Last night in his home town of Pensacola, living legend Roy Jones Junior won a ten-round shutout over fellow veteran, “Rockin'” Rodney Moore. The 47-year old won every round on all cards, emerging with a 100-90 tally on the judges’ sheets. Now 64-9, Jones may have won via a clean mile but he is nothing like the sublime talent he once was.
Jones looks soft physically these days, if not fat; certainly nothing like the chisseled athlete he was in his prime. Finding opponents Jones Jr can beat is no easy task – Moore fit the bill though, having last picked up a win in 2002! If Jones steps up even a little, he runs the risk of losing via nasty KO (see his recent hammering by Enzo Maccarineli).
But Jones, a definite future Hall of Famer, will likely box on. He said prior to last night’s win that if he felt good he would probably fight again. Jones won, every round, and he doubtless felt good. Jones can still find fans willing to pay to see him try and recapture his youth, so the charade looks set to continue.
Until Jones steps up the quality of his opposition once again – if he does so.
Jones, his real fans know fully well, last gave us a glimpse of his real self in the mid-2000s. If Jones insists on carrying on, maybe he should face the likes of James Toney or Antonio Tarver in rematches. These two ageing warriors are as stubborn as Jones is. Or maybe we should not give RJ any bad ideas.
