Roy Jones Jr. could be back might be back in the ring sometime soon 'cause the boxing legend tells TMZ Sports he's down to fight fellow great, rival Antonio Tarver for a FOURTH time ... if he keeps talkin' trash.
That's what the 55-year-old pugilist told us this week when we asked if we'd be seeing him back in the ring ... following his last exhibition with Mike Tyson in 2020.
"Why do you wanna see me in the ring so bad?" Jones Jr. said this week, "I'm old news!"
We all know that's not true ... and despite the pivot attempt, Jones Jr. did mention Tarver is a guy he'd like to see in the ring.
"Okay, listen," Jones Jr. said ... "A guy just sent me a video today of Antonio Tarver saying something about I would never fight him again."
"He probably needs some shine but you just can't say anything about Roy. I don't care how old I am."
Remember, Jones Jr. and Tarver have a history ... the two star boxers had an epic trilogy back in the 2000s -- with Roy winning just one fight.
Meanwhile, Tarver -- who last fought in 2015 -- has been eager to get in the ring for an exhibition match ... a fight Roy says he'd do this year.
"I heard he said that I won't fight," Jones Jr. said, "Ain't nobody in the world I won't fight!"
"If you wanna talk crazy -- stop! This what I do for a living!"
We also talked to Jones Jr. about some of the young stats in boxing. Roy told us he'd like to see Devin Haney finally fight Gervonta 'Tank' Davis -- who he believes will be his toughest opponent.
But first, he'd like to see Haney vs. Ryan Garcia.
"Let's see if he can beat Ryan as impressively as Tank did. If he does, then I wanna see him and Tank fight."