Will Roy Jones Jr. Run For Mayor? Boxer Planning Mayoral Campaign In Pensacola, Fla., Report Says

Legendary boxer Roy Jones Jr. may be putting down his gloves in favor of a new career in politics.

Jones is considering a run for mayor in his hometown of Pensacola, Fla., TMZ reports. The 45-year-old fighter has reportedly gathered 10 times the required number of signatures to validate his candidacy and submitted all of the required paperwork.

In an interview with TMZ, Jones said that his platform will focus on improving the lives of Pensacola’s children. “A lot of kids don’t have proper leadership at home. I’m willing to try and be that person for them,” he said. “I tell the kids, don’t fight in the streets. Go into MMA, go into boxing. Do something that someone can be proud of you for.”

Jones can certainly be proud of his own boxing career. Since turning pro in 1989, he’s compiled 56 victories — 40 of them by way of knockout — against just eight losses. In 2003, he became the first former middleweight in more than a century to win a title in the heavyweight class.

If Jones decides to follow through on his run for mayor, he’ll have to defeat incumbent Ashton Hayward, the Pensacola News Journal reports. Hayward has been the city’s mayor since 2011, and is known for increasing the local authority of the mayoral office.

Despite that challenge, Jones remains confident that he’ll come out on top. “I’ve been opposed my whole life, and I’ve always won,” he told TMZ.