By Johnny Ortiz
Saturday’s fight between Roy Jones and Antonio Tarver will answer a few questions. Can Roy’s chin hold up over twelve rounds, will Antonio get careless in trying to repeat his knockout over Jones? Will Roy go after Antonio the way he went after Montell Griffin in their rematch? A lot of people have speculated on the outcome of this third fight, many think Roy will get knocked out again; I am of an entirely different opinion. I think it is a winnable fight for Roy; I have to go back to the beginning when I first became aware of Roy Jones Jr.
To this day, I still believe that he is the greatest fighter pound for pound since the incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson. Besides having watched most of Sugar Ray’s fights on film, I saw Sugar Ray fight in person at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles on July 9, 1962; he was long past his prime when Phil Moyer beat him on a split decision. I used to watch him still train at the Main St. Gym long after he retired. He used to hold his own with Indian Red Lopez for three rounds, that’s about all he could go by then. He was so unique; I saw the same early qualities in Roy Jones. Like Sugar Ray, I couldn’t believe the things Roy was able to do in the ring, the ability to avoid punches, how rapidly he could throw combination, the overall complete mastery he brought to boxing.
I will never forget the time when I was a young boy and Sugar Ray lectured a bunch of us kids who were boxing in a CYO program. The words that stood out and still do were the words, “you can be the best fighter in the world, but if you can’t think on your feet, you can be beat.” That’s what impressed me about Roy Jones; he was the most intelligent fighter since Sugar Ray and Willie Pep. I give Roy a good chance to beat Antonio Tarver if he uses the intelligence that took him so far. He knows going in that he may now have a suspect chin, knowing that, I look for him to avoid Antonio from getting a clean shot, I also look for him to perhaps go more on the offensive than before.
The fight that comes to mind when Roy Jones puts a plan into his head is the rematch with Montell Griffin. Having been outrageously disqualified in a fight he was well on his way to winning by a knockout, Roy suffered his first defeat as a pro. Not liking the bogus way he was beaten, Roy didn’t waste any time in the rematch, he damn near killed Montell, brutally stopping him in the first round. There is nothing saying that if Roy can get to Antonio first, he could win the fight in the same manner. I know Antonio will be the favorite, and well he should be, after all, Roy suffered back to back knockouts, I really do not think he took Glen Johnson very serious, hadn’t Julio Gonzalez, a fighter who Roy had beaten earlier, beaten Glen Johnson? The same Glen Johnson who had a draw and a win in two fights with the now current IBF light heavyweight champion Clinton Woods, a fighter Roy stopped in six rounds in one of his defenses. I wasn’t too happy that Roy took on Johnson, a rough customer, a little more than four months after he had been KO’d by Tarver, I would liked to have seen Roy take at least six or eight months off before engaging Johnson, a fighter who had vastly improved since becoming a champion.
Back to back KO’s can have a lasting effect on a fighter being able to take a good shot. When there is damage to the nerves in the chin and neck, most fighters develop what was once commonly known as a “glass jaw.” Some fighters win some and get KO’d in others. Pipino Cuevas is a prime example, he seemed invincible until he met up with Tommy Hearns, Pipino was stopped in two rounds, he was never the same.
Up until he met the “Hitman,” he had made 11 successful defenses of his WBA welterweight title, after Tommy, he had 16 fights winning 8 and losing 8, he was KO’d in four of these bouts. He hung them up after being KO’d in 2 rounds by Lupe Aquino. There have been many others that came out of fights with a fragile chin, Terry Norris, Tommy Morrison, Tommy Hearns, Alfonso Zamora and heavyweight Bob Satterfield. Bob was known as a huge puncher who would either knock you out or get knocked out. These are a just a few who come to mind. Zamora, after being KO’d by Carlos Zarate, had eight more fights before he retired, he won 4 and was KO’d in 4. This was the same Zamora that entered the Zarate fight as the WBA Bantamweight champion with a record of 29-0 w/ 29 KO’s. So you see, it’s hard not to get stopped if the jaw can no longer take a hard shot.
