Kazakhstan has been producing great boxers for many years - Roy Jones Jr.

Mr. Roy Jones Jr., welcome to Kazakhstan. Thank you for joining us here with the Qazinform News Agency. My first question is one that everyone is curious about. What brings you to Kazakhstan this time, and what are your plans during this visit?

I have many friends in Kazakhstan, including in the media sphere. They suggested that I come and hold master classes for children in Kazakhstan. Then they began discussing the possibility of opening a gym here and brought in Serik Sapiyev, Vasiliy Zhirov, and others, so when I was invited to conduct master classes for young athletes, it was a pleasure. Boxing is huge in this region and I love being anywhere that loves boxing. So when I got the chance to come back to Kazakhstan, I thought, why not?

You have visited Kazakhstan several times, and you have built a strong connection with local fans. How would you describe your impressions of the country and its sports culture today?

Kazakhstan is one of the best countries in the world when it comes to sports, especially boxing. We are all masters in our own fields and that unites us. What many people don’t realize is that sports rise above religion and race. If you are great at what you do, people don’t care about anything else. They just want to know your story and how you discovered your God-given talent. Sports teach us that our lives are in God’s hands at all times. Because of that, we don’t have time to be racist or biased. We’re brothers, and we respect one another.

Gennady Golovkin was recently elected president of World Boxing. How do you assess his impact on the sport, and what qualities make him suited for this leadership role?

I think he is the perfect choice. Among fighters from this part of the world, to me he is the most well-known and the most successful. Yes, there were great fighters like Lomachenko and Usyk, but Golovkin became the most popular and consistent. In my opinion, his American coach held him back from reaching his full potential. For years he stayed at middleweight, even though he could have moved up and challenged Andre Ward at super middleweight. If he had beaten Ward, he could have become the number one fighter pound for pound. But despite that, Golovkin is still a great representative of the sport. He understands both sides of boxing and I believe he will be an excellent leader as President of World Boxing.

Many young athletes in Kazakhstan look to you as an example of discipline and longevity. What advice would you offer to those who want to build a stable and successful career in professional sports?

I always look at the old fighters and the path they took to reach the top. You have to work hard and you have to want to be the best. If you don’t want to be the best, why are you doing it? Everybody wants to make money, but being the best should come first because if you become the best, the money will follow. Today many fighters want money first and don’t care about being the best. That is why the sport suffers. You can’t reverse the order. Kids don’t admire me because of the money I made. They admire me because I was the best. And fighters in this part of the world still care about that. They want greatness more than anything else. I respect that.

Kazakhstan continues to strengthen its position in international boxing. From your perspective, what potential do you see in the new generation of Kazakh boxers, and what qualities make them competitive at the highest level?

Their strength lies in their fundamentals. They all have great footwork, strong punching technique and high boxing IQ. If you look at Cuban boxing today, for example, their footwork isn’t what it used to be. Kazakh footwork is more disciplined. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are among the top countries in terms of technical skills. When you lose the basics, you decline. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia are strong because they keep those basics. That is why fighters like Janibek Alimkhanuly are becoming world champions. What I would like to do now is help create a platform so that major fights can be staged in Kazakhstan. Champions like Triple G and the future Gen Effects should be able to fight at home, not only abroad. That is one of my goals.

Is this your main project right now?

It is one of my key projects. I don’t live for anything foolish. I live for boxing. God blessed me with boxing, and I want to keep the sport rising. If I find the right partners and investors, we can bring boxing back to the level it deserves. Kazakhstan has amazing athletes like Serik Sapiev, who won Olympic gold. He could have had a strong professional career, but at that time pro boxing wasn’t developed here. He didn’t want to leave his country. So now we need to create opportunities in Kazakhstan so that future talents can build professional careers at home.

Speaking of Janibek Alimkhanuly, what do you think will happen with his doping case?

He is not the first fighter to face this kind of issue. It happened to Canelo, it happened to me once, and to many others. If it was a mistake and he understands what caused it, he won’t repeat it. That is what matters. Canelo said his issue came from contaminated beef. In my case, I once took a supplement called Ripped Fuel and tested positive. It was a new product back then.
If Janibek understands what happened and avoids it in the future, he will be fine. He is definitely not the first, and not the last.

You remain active in coaching, promotion, and community work. What current projects are you focused on, and how do they reflect your broader vision for the future of boxing?

My dream is to create a platform that allows me to bring boxing to the whole world. I want to stage fights from Kazakhstan, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Africa, anywhere. And I want these events to be broadcast so that people can watch the rise of young fighters. Right now, the world doesn’t know fighters until they become champions. People suddenly ask, who is this guy? Why? Because they never saw him grow. If we create a system that lets the world follow these athletes from the amateur level upward, people will know them, support them and relate to them. So now you can relate to fighters because you watched them grow from the beginning. Boxing doesn’t have that anymore. Suddenly a fighter appears and people ask, who is this guy?

It is the same with Pablo Corzo. He has beaten a lot of good fighters, but many people still don’t know who he is because to them he just appeared out of nowhere. But if you have followed boxing closely, you know he has been coming up for a long time. The problem is that the sport no longer gives fans a way to watch young fighters rise step by step. There is no consistent media exposure showing their journey. We need to change that.

That is what I want to build. With the right investment, we can create regular pro boxing nights from Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, wherever we choose. And the whole world will be able to watch new champions emerge.

It is wonderful to hear that you are beginning these projects here in Kazakhstan. We appreciate it greatly. To conclude our interview, is there anything you would like to add?

Yes. Kazakhstan has produced great fighters for many years. To help develop future champions from the grassroots level is a beautiful opportunity for me. I couldn’t choose a better country because of the strong foundation that the Kazakh boxing school provides.
I’m happy to be part of this journey and I can’t wait to get started. I love Kazakhstan because Kazakhstan loves me.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Gennady Golovkin, legendary boxer and President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, became the first representative of the country to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.