US boxer Roy Jones Jr. receives Russian passport at special ceremony in Moscow

MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. US professional boxer, commentator, trainer, rapper and actor Roy Jones Jr. has received his Russian passport during a ceremony at the Federal Migration Service in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to grant citizenship to Jones, 46, on September 12. The athlete said it was a great event for him, happy to think he would be coming to Russia as its citizen. "I am Russian," Jones said in Russian. On December 12, he will appear in a Moscow ring to fight for the WBA Super Champion title in the light heavyweight class. At one point, Jones was considered the world’s top boxer regardless of weight category. His professional career began in 1989 and has world titles in four weight classes to his credit. He is also a unique sporting figure in being the sole boxer to win champion titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. In professional boxing he scored 62 wins, including 45 knockouts, and lost eight fights. In 1988, he won a silver medal at the Seoul Olympics. Read more