ovince Saint Preux, the latter two via KO.
Since retiring, Manuwa has hinted at a possible return to combat sports. That could be in mixed martial arts or potentially in boxing. On Sunday, Jones said he would make more in boxing than he would be MMA. That got Manuwa to let Jones know that he would be willing to welcome him into the boxing ring, via Twitter.
If Jon wants to box I’d be more than willing to
— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) May 31, 2020
If Jon wants to box I’d be more than willing to
A fan then asked Manuwa why Jones would choose to fight him over an actual boxer. Manuwa said that its because all the top boxers would “smoke” Jones.
What boxer would be a good match for him? They’d all smoke him.
— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) May 31, 2020
At this point, Jones hasn’t responded to Manuwa and he may not. Though Manuwa was a top light heavyweight in the UFC for several years, he’s now 40 years old and hasn’t won a fight in over three years. While this was a fight that made sense in the UFC Octagon a few years ago, it’s hard to say if this is the kind of boxing match that would interest Jones. Regardless, Manuwa is shooting his shot and seeing what the UFC light heavyweight kingpin says about taking him on in the boxing ring if Jones leaves MMA.
Would you like to see Jimi Manuwa vs. Jon Jones in boxing?