In his debut professional boxing match at Gamebred Boxing 4, Anthony Pettis triumphed over Roy Jones Jr. by majority decision, despite giving up considerable size, power, and experience to his 54-year-old opponent. Pettis confidently traded blows with one of the most successful boxers of the last 50 years, displaying quick hands with every combination traced back to his lead jab.

Jones seemed to have the upper hand with cleaner punches, but Pettis was more output-driven, constantly pushing forward and throwing his combinations in sequence throughout the eight-round match. Two judges scored in favor of Pettis at 77-75 and 78-74, while the third scored the match as a 76-76 draw.

Pettis was overjoyed with the win, he remained vague regarding his future in boxing, saying that he was taking it one fight at a time, but was excited to see what lay ahead, and that he had a great team behind him. 

Despite the significant disadvantages he faced during the fight, Pettis appeared undeterred and happy to engage in fisticuffs with the veteran legend, delivering faster punches that were immediately followed by power uppercuts that captured Jones’ attention. Pettis focused on the body with punches and digs to the midsection, smoothly transitioning between different types of punches.

Jones appeared to be waiting to throw his best punches and used well-timed leaping left hooks, as well as an accurate jab, to exploit his reach advantage, delivering a greater power punch force than his 33-year-old rival who had previously competed in the 145-pound category. 

While Pettis aimed to dominate the ring’s center, Jones was content to sit back and strike with his best moves, including an effective left hook that caught his former UFC competitor straight on the chin. Despite Jones landing harder, more impressive blows throughout the match, he was often inactivo and let Pettis chip away at him, making the judges set their scorecards in Pettis’ favor based on the latter’s activity level. 

Pettis’ continuous pursuit of Jones was demonstrated by his output and two to three-punch combinations. Jones aimed to set up a single punch at a time, but was still able to deliver an accurate one-two combination, including a painful step-in uppercut that landed cleanly on Pettis in the final round. Although Jones had previously announced that this would be his final ring appearance, the loss by majority decision