If Anthony Pettis were to venture out of the MMA world, it would be to box.
Pettis (25-12), a former WEC and UFC lightweight champion, already cemented his legacy as a mixed martial artist. With that, however, he’s chasing another title in PFL and still has the love and drive to compete.
With plenty of MMA fighters transitioning to bare-knuckle boxing, “Showtime” would consider it, but prefers to lace up the boxing gloves first.
“I wouldn’t just go out there and try to like start from the beginning and work my way up to a title shot in bare knuckle,” Pettis told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’d like to really box. I think I’ve been spending a lot of time in the boxing gym. I didn’t get to show my boxing skills in my last fight, but hopefully with Stevie Ray I get to show what I’ve been working on with my hands. But yeah, I’d lean more towards a real boxing fight before bare knuckle, but I wouldn’t rule it out. I love fighting. This is what I was born to do, I’m an entertaining fighter and fans love to watch me fight.”
He continued, “I already spar 8-10 rounds boxing right now, and I changed my training style towards more of a boxer-striker. I think earlier in my career I was really trying to catch up on the jiu-jitsu and wrestling portion of mixed martial arts.”
Triangle! Anthony Pettis (@ShowtimePettis) run through Myles Price for a first-round submission and six points.#2022PFL3 | 🎥 @PFLMMA pic.twitter.com/ypoA3XoAOn
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 7, 2022
Pettis is already guaranteed a spot in the PFL playoffs this season after notching six points in a first-round submission of Myles Price. Friday, he meets Stevie Ray (23-10) at 2022 PFL 5, which takes place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card airs on ESPN/ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
