Jade Jones is already looking beyond her next fight. The two-time Olympic champion said she would be more than happy to face Cris Cyborg in a boxing ring, but only after she gets through her scheduled bout with Sheena Bathory on September 12 at Newcastle's Utilita Arena.
That is a notable step for Jones, who has won both of her Misfits outings by second-round stoppage and is still building experience in the ring without any professional background in boxing. The next fight will be another chance to show how far she has come since switching from taekwondo, where kicking is the main weapon, to a sport built around punches, pressure and timing.
Jones opens the door to Cyborg
The idea of Jones against Cyborg has already been mentioned by Misfits promoter Mams Taylor, and Jones clearly likes the concept. She said she is buzzing that bigger fights are being discussed so early in her boxing move and believes a matchup between a taekwondo great and an MMA name could produce fireworks.
Jones also made clear that she would approach that kind of fight carefully. Her point was simple: anyone willing to get slapped in the face for a living has to be a little bit crazy, and Cyborg would bring a level of toughness and fearlessness that Jones respects.
From taekwondo to the ring
Jones' path into boxing has not been automatic. She said her coach, Stephen ‘Swifty’ Smith, initially pushed back when she turned up wanting to become a professional boxer at 32 years old. Jones said she had first hoped to go straight into the paid ranks after retiring from taekwondo, but Smith steered her toward Misfits first and then potentially MF Pro later on.
That early transition period was a learning curve. Jones admitted that she expected fitness to be less of a problem, but the nerves of being punched left her exhausted after her first round of sparring. She also said she would flinch and almost throw kicks at times, a reminder of how deeply taekwondo habits had to be unlearned.
Still, Jones has already shown progress. She retired from taekwondo after giving everything to the sport, and said she felt almost too young to walk away after spending four Olympic cycles chasing history. She won the first two and lost the second two while trying to become the first person in taekwondo to win three gold medals.
For now, the focus is Bathory on September 12. But if Jones wins again, the talk around a future meeting with Cris Cyborg could grow even louder.
