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Jones Jr. wants to prove he's still 'the man'
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By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- Roy Jones Jr. finally broke his silence Friday, albeit briefly.
On Thursday, the former four-division champ and one-time pound-for-pound king had arrived at his news conference, strode defiantly to the podium and barked out a 17-second statement: "I ain't got much to say. My hand is fine. I ain't got no excuses. I got no reason for being here but one -- that's to kick ass. That's what I came for. That's all I got to [expletive] say."
Jones hopes to let his power do the talking Saturday night.
With that, the heavily bearded Jones exited the St. Pete Times Forum, got into a Rolls Royce and was whisked away.
Jones (49-3, 38 KOs) has been anything but talkative during the buildup to his third showdown with rival and light heavyweight king Antonio Tarver (23-3, 18 KOs), with whom he has split two fights, including a crushing second-round knockout loss in May 2004.
However, after registering 173 pounds at Friday's weigh-in at the city aquarium (Tarver was 175 pounds), Jones allowed ESPN's Brian Kenny to interview him for about two minutes.
Jones was animated about his return to the ring after consecutive knockout losses to Tarver and Glen Johnson and a year off.
"[God] brought me back to perform for my people," said Jones, a Pensacola resident who faces Tampa-resident Tarver on Saturday night (HBO PPV, 9 ET).
Jones said that the return of his father, Roy Jones Sr., to his corner after more than a decade in exile has not changed much about his training regimen. Jones Sr. is sharing training duties with Alton Merkerson, who has been Jones' trainer for 11 years.
"Not much effect at all," Jones said about his father's return. "My daddy has been very helpful. He asked to come aboard. I'm not the kind of guy to deny my own blood. That's my father. He brought me in the game. If he wants to be there, fine. He made [training camp] more exciting for me."
Jones Jr. fired his father as trainer in 1992 and they have been largely estranged since.
Jones also said that he always knew he and Tarver would meet for a third time, even after Johnson shockingly knocked Jones out last September.
"History shows that the guy that wins the second fight often wins the third fight, too, but I don't see Tarver winning too many of the 14 rounds we fought, so I'm cool," Jones said. "I feel like I'm the man."
Jones added that the fight is "very important. I got Michael Jordan coming to the fight. I can't let Mike down."
Jones, who said he would shave the heavy beard before the fight, did not address comments he made several weeks ago about a hand injury he said he suffered early in training camp.
Earlier, Merkerson addressed the hand issue.
"His hand is fine and there is no problem at all and he will be ready," Merkerson said. "He'll be fine -- he's a big boy. Whichever hand it is, it doesn't really matter. He'll be OK for the fight. His dad trained him for 13 years and I have trained him for 11 and this is no different than the problems he's had before, so it won't be a factor in the fight.
"He's not setting up an excuse," Merkerson added. "... All I can say is if his hand is hurting him, it's not hindering what it's doing in training. I can say I've got a headache but I still train. It's not going to give anyone an edge in the fight and it's not going to be an excuse. Believe me, there have never been excuses and there's not going to be an excuse this time."
Tarver said he didn't care about Jones' hand and that he was preparing to fight a fit-and-ready Jones.
"I suffer several injuries during camp," he said. "This is the hurt business. Anybody that goes through camp without a little pain ain't working hard. Every skin on my knuckles have come off. But that hasn't stopped me from hitting the bag. My feet are busted and blistered from the miles I am putting in every day. But it hasn't stopped me from running. The theme of this fight is 'No Excuses' so I don't care what happens to him. I'm hurting. I soak my feet in Epsom salts three times a week to stop the pain. But you never hear me speak about that -- it is irrelevant. So leave all those excuses in Pensacola because I don't want to hear it."
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
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