Milwaukee MMA star Anthony Pettis entertains his fans and beats a legend as boxing comes to Fiserv Forum

Anthony Pettis talked throughout his preparation about the work he’d put in and the world-class fighters with whom he had sparred.

One hundred fifty one rounds, Pettis said, against champions such as Caleb Plant and Luis “Cuba” Arias, to prepare to enter the ring – not the octagon, where he made his name in mixed martial arts – for his professional boxing debut in his hometown.

But now this was real. Fiserv Forum. Main event. In front of family and friends. With seven-time world champion Roy Jones Jr. in the opposite corner.

To borrow Pettis’ nickname, this was Showtime.

“Most definitely happy with the performance,” Pettis said after beating Jones by unanimous decision in an eight-round heavyweight bout Saturday night.

“Roy’s a legend. He has a lot of experience. Even his coaches, he has so much experience out there. And he has a big size advantage. I think I fought a great fight, my coaches gave me a great game plan and I executed perfectly.”

This wasn’t the Jones who won titles in four weight classes from lightweight to heavyweight from 1993 to 2003. He’s 54, and early he seemed content to sit back and let Pettis throw punches.  Every once in a while, though, Jones’ quick hands offered a refresher course on the fighter he used to be, and as the fight wore on he became more willing to engage.

“He hit me with a couple of hooks where I was like, whoa, I gotta look out for that,” said Pettis, who fought most of his MMA career at 155 pounds but made his boxing debut at 200.

“I was being pretty defensive and I wanted to keep him going backwards, but he hit me with a couple of counter-shots and he felt like a heavyweight, you know. I could tell I was moving up two weight classes.”

Pettis, 36, went into the night certain he’d return to MMA action but unsure about his boxing future. By the end he was answering questions about who his next ring opponent might be.

“We’ll be strategic with the fights that I take,” Pettis said. “But I’m having fun with this. I’m having a good time, I’m getting better, I’m enjoying the process. I showed some good skills out there, I think. So I think I definitely have some more fun to have over here in boxing.”

Vitor Belfort tops Jacare Souza in battle of MMA veterans

The 13-fight night had a little of everything, from three local winners to an epic battle between two tireless female lightweights to an unceremonious fall for the largest man on the card and even a birthday.

Most of the fights involved athletes from other combat sports early into their transition into boxing.

In the final preliminary – a six-round fight billed as a co-main event – newly 46-year-old Vitor Belfort scored a unanimous decision against 43-year-old Jacare Souza in a battle of MMA veterans.

The heavyweights took turns sizing each other up, landing barrages and also leaning and wobbling over the course of six rounds. Afterward, Belfort said he had suffered a biceps tear in the third round that kept him from delivering a jab to set up a combination that would have finished off his opponent.

“I was supposed to fight Roy Jones Jr. in this main event,” Belfort said. “Not Pettis. It was supposed to be legendary guys. But they put Pettis. So I have an offer for Gamebred. … Pettis won, so let’s make this fight in Florida (in the next Gamebred event): me and Pettis.”

Other bouts feature a draw, an epic women's battle and another Milwaukee boxer

One of the most entertaining fights of the night ended in an unsatisfying majority draw. Former UFC rivals Jeremy Stephens and Jose Aldo pounded each other in the face for six rounds – smiling between every one, Stephens spraying blood from both nostrils – and afterward they shared a long embrace. One judge scored Aldo ahead, 58-56, and the other two showed it 57-57.

Dillon Cleckler knocked down Joshua Burns twice in a matter of seconds and won in his boxing debut by technical knockout at 1:20 of the first round of a match scheduled for six. At 248½ pounds, Cleckler came in 27 pounds lighter and intent on wearing down his longtime antagonist.

“We’ll work on patience next fight,” Cleckler said.

In the women’s main event —the fight of the night — Gina Mazany won a majority decision over Pearl Gonzalez in a six-round display of ruthlessness and stamina. One judge scored the fight a draw, one had it 58-56 and the third 59-55.

Gonzalez criticized the judges in a news conference that included her also taking swipes at Mazany, a newcomer from MMA. But Mazany wasn’t taking the bait.

“At the end of the day, win or lose, that was one of the funnest fights of my life and this has been one of the coolest experiences just fighting in a ring and us going toe to toe,” Mazany said. “And there was a point when we’re both bleeding, we both smile at each other and I felt like … I don’ have any genuine beef with you, but in that moment, I felt connected to you and felt like that … it’s a very rare experience.

“But we got to feel it tonight. We were both bleeding from our faces and we looked at each other and we smiled and we’re like, god, we’re crazy. Then we kept punching each other in the face. It was really cool.”

Young Milwaukee boxer Javier Zamarron fought newcomer Roberto Armas in one of the five fights held before the pay-per-view broadcast began, and the two energized the crowd exchanging punches almost from the bell. Armas goaded the partisans between rounds, and the local fans responded with the chants of “Ja-vi! Ja-vi!, Ja-vi!”

Zamarron’s polish showed in the third round, as did the toughness of Armas, a bare-knuckle veteran making his traditional boxing debut. Then as hard as they battled, as much as they danced and taunted, they showed the ultimate respect when a unanimous decision was announced in favor of Zamarron (4-0).

Luis Feliciano puts on show for hometown fans

The third Milwaukee boxer on the program fought in the only bout of the night that pitted two experienced traditional boxers.

Luis Feliciano was victorious in his eight-round bout against Clarence Booth via a unanimous decision to remain undefeated. As Zamarron had hours earlier, Feliciano had the backing of the Fiserv Forum crowd, chants of “Luis” and “Feliciano” were heard throughout the arena over the course of the competitive fight. Booth (21-9) and Feliciano (17-0) exchanged blows throughout and landed several punches.

A Marquette graduate, Feliciano wore the Puerto Rican flag on his trunks, with “Salmos 144:1-2” affixed to the back of his trunks — a bible passage on going to battle fittingly. Feliciano entered the night saying he wanted to make a statement and while he didn’t secure the knockout he earned the respect of his fanbase in an entertaining fight.

Afterward the 29-year-old summed up the night for himself and also for the Milwaukee boxing community, which hasn’t had a big fight night in years.

Attendance was not announced. The upper level of the 18,000-seat arena was curtained off; fans filled about half of the lower bowl and suites and a significant percentage of the high-dollar floor seats.

“You definitely hear it,” Feliciano said of the crowd he described as “electric.” “And it’s even better when you know it’s your people.

“I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. I was a little nervous coming out, wondering, wow, I wonder what the reaction is going to be. And then when I seen it, it was amazing. It definitely made me a little more excited to put on a good show, and I think that’s what we did tonight.”

Drake Bentley of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Anthony Pettis beats Roy Jones Jr. in Fiserv Forum boxing