Last week, reports surfaced that former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender, Chris Lytle, was eyeing a potential boxing match against none other than current WBU cruiserweight champion, Roy Jones Jr.
Despite the fact that “Lights Out” wants to test his striking skills with one of the best to ever compete in the “sweet science,” he isn’t planning a full return to combat sports. Specifically, a return to mixed martial arts (MMA), a sport in which Lytle competed in for 12 years.
After all, aside from winning a title in your last fight, there is no better way than to go out with a win, much like he did back in 2011 when he submitted Dan Hardy in the third and final round of their main event fight at UFC on Versus 5.
And Lytle, for one, doesn’t want to risk the chance of ruining that rare opportunity as he recently declared during his guest spot on The MMA Hour:
“That very moment (winning in last fight) is probably one of the reasons why I’ve never taken a serious second thought about it. I mean, I’ve looked at it like, how can I top that moment? What’s ever going to happen, that, that’s a better way to go out? The only thing that I can think of is that you win the title and then right then and there you retire. What else can be better than that? I don’t want to go out there and fight somebody whatever happens, then retire. I don’t know. That was a good opportunity for me to be done. I handed in my retirement letter before the fight. It was great that it ended the way it did, but, that wasn’t guaranteed. I didn’t know that I was going to go in there and win ‘Fight of the Night’ and have a great ending to my career. I just knew my career was over after that fight. I’m glad it worked out the way it did. I look at fighting, and I have fond memories of it, while most people don’t. Most people leave and they have a chip on their shoulder and say this sport screwed them over. I don’t have that. There’s times when you see fights and you think, ‘ah man, I could beat that guy.’ but, I’ve never really seriously thought about a comeback to MMA.”
Furthermore. Lytle says that if he manages to pull of the upset victory over Jones. that doesn’t mean he is planning to compete in boxing moving forward, saying it will likely be a one-time deal.
Of course, the fight is far from signed, sealed, or delivered, as Chris revealed that talks have stalled lately due to the fact that his management team has been rather busy with the recent NFL draft.
Nevertheless, Lytle says should the fight see the light of day, fans shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss his chances against an established boxer. Jones, after all, isn’t exactly the same world beater he was a few years back.
And despite the fact that he’s retired from fighting, Lytle says if given the time to get in proper fighting shape, he thinks his skills are better now than when he was competing under the UFC banner.
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