Anthony Pettis announces even bigger boxing match awaits him ‘as long as I screw Chris Avila on July 6’

Anthony Pettis may not have much time left in MMA, but his fighting career shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The former UFC lightweight champion, who takes on Nate Diaz disciple Chris Avila on Saturday, has made it clear that he’s only returning to MMA for the right opportunity, while he focuses most of his attention on his burgeoning boxing career. Pettis is expected to face former kickboxing star Cedric Doumbe in the PFL later this year, but first he has his showdown with Avila, and then a potential fight against an even bigger name in boxing awaits him.

“I’m trying to stay busy with boxing,” Pettis told MMA Fighting. “I have a boxing match on July 6th and then I have another big name that’s a shot in boxing, as long as I screw Avila on July 6th.”

“My next fight after this one, a fighter who is currently competing and ranked. There is already a name in mind. I have to be impressive and then there is a name in mind.”

Pettis could not yet say who his potential opponent is, as he needs to deal with Avila before he can make plans for future fights.

His Saturday boxing match, which is part of a bill that features Diaz as the headliner against Jorge Masvidal, comes more than a year after he surprisingly upset former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr. in his professional debut.

Of course, at 54, Jones wasn’t the same fighter as the dynamic boxer who ripped through multiple weight classes in his early 2000s peak, but it still wasn’t a fight Pettis expected to win. He admits that he had to employ some strategy in that fight, because age aside, Jones was still a dangerous opponent with plenty of pop left in his hands.

This time around, however, Pettis doesn’t feel like he’s taking the same risk, and predicts he’ll beat Avila convincingly.

“This time I want to knock him out,” Pettis said. “With Roy Jones, I knew I had to go out there and knock him out. He’s smart. Because he just fought Mike Tyson. I wasn’t going to just throw a right and knock him out.

“But Avila, he’s knockout, if that’s a word. I feel like he’s taking a lot of punches. He’s never fought a guy like me before and I think he underestimates my boxing skills. He thinks I’m an MMA fighter.”

Since becoming a full-time boxer, Avila has impressed with five straight wins, but Pettis expects this match to give him a chance to shine.

He has been working tirelessly on his boxing skills over the past few years, now that his MMA career has slowed down a bit, and he can’t wait to show off how much his hands have improved when he eventually returns to the PFL for that match against Doumbe.

“I’ve always had a love for boxing, but I could never just focus on my hands because of MMA,” Pettis explained. “My kicks were always my strength. I think when I come back to MMA, I’m going to surprise everyone with how good my hands have become, my inside game and just the shit I’ve picked up over the last two years just using my hands.”

Boxing may be his priority now, but Pettis expects he will still be considered for MMA offers, just as he was when the PFL gave him the chance to face Doumbe later this year.

If all goes well on Saturday, Pettis plans to fight Doumbe in September and then hopefully announce which household name he’ll be boxing before the end of 2024.

“I’m not done with MMA,” Pettis said. “I’ll probably do a few more fights, a few more years of MMA fighting. I don’t think I’ll go after a title, but the right fights, the right people, the right opponent, yeah, I’m definitely still in shape.”