You can add the name of Roy Jones Junior to the seemingly endlessly growing list of veteran fighters willing to get back in the ring in some capacity or another. Mike Tyson started it with that much-seen video of him looking in great shape. Shannon Briggs soon got in on the act, saying he’d fight Tyson in an exhibition. Then came Evander Holyfield, who wants to fight Riddick Bowe again but is also open to an exhibition with “Iron Mike.” The came James Toney, and now Jones.
Once the finest fighter pound-for-pound on the planet, Jones was super-special. Seemingly unbeatable in his prime, Jones looked set to go out on top, unbeaten, content. But Jones, 66-9(47), took an almighty fall from grace – being KO’d first by Antonio Tarver, then by Glen Johnson, Danny Green, Denis Lebedev, and then by Enzo Maccarinelli.
Having finally “retired” in February of 2018 after a decision win over Scott Sigmon, Jones has been training young fighters recently, including Chris Eubank Jr. But now, as per an Instagram talk with another of his fighters, Kevin Newman, the 51-year-old said he is open to “fighting somebody over 50.”
“Let me tell you something, just so you all know. I don’t really mess with people too much; I don’t like to bother nobody. I’m getting older; I love trying to pass what I know down to these guys so they can take what I did, what I knew, and try and build on it. Chris Eubank (Jnr), Shady (Gamhour), whole class of them, trying just to pass to them what I know and let them add what I know to what they do,” the fast-talking Jones said. “But if people bother me – and I’ve had a few people bothering me lately. I ain’t going to say a lot of names, but some pretty strong, big guys trying to bully me around.
“I don’t like being bullied. I will fight you. I know I’m 51, but I will fight somebody over 50. And I ain’t scared to fight nobody, nowhere, at no time. Headgear, no headgear, I don’t care. So just be aware, and be careful what you say.”
It’s unclear just who Jones is referring to when he says he has been “bullied,” but the over-50 guys who are currently looking at fighting again (in some capacity or another) are Tyson, Holyfield, Briggs, and Toney. The thought of a 51-year-old Jones going in against either of these fellow faded greats is enough to make a fight fan shudder.
Let’s hope it’s talk and nothing more from Jones. This really is getting out of hand.