There it is, my opinion that Roy Jones can and will win the fight if he is able to put all of the pieces together and make them work. He can win a decision or stop Tarver if he can fight the perfect fight. If anyone can pull it off, it’s Roy Jones Jr.
I am not forgetting about Antonio Tarver, he has the momentum going in his favor; didn’t he knock out the great Roy Jones? Make no mistake about it, Tarver is at the top of his game and is a terrific fighter.
When I said that Roy has to fight the perfect fight, I meant the perfect fight. Antonio has gone thirteen and a half rounds with Roy; he feels he knows him and what it will take to beat him. He could very well succeed if he doesn’t get overly anxious. Thinking he might have his number and coming into the ring overconfident would be playing right into Mr. Jones’ hands. I truly think that Antonio, even with the KO win, will be looking for the best Roy Jones possible. If, and that is a big word, Roy can steer clear of Antonio’s power and vise-versa, we will have a classic fight on our hands. Antonio may be right about Roy coming into the fight in the best shape possible, but he will be doing likewise. One thing is for sure, Antonio had better be in better shape than he was in his last fight with Johnson, he ran out of gas in the last two rounds. He took a beating in the 11th. I gave the first Jones-Tarver fight to Roy simply because he swept the two remaining rounds. If Roy is still around going into the championship rounds, Antonio had better not tire.
Watching the HBO special on Jones-Tarver following the Klitschko-Peter fight, I liked the assessment Roy made between the fighting gamecocks he has raised for many, many years. He likes to think he is of the same mentality as his little, feathery friends. He points out that they are proud, little warriors that are willing to die for what they believe, that they will give their life before they let the other guy win. He believes to be great you have to have a gamecock’s mentality. This isn’t something he just came up with, I saw and heard him talk about the same thing in an interview many years ago. He likes to emulate their moves in the ring, making him hard to hit. To beat Tarver, he will have to put it all on the line. I would really like Roy’s chances a lot better if he hadn’t lost two in a row in such a short time, but nevertheless, I’m going with Roy Jones even if it is on the strength of what a magnificent fighter he once was. I truly feel he has that one big fight left in him, that and the fact that boxing history will remember Roy Jones Jr. as the greater fighter. I may be thinking with my heart, but it’s hard to remember all of the times my heart had nothing to do with it whenever Roy fought…it was always a ‘given.’
Something I feel a need to address is that during the Jones-Tarver preview following the Klitscho-Peter fight, a fellow who I believe must be a boxing writer alluded to what meaning the fight will have on the legacy of Roy Jones Jr. He had this to say: “If Roy Jones gets knocked out by Antonio Tarver on Oct. 1st, he will no longer be considered among the greats of boxing, but if he KO’s Antonio Tarver, there are no more questions.” What kind of crap is that? Roy suddenly has to prove to this guy and others like him that he is fighting for his legacy? All the great things he accomplished in boxing are forgotten? Why is it then that Jack Dempsey, who was knocked out in the first ten seconds of his fight with “Fireman” Jim Flynn in his 35th pro fight, and having lost his title and then losing the rematch to Gene Tunney, is still considered today to be one of the ten greatest heavyweights of all time?
“The Greatest” himself, Muhammad Ali lost 3 of his last 4 fights. “The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis, knocked out in the 13th round by Max Schmeling early in his career and then many years later after making a comeback, he lost to Ezzard Charles in a 15 round title fight. Joe went on to win eight straight after the loss to Charles before getting KO’d by a young Rocky Marciano. Sugar Ray Leonard after receiving a ‘gift’ draw in his rematch with Tommy Hearns, went on to get deceivably beaten by Terry Norris, and in his 40th and final fight, he was ‘mugged’ by Hector Camacho who mercifully stopped him in the fifth round. Even the best fighter ever, Sugar Ray Robinson lost five fights in the last year of his long career. What I want to know is why the cry “not one of the greatest ever” never went up with these hall of famers? Roy Jones belongs with each and every one of the great fighters mentioned.
