[Previous entry: "EVERLAST STICKS BY THE CONTENDER"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Lacy to Defend Against Pemberton Nov. 5th at Caesars Tahoe"]
09/29/2005 Archived Entry: "Jones Go Will Out In A Bang, But Not The Way He Came In"
Jones Go Will Out In A Bang, But Not The Way He Came In
By J.D. Vena
Leave it to me to makes plans to attend a bachelor party in Atlanta the weekend of what should be the most eagerly anticipated bout of the year, Corrales-Castillo II. October 8th should be marked on every boxing fan’s calendar. I can only pray that the non-boxing fan friends I’ll be partying with will show a sudden late night interest in a fight that for whatever reason doesn’t capture the public appeal it deserves.
My real dilemma, or so I thought, was the fact that I’d have no cash to bring down with me to the southern city of sin. During my 4-night stay with a number of beer-bellied sports freaks, I’ll be attending a Georgia Tech game, the Patriots versus the Falcons and perhaps a Braves playoff game if MLB scheduling and money permit. I’ll also have to (with much pleasure) take part in the usual top secret activities you hear about from most bachelor party experiences. The big reason why heading down to the Buckhead area will not be as pricey as I thought is because I should be scoring a good handful of dough this weekend Antonio Tarver knocks out Roy Jones, Jr. for the second time. For the date of October 1st, 2005 should be the day the incredible career of Roy Jones, Jr. ends.
Unfortunately for Jones, that ending will not be him winning his one millionth world title. This sad chapter will be very similar to the ending of his last two fights – him being eerily stretched beyond the 10-count. That sight will be difficult for me to watch and I certainly don’t plan on it. Just as I wouldn’t have wanted to have seen Louis get knocked out of the ring by Rocky Marciano or Ali take a pounding from Trevor Berbick. His story looks more like the dissolve of 49ers dynasty, only much quicker and more painful. My point is, the Roy Jones, Jr. who showed up for his last three fights and more importantly his upcoming fight, more than likely would have seen the same outcome had he been fighting any of the top 15 light heavyweights in the world Saturday night.
It wasn’t always this way of course. In fact, most remember the light heavyweight division being as talent laden as the cruiserweight division, mostly in part because Roy Jones made his opponents look like utter novices. Keep in mind, this was the same way be baffled all time greats Bernard Hopkins and James Toney. But that was a different Jones then. If that was day, then today is most certainly night. Nowadays, Jones is washed up, completely washed up, incapable of summoning the instincts and reflexes that made him one of, if not the greatest boxer that ever lived.
His critics will say that Jones finally caught up with someone who has his number. But as I had forecasted, after he defeated John Ruiz to become the first former middleweight champion in over 100 years to become a heavyweight champion, moving back down to the light heavyweight division would be a grievous error. It was mere coincidence that Antonio Tarver was the next best light heavyweight boxer in the world and a fighter who could make Jones look mediocre. Therefore, the fact that Tarver was one of only a few top 175-pounders of his generation that Jones hadn’t yet met in the ring, it made sense to some that the lefty had Jones’ style figured out.
In my world, Jones’ overnight demise had everything to do with his arrogant decision to shed 25 pounds of muscle to earn what he thought was a better pay day for the risk involved. The risk looked as if it killed him before he entered the ring with Tarver in their first bout. A few weeks prior to that fight, Jones even remarked that trying to fight at light heavyweight was too much on him and that he would never make the limit again. He said it afterwards when he barely escaped the contest with a close decision victory, but the money seemed to make more sense than the messages his body was telling him. My prediction after he first defeated Tarver was that if he decided to fight at light heavyweight again, he would be knocked out regardless of who he faced. So far, what I said makes sense only to those who didn’t criticize him over the years, an era that saw him knock out successful boxers like Virgil Hill with a single body shot.
As he had in his last three fights, Jones will enter the ring Saturday night depleted of most of the skills that made him the unique phenomenon. Gone will be his ability to see the punches coming, a must for all boxers but more importantly, not knowing when to react when the Sadly, his legacy will be ultimately affected as it will be difficult to sell this whole weight loss controversy since he no longer has to shed 25 pounds of muscle. But when you’re washed up, you’re washed up and Jones is most certainly that, a complete shell of his former self as they say. Even if he should miraculously win with a fortunate punch, his legacy would be damaged because you couldn’t write off his last two detrimental defeats.
Hopefully, for the fighter I will always remember as the greatest and most accomplished boxer of all time, Roy Jones, Jr. will not suffer the long term effects associated with his devastating loss Saturday night. I feel guilty in a way that his loss will be my financial gain, but like Jones, I need some fast cash. You can only hope that his expected defeat will not be as damaging to his health as it will be to his misunderstood legacy.
