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| May 6, 1989 | Ricky Randal (6-15-0) | Pensacola, Florida, USA |
September 12, 2015
February 8, 2018
2017 - World champion in the first heavy weight category (according to the World Boxing Federation)
Roy Jones family
Father: Roy Jones Sr.
Mother - Carol Jones.
Wife - Natalie.
Children - DeAndre Jones, DeShaun Jones, Roy Jones III.
15.01.2020
Roy Jones
Roy Jones
Professional Boxer
Multiple World Champion
News and Events
07/22/2019 International Boxing Day in Moscow 2019
American professional boxer. Silver medalist at the 1988 Olympic Games. Absolute world champion in the light heavyweight category. World champion in middle, second middle, light heavy, first heavy and heavy weight categories. He topped the ranking of the best boxers, regardless of weight category, according to Ring magazine. He holds the record for the most victories in fights for the unified champion title, as well as the holder of the longest series of defenses of the unified light heavyweight title. The first boxer in history to become world middleweight champion, he then went on to win titles at super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. In addition, he is known for his musical and acting career. He starred in the films “The Matrix Reloaded” and “Universal Soldier 4.” Recorded a music album in rap style. He has dual: American and Russian citizenship.
Roy Jones was born on January 16, 1969 in Pensacola, USA. Since childhood, his father, Roy Jones Sr., a former professional boxer, tried to instill in his son a love of boxing. But only at the age of ten did he start boxing. In 1984, the guy won the Junior Olympic Games in the USA, and in 1986 he won the prestigious national Golden Gloves tournament in the weight category up to 64 kg, defeating Victor Levin in the final on points. A year later he won this title again, but in the weight category up to 71 kg, defeating Ray McElroy in the final.
In 1986, Roy lost on points in the semi-finals of the Goodwill Games to Russian boxer Igor Ruzhnikov, winning bronze. Another famous loss came while trying to win the national Golden Gloves for the third year in a row.
Jones would qualify for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. First, he needed to get into the final qualifying tournament, in which 8 participants competed for each place in the national team.
Jones' path to the Olympic final began with an impressive victory over Malawi's Mtender Makalamba. At the very beginning of the fight, Roy knocked down his opponent, and by the middle of the first round everything ended in a knockout. Also, Jones won on points with an overwhelming advantage over Michael Franek, Evgeniy Zaitsev and Richie Woodhall.
In a tournament final considered one of the most unfair in Olympic history, Roy's South Korean opponent, Park Sihoon, took the gold, winning 3-2. This turned out to be a shock for everyone, including the Korean himself, not to mention Jones, who was shocked to the core by this development of events.
Jones dominated all three rounds, with the Korean receiving a standing knockdown in the second round. Roy had an overwhelming advantage in blows, as it was later calculated, in the first round he hit 20 blows out of 85, Park Sihoon only 3 blows out of 38, second round: Jones 39/98, Park 15/71, third round: Jones 36/120, Park 14/79. However, the judges thought differently.
Representatives of the USSR and Hungary gave the victory to Jones with a score of 60-56. Judges from Uruguay and Morocco gave the victory to the Korean with a score of 59-58, considering that he won the 2nd and 3rd rounds. The last judge, from Uganda, counted a draw, but when he had to choose a winner to resolve the tie, he preferred the Korean, as he allegedly had an advantage.
Park Sihoon, after his “victory,” explained to Roy through an interpreter that he apologized for what happened and knew that he lost the fight, and that the judges gave him victory. This fight influenced the introduction of a new points system in amateur boxing.
Jones's first opponent in the professional ring was Ricky Randal, who lost 16 of his 20 fights. In the fight, Jones was knocked down twice in the first round and once in the second. As a result, the referee stopped the match due to the clear advantage of Roy Jones.
In November 1994, a fight between two undefeated boxers took place: challenger Roy Jones and IBF junior middleweight champion James Toney. Jones dominated the entire fight, occasionally taunting his opponent. In the third round, Tony tried to dominate, for which Jones immediately knocked him down. In the post-match interview, Tony did not agree with the counted knockdown, considering it a push. After twelve rounds, Roy won a convincing victory. In his defense, Tony stated that before the fight, in order to lose excess weight, he sat in a pressure chamber and this affected his shape.