So this writer, because Roy Jones lost his last two fights by knockout should not be considered one of the greats if he loses to Tarver by knockout? I would like to point out that Roy’s losses came near the end of an illustrious career that saw Roy Jones win four world championships in four different weight classes. 1) Middleweight 2) Super Middleweight 3) Light Heavyweight 4) Heavyweight. If you smirk about being the first middleweight champion to win the heavyweight championship in the past hundred years, let’s not forget, whether you like John Ruiz or not, he has a loss, a draw and a win against Evander Holyfield, the only four-time heavyweight champion who could still fight at the time, Johnny Ruiz has also beat former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, who in November will challenge Vitali Klischko for the heavyweight title. He also stopped then top ranked challenger Fres Oquendo, then went on to beat Andrew Golota. Roy Jones winning the WBA heavyweight crown is an unbelievable accomplishment any way you care to look at it, regardless who held the title at the time. A legitimate heavyweight champion is a legitimate heavyweight champion like him or not.
All fighters eventually come to an end, but before we bring down the curtain on Roy Jones Jr., let us scan his resume. Besides beating John Ruiz, Roy won a unanimous decision over Bernard Hopkins, the same Bernard Hopkins who today is finally regarded as one of the best middleweights of all time. He won a unanimous decision over James “Lights Out” Toney when at the time; James was looked upon as the best pound for pound fighter in boxing. He holds wins over the great former champion, Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum, a fourth round stoppage over perennial champion Virgil Hill, a six round KO over Clinton Woods who is today the current IBF light heavyweight champion. Also on his ledger, Thomas Tate and Merqui Sosa who lost a unanimous decision to Glen Johnson, and lost a split decision to James Toney. Roy can also lay claim to a unanimous verdict over former WBA middleweight champion/IBF light heavyweight champion Reggie Johnson and of course lest we forget, former WBC light heavyweight champion Montell Griffin who Roy graciously lent the title for five months. He beat Julio Gonzalez at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, what makes this win unique is that later on, all of the Roy Jones non-believers were berating Roy for not fighting undefeated WBO light heavyweight champion Darius Michalczewski. Not a peep was heard from these skeptics when Julio beat the great Michalczewski (48-0) to win his WBO title. I used to get tired of hearing guys who thought they knew boxing, complaining that Roy never fought anyone, this about a guy who fought and won the greatest prize in boxing…the heavyweight championship. Something a lot of people might not be aware of is the fact that Roy came very close to signing to fight Mike (A Beautiful Mind) Tyson, the proposed fight fell through. Roy was very eager to fight Iron Mike. Does this sound like a guy who ducked anyone, if Roy had no fear of Mike Tyson, who’s left…Frankenstein?
I find it odd that with the exception of James Toney, none of the aforementioned ever thought of challenging for the heavyweight crown.
Throw out the Griffin travesty and Roy Jones would have been undefeated going into the two fights with Tarver and Johnson…how is it possible that this record not walk hand in hand with greatness regardless of the outcome Saturday night.
When Muhammad Ali made pompous remarks, he was loved because he backed up his talk, when Roy Jones Jr. spoke the truth of his remarkable ability; he was looked on as a braggart. Win, lose or draw, Roy Jones can hold his head up high, he did things no one will ever duplicate in boxing…He did it his way.
I have had the honor of having Roy on my radio show and being in his company ‘one on one’ on several other occasions, I found Roy to be a personable young man, extremely likeable and never revealed any signs of an ego. To give you a perfect example of the fairness of this exceptional prizefighter, he was quoted as saying…”the one who walks away the winne…is the better man!
THE FIGHT CARD CAN BE SEEN ON HBO PPV SATURDAY, OCT. 1ST.
