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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Roy Jones Jr. is fighting this weekend in Biloxi.
And assuming all goes as planned logistically, I'll be ringside to see it.
What I can't seem to decide is how I feel about it.
Travel-wise, it's a pleasant enough ride from my home base in lovely Marion County.
Straight up I-75, a quick left onto I-10 and a tranquil trip across the Gulf Coast that ends with snippets of Alabama and Mississippi.
Not exactly the French Riviera. But it beats Niagara Falls in mid-winter.
Work-wise, Roy's always been easy to deal with since I’ve been on his trail – whether two years ago in Biloxi, during two fight trips to New York in 2008 or for Lacy scouting last spring in Tampa.
He’s legitimately among my favorite fighters.
He’s certainly among my favorite interviews.
But as I'm making the ride to Mississippi, I'll wonder exactly what I'm going there to see – other than an inane “Hook City” promotion that had Jones donning pirate garb at a kick-off press conference.
Let’s just say I've been fooled by this Jones character before.
A few years back, while working for another media outlet, I told anyone who'd listen that he would wake up the echoes and pummel pretender Antonio Tarver in their third fight in October 2005.
Forget the second-round KO from their second go-round, I said.
Not only were Tarver's eyes closed when he threw the history-changing left hand, but Jones was using the surprising loss to fuel a white-hot "kill or die" fire heading into the final act of their trilogy. [details]
And assuming all goes as planned logistically, I'll be ringside to see it.
What I can't seem to decide is how I feel about it.
Travel-wise, it's a pleasant enough ride from my home base in lovely Marion County.
Straight up I-75, a quick left onto I-10 and a tranquil trip across the Gulf Coast that ends with snippets of Alabama and Mississippi.
Not exactly the French Riviera. But it beats Niagara Falls in mid-winter.
Work-wise, Roy's always been easy to deal with since I’ve been on his trail – whether two years ago in Biloxi, during two fight trips to New York in 2008 or for Lacy scouting last spring in Tampa.
He’s legitimately among my favorite fighters.
He’s certainly among my favorite interviews.
But as I'm making the ride to Mississippi, I'll wonder exactly what I'm going there to see – other than an inane “Hook City” promotion that had Jones donning pirate garb at a kick-off press conference.
Let’s just say I've been fooled by this Jones character before.
A few years back, while working for another media outlet, I told anyone who'd listen that he would wake up the echoes and pummel pretender Antonio Tarver in their third fight in October 2005.
Forget the second-round KO from their second go-round, I said.
Not only were Tarver's eyes closed when he threw the history-changing left hand, but Jones was using the surprising loss to fuel a white-hot "kill or die" fire heading into the final act of their trilogy. [details]
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