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Anyone else read this ? An intresting article.
Roy Jones Jr. should hang 'em up while he's still standing
By Reginald T Dogan, PensacolaNewsJournal.com
Last week he said some things that were downright hilarious.
In one report, he promised the "old Roy" will show up for his July 29 fight against NABO light heavyweight champ Prince Badi Ajamu in Boise, Idaho.
"I'm still the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, when I'm motivated, (my italics, not his) and I'm motivated now because a lot of people don't think that I am the best," Jones said.
Jones then said he'll quit boxing if he loses his next fight.
Maybe he wants to be a stand-up comedian. He's one funny dude.
After back-to-back-to-back defeats to Antonio Tarver and Glencoffe Johnson, Jones has relinquished his claim to being the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
And real fight fans know it.
After years of ducking and dodging the best fighters available, Jones lost four -- that's right, four -- fights in a row.
Officially, he lost twice to Tarver and once to Johnson. But boxing aficionados know that Tarver whipped Jones in the first fight even though the judges awarded it to Jones.
To make matters worse, in two of the three official losses, Jones got knocked out -- hard and cold. Against Johnson, it took him nearly five minutes to get off the canvas and almost an hour to leave the ring.
Now, to address Jones' comment about retiring: Jones lost the heart to fight a long time ago.
In his third fight against Tarver, Jones backpedaled almost as fast as world-class sprinter Justin Gatlin runs forward. For Jones, it was a moral victory to survive 12 rounds and leave the ring standing.
His promise to retire if he loses his next fight is idle chatter.
The musician Prince has a better chance of beating Jones than Prince Ajamu.
Jones' upcoming match is another example of avoiding the best to fight someone he knows he can beat.
Before Tarver and Johnson tattooed Jones' head, deflated his ego and tarnished his legacy, top challengers Bernard Hopkins and Dariusz "Tiger" Michalczewski eagerly wanted to fight Jones.
Instead, he beat up the mailman (Tony Thornton), the policeman (Rick Frazier, no relation or comparison to great heavyweight champ Joe Frazier), the schoolteacher (Otis Grant) and two former doormen (Lou Del Valle and Derrick Harmon).
If Jones had retired after he became heavyweight champ by out-holding has-been John Ruiz, he may have gone down in history as the greatest fighter of all time.
But like most boxers who don't know when to quit, Jones allowed his enormous ego to edge him back in the ring.
A colossal mistake.
Based on his stellar record, Jones still ranks among the best.
He won titles at middleweight and super middleweight as well as light heavyweight and heavyweight. In 53 fights, he has lost only four -- one a disqualification. He has 38 knockouts.
But like I said after he lost to Johnson, "Hang 'em up, Roy."
Make another hip-hop CD, play minor-league hoops, raise your chickens or watch your kids grow up.
You were once the best. But if you keep climbing in the ring, you'll end up like the rest.
And that would be the darnedest -- and saddest -- legacy of a great boxer.
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Roy Jones Jr. should hang 'em up while he's still standing
By Reginald T Dogan, PensacolaNewsJournal.com
Last week he said some things that were downright hilarious.
In one report, he promised the "old Roy" will show up for his July 29 fight against NABO light heavyweight champ Prince Badi Ajamu in Boise, Idaho.
"I'm still the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, when I'm motivated, (my italics, not his) and I'm motivated now because a lot of people don't think that I am the best," Jones said.
Jones then said he'll quit boxing if he loses his next fight.
Maybe he wants to be a stand-up comedian. He's one funny dude.
After back-to-back-to-back defeats to Antonio Tarver and Glencoffe Johnson, Jones has relinquished his claim to being the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
And real fight fans know it.
After years of ducking and dodging the best fighters available, Jones lost four -- that's right, four -- fights in a row.
Officially, he lost twice to Tarver and once to Johnson. But boxing aficionados know that Tarver whipped Jones in the first fight even though the judges awarded it to Jones.
To make matters worse, in two of the three official losses, Jones got knocked out -- hard and cold. Against Johnson, it took him nearly five minutes to get off the canvas and almost an hour to leave the ring.
Now, to address Jones' comment about retiring: Jones lost the heart to fight a long time ago.
In his third fight against Tarver, Jones backpedaled almost as fast as world-class sprinter Justin Gatlin runs forward. For Jones, it was a moral victory to survive 12 rounds and leave the ring standing.
His promise to retire if he loses his next fight is idle chatter.
The musician Prince has a better chance of beating Jones than Prince Ajamu.
Jones' upcoming match is another example of avoiding the best to fight someone he knows he can beat.
Before Tarver and Johnson tattooed Jones' head, deflated his ego and tarnished his legacy, top challengers Bernard Hopkins and Dariusz "Tiger" Michalczewski eagerly wanted to fight Jones.
Instead, he beat up the mailman (Tony Thornton), the policeman (Rick Frazier, no relation or comparison to great heavyweight champ Joe Frazier), the schoolteacher (Otis Grant) and two former doormen (Lou Del Valle and Derrick Harmon).
If Jones had retired after he became heavyweight champ by out-holding has-been John Ruiz, he may have gone down in history as the greatest fighter of all time.
But like most boxers who don't know when to quit, Jones allowed his enormous ego to edge him back in the ring.
A colossal mistake.
Based on his stellar record, Jones still ranks among the best.
He won titles at middleweight and super middleweight as well as light heavyweight and heavyweight. In 53 fights, he has lost only four -- one a disqualification. He has 38 knockouts.
But like I said after he lost to Johnson, "Hang 'em up, Roy."
Make another hip-hop CD, play minor-league hoops, raise your chickens or watch your kids grow up.
You were once the best. But if you keep climbing in the ring, you'll end up like the rest.
And that would be the darnedest -- and saddest -- legacy of a great boxer.
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+
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