In October 1996, Jones entered the ring against the undefeated Bryant Brannon. In the middle of the 1st round, after a series of blows to the head, Roy knocked down his opponent. Brannon began to stand up and was pulled to the side. At the count of six I was able to stand up. In the middle of the 2nd round, Jones knocked down for the second time with an oncoming left side to the jaw. Brannon stood up again at the count of six. Roy rushed to finish him off and drove him into a corner. After a series of powerful blows, the referee asked to stop the fight. The referee refused. Then Jones carried out another series of strikes. A two to the head sent Brannon into a severe knockout. It is worth noting that fragments of the battle are shown in the film “The Devil's Advocate”. Jones then moved up to light heavyweight.
In March 1997, a fight between two undefeated boxers took place: Roy Jones and Montell Griffin. At the end of the 7th round, Jones landed a right hook to the head, and then, getting closer, a short left hook to the jaw. Griffin fell. The referee counted to 10 and stopped the fight. Jones' corner was relieved that the fight was over. However, they were then informed that there would be a disqualification.
The rematch took place on August 7, 1997. Jones was very angry and immediately went on the attack. At the very beginning of the fight, Griffin was hit in the jaw with a left hook. Griffin stumbled backwards and fell onto the ropes. The referee counted the knockdown. 40 seconds before the end of the round, Roy hit his opponent squarely in the jaw with a left hook and uppercut hybrid. Griffin fell immediately. He tried to get up several times, but could not maintain his balance and each time he fell into the ring again. At the count of ten, he fell into the ring again, and the referee recorded the victory by a clean knockout.
In July 1998, a WBC and WBA light heavyweight unification fight took place between Roy Jones and Lou Del Valle. Roy dominated the entire fight: noticeably superior to the enemy in speed, number and accuracy of blows. At the end of the 8th round, Del Valle threw a left cross to the jaw. Jones fell to the canvas, but immediately got up. This was the 1st knockdown of his career. Some experts believed that Jones slipped. Del Valle rushed to finish off the enemy, but could not do anything. At the end of the fight, all the judges gave the victory to Roy Jones with a crushing score.
From March 1, 2003, he competed in the heavyweight division and met with WBA world champion John Ruiz, whom he defeated. After that he returned back to light heavyweight. In 2003, the WBA assigned Jones a mandatory challenger, Vitali Klitschko, but the fight did not take place.
Jones faced WBC light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver on November 8, 2003. In a hard-fought battle, Roy won by majority decision. The audience greeted the decision with a dissatisfied roar. Tarver did not agree with the judges' verdict.
In November 2008, a fight took place between Roy Jones and the undefeated Welshman Joe Calzaghe. In the middle of the 1st round, Jones hit his opponent's head with a counter left hook. The Welshman fell to the canvas, but got up at the count of five. Roy did not rush to finish off the enemy. Calzaghe moved forward throughout the fight, throwing a huge number of punches and surpassing his opponent in endurance. The American could do nothing to counter this pressure. By the end of the fight, Jones had a cut above his left eye. At the end of the fight, all judges gave the victory to Joe Calzaghe with the same crushing score of 118-109.
The fight with Jeff Lacy took place on August 15, 2009. Lacy started the fight actively, putting pressure and pinning Jones against the ring ropes, but Roy skillfully avoided the blows and blocked most of them. From the 4th round, Jeff was noticeably tired and slowed down the pace, and Jones began to act in his favorite manner: with his arms down, feints with his legs, demonstrating superiority over Lacey in speed, and at the same time, being at the ropes, did not forget to talk to the audience. After the 7th round, a large hematoma appeared above Lacey's left eye. In the 9th and 10th rounds, Jones openly mocked Lacey, demonstrating a complete advantage over his opponent. After the 10th round, the referee stopped the fight at the request of Jeff's seconds, recording Roy's victory by technical knockout.
In Moscow on May 21, 2011, a fight took place between Roy Jones and Denis Lebedev. Throughout most of the fight, the advantage was on the side of the Russian boxer. At the end of the 4th round, Lebedev landed an accurate blow and was able to shake Jones. In the 9th round, Denis missed a powerful blow to the head, but was able to survive. In the final seconds of the 10th round, Lebedev carried out a series of accurate blows, after which Jones covered his face with his hands and leaned forward a little. It became obvious that Jones was in a severe, so-called “standing knockout.” Despite the obvious state of Jones, Lebedev deliberately landed a huge right hand to Jones' head, after which he fell to the floor. Only after this the referee intervened and stopped the fight. It took doctors more than ten minutes to revive the American.