JAMES “LIGHTS OUT” TONEY VS. DOMINICK “THE SOUTHERN DISASTER” GUINN
This is James’ fight to win or lose. He knows that he must win to be in line for the heavyweight title in his next fight. I must say that knowing James as well as I do, I believe he is taking this fight a little more serious than one might expect. In his last fight against WBA Champion Johnny Ruiz, and forget the steroid controversy, James didn’t show much respect for the champion when he came in at a high weight of 233 pounds. It is the highest he has ever weighed for a fight. There is no question that he won the fight, steroids or no steroids, James would beat Johnny anytime they fought. He knows and I know that he cannot even think of coming in at the same weight he fought Ruiz. When he fought and stopped Evander Holyfield, James came in at a ready and suave weight of 217, he was sharp and moved well, he respected Evander, he has to be in that kind of shape to beat Guinn. Besides spotting Dominick seven years, James has to be alert and ready for what the young man brings to the table. In three of his last four fights, Guinn fought at high weights of 227, 224, 221. In his very last fight on April 22, 2005, against a once top prospect, Friday Ahunanya, Dominick weighed in at a trim 218. He has said in recent press conferences that he is back to being the same fighter that everyone once raved about when he dismantled once upon a time top contender Michael Grant, stopping him in the 7th round of a scheduled 10 round fight. I even got caught up in him two and a half years ago when he put an exclamation point to Grant’s career, he had the stature of a heavyweight, he was 6’3, weighed 218 with a reach of 78’. He had the makings of a young Ali. Then something happened, after winning his next two fights by unanimous decisions, he lost a split decision to Monte Barrett, a very good fighter, Quinn just didn’t seem like the same fluid fighter. He won his next fight by stopping hard-punching Phil Jackson (No, not Dr. Phil) in one. He would put on nine more pounds when he faced Belarussian Serguei Lyakhovich in his second to last fight. Guinn dropped a unanimous decision to Serguei in a ten round fight. Again he lost to another good fighter, Lyakhovich has a record of 22 W, L-1 w/14 KO’s, his only loss came at the hands of Maurice Harris. (What ever happened to Maurice?) Now facing the biggest test of his young career, Dominick will find out Saturday night just where he belongs in the heavyweight picture, if he can fight the fight of his life by beating James, he will make himself a front runner in the heavyweight sweepstakes. If, again being a big word, James Toney, a fighter’s fighter, a strong guy who could have fought and been successful in any era is a definite throwback to the great fighters of yesteryear.
When James is right, it will take a Herculean task to beat him, on the other hand, if he doesn’t come in at a lower weight than his last fight, he could find himself chasing an elusive target. Dominick cannot stand and fight with James; he has to constantly stick and move, staying out of James’ thunderous blows. James is a close friend of mine; I am with him all the way. At 37, he finds himself out of the loop; there are not too many high-ranked heavyweights that are willing to face him. James has praised Guinn for being man enough to step up to the plate to fight him. He must beat the young heavyweight and then go on to challenge Vitali Klitschko for the big one. As I once wrote, James Toney is not the bad, mean guy some people think he is, it’s an act, if he likes you, you will never have a better friend. The guy who scares heavyweights, is a pussycat outside the ring. He is kind, generous, and will treat you the way he likes being treated, just don’t get on the wrong side of him. He’s my pal and I will be rooting like hell for him come Saturday night. I want to see him fight for the big one before his day is done, with any luck, Saturday will be the springboard he has long searched for.
James Toney deserves to be heavyweight champion…he’s a champion in so many other ways!
Also on the card: IBF Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd vs. DaVarryl Williamson. It’s hard to pick against Byrd, he wins when he loses.
IBF Bantamweight Champion Rafael Marquez vs. Silence Mabuza
I like IBF Bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez to silence Silence Mabuza. THE FIGHT CARD CAN BE SEEN ON SHOWTIME OCT. 1ST.
