Roy Jones Jr. is pulling out all of the stops for the show he's promoting Friday at the Legends Casino Hotel in Toppenish, Washington.
Jones will be in the corner coaching super middleweight Andrew Murphy and lightweight Chris Yung in separate fights, hop in the broadcast booth to commentate other contests in between, and perform several songs throughout the show, including his rap anthem “Can't Be Touched.”
The unique atmosphere will unfold live and for free over the course of a four-fight card on RJJ's Boxing YouTube channel beginning at 10p.m. ET.
“This has been an out-of-the-box dream of mine and something I've wanted to do for a long time,” Jones told
The Ring in an interview. “It's a beautiful thing for me to give the people what they want. I'm adding a little spice to the show. Why not try it?”
The most remarkable feat of the evening, however, belongs to the main event attraction in Maricela Cornejo when the 38-year-old native of Grandview, Washington returns in a homecoming fight just four months after giving birth.
Cornejo (19-7, 7 KOs) – who’s been in the ring with the likes of
Claressa Shields,
Franchon Crews Duzern, and
Cecilia Braekhus – takes on Natasha Spence (8-8-2, 6 KOs) in a six-round junior middleweight matchup.
“Maricela is miraculous and can't be denied,” said Jones. “She got back in the gym and in shape to fight again after having a baby boy in April, and that's dedication. The people love Maricela in Washington and I am looking forward to promoting her homecoming.”
Wearing different hats on the same night is nothing new for the former four-division champion and Hall of Fame fighter Jones.
On June 15, 1996, Jones famously scored 11 points for the Jacksonville Barracudas of the United States Basketball League and knocked out Eric Lucas in 11 rounds later that night to defend his IBF super middleweight title.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring's lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.