In 2014 and 2015, he fought six fights, all of which ended early. Roy knocked out Briton Courty Fry and won by knockout over Hani Atiyo. In 2015, fights against Willie Williams, Paul Vasquez, and Eric Watkins ended in early victories.
In August 2015, in Sevastopol, Roy met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he asked for his help in obtaining Russian citizenship. The President promised to help and has already September 12, 2015 Roy Jones Jr. received Russian citizenship. The corresponding Decree was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In his first fight with his new citizenship, on December 12, 2015, he lost by knockout in a rating fight against Enzo Maccarinelli. After the loss, the fighter made a statement that he was ending his cooperation with promoter Vladimir Khryunov and hiring Umar Kremlev.
On February 10, 2016, the sports director of the Patriot promotion company, Dmitry Luchnikov, announced the end of the sports career of Roy Jones Jr. However, Roy Jones continued to fight in 2016.
The triumphant fight between Roy Jones and Bobby Gunn for the vacant WBF world title took place on February 7, 2017. Roy dominated the entire fight. At the end of the 7th round, Jones landed a powerful left hand that rocked Gunn. At the beginning of the 8th round, Gunn refused to continue the fight and the referee recorded Jones' victory by technical knockout.
Roy Jones fought his last fight in his professional career February 8, 2018 against Scott Sigmon, in which he won by unanimous decision. Even before the start of the fight, Jones announced his decision to end his boxing career.
In addition to boxing, Roy Jones also participates in various filming. Worked as a commentator for HBO. After receiving Russian citizenship, he became one of the commentators and presenter on the Match TV channel. Roy is also known for his vocal abilities and even recorded a rap album, Round One: The Album. He also founded the rap group Body Head Bangerz.
Sports Achievements of Roy Jones
1988 - Silver at the XXIV Summer Olympic Games
1990 - Boxer of the Millennium (according to the American Association of Journalists and Ring magazine)
1993-1994 - World middleweight champion (according to the International Boxing Federation)
1994-1996 - World champion in the second middle weight category (according to the International Boxing Federation)
1997-2002 - World light heavyweight champion (according to the World Boxing Council)
2003 - World heavyweight champion (according to the World Boxing Association) 2003-
2004 - World light heavyweight champion (according to the World Boxing Association)
2013 - World champion in the first heavy weight category (according to the World Boxing Union)
Roy Jones turns 47 today . "SE" congratulates the birthday boy and remembers the best fights of Captain Hook.
Until a boxer has completed his career, it is unfair to choose his best fights. But in the case of Roy Jones, perhaps this is possible - his real career, which began in May 1989, ended a long time ago. On December 12, Jones entered the ring against Enzo Maccarinelli under the Russian flag, and this fight may have been his last. "SE" selected the seven most memorable fights of Roy Jones out of the 71 he fought.
In this fight, Tawney's IBF super middleweight title was on the line. This “best of bad guys” has never lost before. He had victories over Michael Nunn, Reggie Johnson, and Mike McCallum. James Tawney took the title in his new weight from Tony Thornton. Roy Jones, who held the middleweight title, also moved to a new category for himself. In a head-to-head match, he not only defeated Tawney, he showed a real master class. Compared to Jones, Tawney looked like a hulking lump. The final score of the fight, which lasted all 12 rounds, reflected the overwhelming advantage of Roy Jones. For Tawny, this fight was just a lights out.
At the height of his greatness, Roy Jones became the heavyweight champion of the world. After several years of continuous rumors that Jones only needed a title in the heaviest category to finish his career brilliantly, he finally made up his mind. Jones has signed a contract to fight WBA champion John Ruiz. The former middleweight entered the ring against a heavyweight, albeit not a great one, and won a convincing victory on points. Ruiz had no chance. And Jones repeated the achievement of the legendary middleweight Bob Fitzsimmons, who 106 years earlier became the world heavyweight champion.
It was a rematch between Jones and Griffin after their first fight, which took place in March 1997 and ended in a controversial disqualification and Jones' first career loss. The judges found that Roy Jones hit his kneeling opponent. Jones came out for revenge very angry and knocked Griffin down at the beginning of the first round. Two minutes later, Jones' amazing uppercut put an end to this fight for the WBC light heavyweight title.
In this fight, Jones set an all-time record. He became the first and only boxer in history who did not miss a single blow from his opponent during the round. In general, in six rounds, Roy Jones landed four times more punches than Vinnie Pacienza, who moved up to a heavier weight class. One boxer absolutely dominated another, not a weak opponent at all, who cannot be called a “bag”. Patienza came out to fight and did so until the judge stopped the fight. In the sixth round, the challenger was knocked down three times and even after that continued to argue with the referee and was ready to continue to receive more from Jones.