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO- SAMUEL PETER RECAP
Like I wrote last week, I truly believed Wladimir Klitschko would beat Samuel Peter for all the reasons I gave. Wlad was a former heavyweight champion and had been in with far superior horses than had Peter. Samuel’s record did not have any names that jumped out at you, he was used to having his way with the guys he fought, they let him push them around until he cornered them and took them out. I knew that Wladimir would have none of that, like his older brother Vitali, he would probe with his powerful left jab, setting up his big right hand and occasionally, the left hook. European fighters are old school, they know everything comes off the jab, think back when you watched Kostya Tzsyu destroy his foes, he was notorious for probing with the left until he was able to launch his rocket like right hand. The Klitschko brothers do it extremely well. I will say it right now; Vitali will knock out Hasim Rahman when they fight on Saturday, November 12, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
I was never that impressed with Peter, now don’t get me wrong, he is definitely a strong force to reckon with, it’s just that he is made to order for a boxer-puncher. A good heavyweight merely has to stay out of his firing range and that is done by not allowing him to fight in close. Since the fight, I have read quite a few boxing writers who believe that Wladimir held too much. If anyone has ever trained a fighter or been in the ring, they would know that Wladimir fought a perfect fight, he fought at long range, peppering Peter with a long jab followed by a right hand or left hook. Whenever he shot his weapons, he did what you are taught in the gym whenever you fight someone who can only fight inside, after you throw a few punches you tie him up, thus you nullify his only weapons and that is to land in close quarters. Did anyone ever criticize Muhammad Ali when he constantly tied up Joe Frazier when he tried to get in close?
Ali was a very smart fighter, he knew how to nullify the other guy best weapon, even Big George Foreman alluded to Ali’s doing the same thing Wladimir was putting on Samuel. “He’s holding like Ali used to do”, said George.
Even when Klitschko momentarily made Peter do his rendition of the Funky Peter when he staggered Samuel big-time with a huge left hook, he threw a few bombs, but realizing he had the fight won big and it was the last round, he knew that by going after Samuel would be equivalent of going after a wounded animal, its then they become dangerous, perhaps landing a big, lucky shot when the hunter gets to close. I was impressed with Wladimir, he used his head, he was taking no chances knowing the fight was in the bag. He had hurt Peter worse than Peter had hurt him. In fact, watching the fight again, Samuel Peter took a bad beating. I have to hand it to Peter, he fought a brave fight, at the end, blood was dripping from his nose and both eyes were starting to swell shut. Emmanuel Steward gave Wladimir all the right advice, stay outside and pick him off.
Peter was exposed as a one dimension fighter who has to be able to overwhelm you to win, it was hard for me to believe that his trainers haven’t taught him what to do when your fighting someone who fights at long range. He should have been better prepared to make the proper adjustments. A guy like Calvin Brock would beat him hands down if Samuel does not add more strategy to his arsenal, I watched the fight a few times, the knockdowns in slow mo, in the fifth round, Wladimir was knocked down the first time when Samuel landed a looping left hook followed by a right hand to the back of the head. The second knockdown was the result of a push and a soft right hand again to the back of the head; it came at the end of the round with 50 seconds remaining.
With 18 seconds left in the 10th round, Samuel landed his best punch of the fight, Wladimir backing up from the punch seemed to lose his balance and stumbled into the ropes and went down. He wasn’t hurt and made it out of the round with no trouble. Big George was again disturbed with the referee, not only did he make reference to the fact that the ref had allowed Peter to continue to hit Klitscko behind the head, George now said that the referee should have made Peter go to a neutral corner after his 10th round knockdown of Klitscko.
Its all water under the bridge now, Wladimir Klitscko is in line to fight either Chris Byrd or Lamon Brewster. IBF Heavyweight champion Chris Byrd has to beat DaVarryl Williamson on the Toney card, Lamon Brewster did his part by stopping Luan Krasnig via a TKO in the 9th round in Germany.
UNTIL THE NEXT ROUND…PEACE AND GOD BLESS!
JOHNNY ORTIZ IS A MEMBER OF THE WORLD BOXING HALL OF FAME BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JOHNNY ORTIZ IS A FORMER CO-OWNER OF THE LEGENDARY WORLD FAMOUS MAIN ST. GYM