Boxer Roy Jones Jr. is now a Russian citizen, with President Vladimir Putin issuing a decree that was published Saturday on the Kremlin’s Web site.
Per ABC, Jones met with Putin last month for tea in the Crimea and asked the Russian president if he could become a citizen:
Putin said this would be possible if Jones planned to spend a significant part of his life in Russia, while the boxer said he hoped sport could help “build a bridge” between the U.S. and Russia.
After the decree was published, Jones told Russian news agency R-Sport that he planned to learn the Russian language.
“I want to speak so well in Russian that people understand me without any problems,” Jones said. “I think that’ll take about a year. I hope that next year I’ll already be speaking like a Russian.”
He added that he now wanted to “earn two or three billion dollars,” open boxing schools in Russia and develop his rap career.
At 46, the former world champion in four weight classes is still fighting as a cruiserweight (really!). He beat Eric Watkins last month at Foxwoods, improving to 62-8.
Article courtesy of Washington Post