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At 37, Roy Jones Jr. is as close to the acceptance of his impending midlife crisis as he was in proximity to his home in Florida while performing in Idaho last weekend.
Maturity doesn’t have to equal boredom. Seventeen years into his professional career, Jones is still the semipro basketball playing, rap album making, ****fighting rooster training man that defined his character during his prime.
The prime that, by the way, is years past, left behind like the pound-for-pound standing and the aura of invincibility disposed of by one Antonio Tarver left hand.
It was one thing when Jones lost his undefeated record by disqualification by striking Montell Griffin while he was down. That blemish, like those given to Lennox Lewis by Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, was removed by knockout revenge.
But three losses in a row are completely different, especially when two are by dramatic kayos and the third by an obvious and necessary desire to play it safe.
Jones needed confidence and he needed practice, and to get both he went the distance with Prince Badi Ajamu, taking a wide unanimous decision in the process. [details]
Maturity doesn’t have to equal boredom. Seventeen years into his professional career, Jones is still the semipro basketball playing, rap album making, ****fighting rooster training man that defined his character during his prime.
The prime that, by the way, is years past, left behind like the pound-for-pound standing and the aura of invincibility disposed of by one Antonio Tarver left hand.
It was one thing when Jones lost his undefeated record by disqualification by striking Montell Griffin while he was down. That blemish, like those given to Lennox Lewis by Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, was removed by knockout revenge.
But three losses in a row are completely different, especially when two are by dramatic kayos and the third by an obvious and necessary desire to play it safe.
Jones needed confidence and he needed practice, and to get both he went the distance with Prince Badi Ajamu, taking a wide unanimous decision in the process. [details]