03.08.05 – By Geoffrey Ciani On October 1, Roy Jones Jr will attempt an ill-advised comeback into the world of boxing. This is a foolish decision on Roy’s part for a multitude of reasons. The main one being he cannot beat Antonio Tarver in their rubber match.
It wasn’t that long ago when Jones was on top of the boxing world. After having defeated WBA heavyweight champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz back in March 2003, Jones had accomplished a feat which had only been accomplished once before in boxing history – and that was back in 1897, when Bob Fitzsimmons became the first former middleweight champion to capture the heavyweight throne. On the surface, Jones appeared to have one of the most accomplished resumes in the history of the sport. He held major championships at middleweight, super-middle, light heavyweight, and even as a heavyweight.
Aside from a disqualification loss to Montell Griffin back in 1997, Jones had a flawless record, but even more impressively, Jones usually dominated his competition with ease.
At least up until his first fight after becoming heavyweight champion. Jones decided to move back to light heavyweight to fight Antonio Tarver and attempt to regain two of the three major titles he vacated to fight Ruiz.
While it wasn’t an easy fight for Jones, it may very well have been the most impressive victory in his career. It’s not often that Jones has had to overcome adversity by outhustling his opponent in the championship rounds.
Unfortunately for Jones, that was then and this is now. Since the hard fought win against Tarver, he’s been brutally KO’d twice. Once against Tarver in their immediate rematch—Jones was clobbered by a perfect counter left hook in the second round—and subsequently at the hands of then IBF champion Glen Johnson.
Jones stands no chance to win this fight! He is making a huge mistake.
Roy Jones Jr was a fighter who relied on speed and reflexes combined with an awe-inspiring arsenal of athleticism and agility. Sadly, one of the first things to go in a fighter is his reflexes and Jones’s are clearly shot, making him extremely vulnerable to assault in the ring.
He proved this in his “fight” against Johnson in which he didn’t really put up much of a fight. Johnson exposed that Jones now has an even bigger problem – lack of confidence. After being hammered by Tarver, Jones looked even sadder in his fight with Glen Johnson. He looked like a man who wanted no part of the fight. He was timid, reluctant, and clearly lacked confidence in his ability to take a punch – and for good reason. Jones has no chin, and both Johnson and Tarver exploited this glaring weakness mercilessly.
Jones was able to prevent this weakness from being exploited earlier in his career because of his sensational speed and reflexes, assets that have abandoned him with age. Furthermore, the entire career of Jones really needs to be re-evaluated. Is it a coincidence that Jones never fought the strongest punchers in each division?
I think not. This fact is conveniently overlooked by many of today’s boxing ‘experts’. There’s a reason Roy Jones always chose the path of least resistance. There’s a reason he never faced big punchers such as Julian Jackson, Gerald McClellan, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, and, of course, Dariusz Michalczewski (who was the true linear champion at 175 during Jones’s time in that division).
There’s a reason Jones backed out of his proposed fight with Vassiliy Jirov after Jirov had conceded to all of Jones’s utterly ridiculous demands. Jones knew something many of us were never aware of and something some of us only suspected: he didn’t have a very good chin.
Jones is making a huge mistake by taking this rubber match with Antonio Tarver. He stands absolutely no chance of winning. He is a fighter who lacks the skills which once gave the illusion that he was a truly great fighter, and worse yet, he lacks confidence. Combine this with the exposure of his glass jaw and Tarver’s undoubtedly high confidence, having already leveled Roy in their previous encounter, and this spells “D-O-O-M!” for Jones.
Jones was never as great as he was perceived as being and he is making a huge mistake by taking this fight. If he is smart, he will reconsider this decision and stick to commentating. That is, of course, unless HBO wises up and brings “Big” George back into the booth, as they very well should.
To contact the author of this article, e-mail: geoff@eatthemushroom.com – www.eatthemushroom.com