Legends of Boxing: Roy Jones Jr
During his prime years no one could touch one of the most gifted pure boxers of all time
Name: Roy Jones Jr
Nickname: Captain Hook
Date of First Fight: 6th May 1989
Date of Retirement: 8th February 2018
Titles: World titles at middleweight, super-middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight
Biography:
Roy Levesta Jones Jr was born on 16th January 1969 in Pensacola, Florida. His father, Roy Jones Sr, was a disciplinarian who had fought in the Vietnam War. Jones Sr boxed as a middleweight in the 1970s but ended his short career on a losing streak.
He took control of his son’s prospects early on and young Roy excelled as an amateur, winning the Golden Gloves and a gold medal in the 1984 US National Junior Olympics. The Olympics would later cause Jones Jr heartbreak as he lost in the final of the 1988 Seoul Games in what was described as one of the worst decisions of all time.
Turning professional in 1989, Jones raced to 21-0 with 20 KOs before securing a vacant IBF middleweight title shot in 1993 against future great Bernard Hopkins. Jones beat Hopkins on points and soon went on to defeat another great fighter, James Toney, on points. That was in 1994, as Jones moved up to super-middleweight.
In 1997, Jones controversially lost for the first time when he was disqualified in round nine for hitting Montell Griffin while Griffin was down.
After defeating Griffin by stunning first-round knockout in their rematch, from 1998-2004, Jones was a virtually untouchable boxing star. By this point, he was a world champion at light-heavyweight and gathered up a handful of titles.
During this time, Jones defeated Australia’s Glen Kelly by putting his hands behind his back and knocking out Kelly as he tried to attack. In 2003 Jones made history by moving up to heavyweight to defeat the much bigger John Ruiz for a world title.
This was the best version of Jones fans would ever see. He quickly moved back down to light-heavyweight but struggled to defeat Antonio Tarver on points before Tarver stunningly knocked him out in a rematch. Jones was stopped soon after by Glen Johnson and the decline had set in.
He ended up fighting for lesser titles against strange opponents, including fighters who had been voted for by the public. He boxed in Latvia, Poland, Australia, and Russia, and he even became an official Russian citizen.
While Jones is considered to have gone on past his prime, the Florida boxer is still recognised as one of the greatest boxers not only of his generation but of all time. He held many belts in four weight classes, including undisputed status and was voted Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers’ Association.
At his best, Jones had very fast hands and athletic ability and moved unpredictably. For decades, Roy lived on a farm in Florida. Jones was criticised for being involved in rooster fighting tournaments and he was accused of animal cruelty
On the morning of his world title fight with Eric Lucas in 1996, Jones played in a professional basketball match, becoming the only athlete to compete in two paid sports on the same day.
Roy has also released rap albums and would often enter the ring singing his own songs. Recently, he has engaged in training various fighters, but little has stuck for a man so talented at his peak.
Image Credits: Seconds Out, Round by Round Boxing.
About Steve…
Current existence: Online editor at Boxing News Magazine.
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