Before the fight with Jones, Virgil Hill had never lost by knockout. And in general he lost only twice, and held the light heavyweight title for almost a decade. But in a fight with a younger opponent, Hill tried to look decent, but exactly half of Jones’s punches hit the target. One of them, a powerful right hook to the body, was the last in this non-title fight, which took place at a catchweight. Hill went down, wincing in pain, and The Ring magazine named Jones' blow "Knockout of the Year."
Sometimes the best fights include those that may have little beauty but a lot of heart. For Roy Jones, winning the first fight with Antonio Tarver was the hardest in his career. Previously, Jones defeated Jones Ruiz, but returned to light heavyweight. Naturally, to do this he needed to lose a lot of weight. In a fight that was extremely difficult, when he lacked strength and power, Roy Jones fought the championship rounds as a true champion can.
The two future boxing legends first met for the vacant IBF middleweight title in 1993. At that time, this was the most important fight in the careers of both boxers, and Hopkins' chances were rated slightly higher. But Jones outboxed his opponent, all three judges gave him victory with the same score of 116:112 and won his first championship title in his career. 17 years later, the aged Hopkins took revenge on the aged Jones.
Roy Jones is one of the most famous and exciting boxers of all time. In this article you will learn in detail the details of the life and career of the outstanding ex-champion.
Early years
Roy Levesta Jones Jr. was born on January 16, 1969 in a small town called Pensacola, Florida, USA. Already at the age of 6, he began boxing under the strict supervision of his father.
Roy Sr., by the way, was a Vietnam veteran; after his service, he worked at a naval base near Pensacola. He had some experience in professional boxing. Jones Sr. achieved a record of 13-6-1 (5 KOs) and retired, and one of his most famous opponents was the legendary, to whom Roy lost with a TKO score of 3.
Roy Jr.'s mother, Carol, on the other hand, was a kind and flexible woman. The Jones family owned a small pig farm and a boxing gym. There were a lot of poor guys working out in that very gym, and Jones Sr. did everything possible to have time to help everyone. But with his own son he was merciless.
Little Roy
A demanding father provided young Roy with a strict training regime and discipline. Sometimes he got down on his knees and boxed with his young son, and sometimes he hit the young man on the thighs with a piece of pipe, or threw improvised objects if he did something wrong during training. Jones Sr. sincerely wanted to make his child a champion, a terminator, a universal fighter, leaving him no choice. His main motto was: kill or be killed.
As a result, young Jones grew up in constant fear of violence from his father, but day after day, under his supervision, he honed his skills and character. He sparred with bigger and older guys to the point of exhaustion. His dad made him run 10 miles every day (16 km - approx. T0Fight). Later, in many interviews, Roy Jr. would say that he had thought about suicide more than once.
“I spent my whole life in my father’s cage and I never knew one hundred percent who I was until I got out of it.”- Roy Jones said in an interview.
“I ran 10 miles every damn day, sparring with bigger guys until I collapsed from exhaustion. Nothing but training. I was called the most gifted professional... Talent? Bullshit! No fighter in history has worked like me. None. Dot"— Jones in a long interview with Bryn-Jonathan Butler for Bleacherreport, 2015.
Amateur career:
In 1984, Roy Jones Jr. Next - Roy Jones) won the National Youth Olympic Games in the 54 kg weight class. In 1986, he took the National Golden Gloves Championship at 63 kg, and the following year, the Golden Gloves at 71 kg.
In 1988, at the next Golden Gloves, Jones won bronze, losing in the semifinals to Gerald McLellan. Later, he would become Roy's friend and would also be known as one of the most feared middleweight punchers.
Also in 1988, at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Roy represented the United States in the junior middleweight division. He was the youngest member of the team. Jones won one after another, including beating Soviet boxer Evgeniy Zaitsev in the quarterfinals.
In the final, Jones faced a boxer from South Korea named Park Si Hoon. Roy completely dominated the fight, but the judges gave the victory to Si Hong (3-2). The Soviet and Hungarian judge gave the fight to Jones, the Uruguayan and Moroccan - to the Korean. The representative of Uganda said that the result should be a draw, but he gave the advantage to the Korean for aggression, which, by the way, was not in sight.
