By Jake Donovan


The cruiserweight clash between former four-division champion Roy Jones and Max Alexander officially has a home. Their 10-round battle will headline a December 10 card at the newly renovated AmericasMart in Downtown Atlanta.


Jones (54-8, 40KO) attempts to end a three-fight skid as he performs in Atlanta for the first time in his legendary career. The Pensacola (FL) native has fought throughout the Southeast, but never in the Peachtree State.


His last ring appearance ended in disaster, landing on the wrong end of a highlight reel 10th round knockout at the hands of top cruiserweight contender Denis Lebedev this past May in Moscow. The surprisingly competitive bout took a terrible turn for the worst when Jones was nailed with an overhand right that left him frozen. Lebedev paused and turned towards referee Steve Smoger in hopes of stopping the fight, before landing one more right hand that put Jones down face first.


The loss was Jones’ third straight, having also dropped a landslide decision to Bernard Hopkins in April ’10 and a humbling first round knockout against Danny Green four months prior in Australia.


Jones had won five of his last six prior to his current losing streak, including dominant wins over fellow faded former champions Felix Trinidad and Jeff Lacy. The future Hall-of-Famer has won titles in four weight classes, including becoming the first former middleweight champion in more than a century to capture a portion of the heavyweight crown when he outpointed John Ruiz in March 2003.


The win over Ruiz was a one-and-done affair at heavyweight, having dropped back down to light heavyweight after failed attempts to secure bouts with Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and then-lineal champion Lennox Lewis.


His showdown with Alexander will mark his second straight bout at cruiserweight, having fought at a career heavy 198 ¼ for his aforementioned loss to Lebedev.


Based out of Camden, New Jersey, Alexander (14-5-1, 2KO) has fought in four separate countries in his past four bouts. The clash with Jones serves as the opportunity of a lifetime for the former reality show participant, who was undefeated heading into Season Three of “The Contender” in 2007, but has since gone winless in his last six contests.


Also appearing on the card will be unbeaten Chris Howard, who faces Frankie Archuleta in a regional title fight in the evening’s co-feature.


Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.