Jones received a silver medal. To say that he and the entire boxing world were shocked by this decision is an understatement. The wave of indignation was so powerful that even 50 Korean Buddhist monks apologized to Jones. They said they felt a deep sense of shame.
The hit statistics were shocking. In each round, Roy Jones landed at least twice as many accurate punches as his opponent. As a result - 86
accurate strikes per fight against 32
at Xi Hong's. The Korean himself also apologized to Jones after the fight.
A subsequent investigation showed a strong likelihood of a corruption scheme, but the IOC said there was no hard evidence of this. However, three judges were permanently banned from boxing. Roy tried to achieve his gold medal, but his attempts were in vain. Only in September 1997 the International Olympic Committee awarded him the Olympic Order, but this belated consolation prize could not replace the real well-deserved gold.
For his performance at the Olympic Games, Roy Jones received the Val Barker Cup ( prize for the most technical boxer of the Games - approx. ToFight). He finished his amateur career with a record 121-13
.
Beginning of professional career: middleweight
Roy Jones had his first fight in the professional ring on May 6, 1989. From the very beginning of his professional career, Jones Jr. rejected all offers from the largest boxing promoters. His coach and manager was his father, who at the initial stage selected his opponents quite carefully. Well, my son quickly dealt with them, leaving not the slightest chance. Many began to criticize the managerial policies of Jones Sr. As a result, the talented Olympian Roy began to lose the reputation he had earned at the Games.
An interesting incident happened to Roy Jones in July 1990. Jones' opponent on July 14 of that month was supposed to be Dennis Johnson, however, his candidacy was dropped after the fighter began asking for more money than he deserved. A replacement was announced in the form of a boxer named Derwin Richards.
Roy won by knockout in the first round. However, then interesting details emerged. The sports editor of one of the Pensacola publications, Junior Ingram, discovered a day later that there was no Derwin Richards in the ring with Roy on the night of the fight. The photographs of the real Derwin and the “fake” one were of different people. Ingram contacted Richards, who confirmed that he was in another state on the night of the fight.
Florida State Athletic Commission Assistant Director Shelley Bradshaw discovered two days later that Derwin Richards' record did not match that of Jones' opponent shown in the poster. She stated that she did not check such details because she was too busy with other matters.
As a result, an investigation began. During the investigation, it turned out that boxer Tony Waddles from Oklahoma was in the ring that night. Waddles also claimed that boxing event organizer Elvis Belt promised him $700 for the fight; the boxer was surprised to learn that his fee was actually listed as $2,000. Belt was accused of fraud. As it turned out later, fights with fake names and speculation on fees were quite common in the state of Florida.
Jones continued to score victories over mediocre opponents, with most of his early career fights taking place at junior middleweight ( 69 kg) and average weight ( 72 kg). In 1992, he defeated former world welterweight champion Jorge Vaca and future Argentine middleweight champion Jorge Fernando Castro, breaking his nose. This was Roy's first fight out of eighteen that went to a judge's decision.
Roy with his father
It was after this fight, in the late summer of 1992, that a turning point occurred in Jones' career. He stopped working with his father. The final turning point in the relationship between father and son was Roy's friend's dog, which frightened his younger sister. Jones Sr. tied the Rottweiler puppy to a tree and shot it with a gun.
Roy hired a new coach, Elton Merkerson. The level of his opposition also began to grow. Jones scored three early victories and took second place in the IBF middleweight rankings. This title was left vacant by James Toney, who was moving up. The organization immediately appointed an eliminator. The title fight pitted the second ranked number, Roy Jones, against the first ranked number, Bernard Hopkins. This was the first title fight for both of them.
On May 22, 1993, Roy more than confidently defeated Hopkins. Bernard looked for success at close range, but Jones was much faster and more accurate. He became the new world champion. After the fight, Roy stated that he boxed with a broken right arm.
When looking for a word that best describes Jones, the first term that comes to mind is “flamboyant.” This is exactly the image the boxer created for himself with his extravagant outfits and demeanor in the ring.
"I have fun in battle"
“Jones hits like a heavyweight and moves like a lightweight.”
— George Foreman
Roy Jones loved to irritate his opponents, worked well to stay ahead of the curve, used various feints and deceptive movements, and hit from different angles. All this thanks to excellent speed and reaction, combined with a sense of distance. Plus, he had knockout power. His signature blow was the jumping left hook, which he could perform both to the head and to the body.
Jones fought his next fight after Hopkins at a higher weight - super middleweight ( 76 kg). His opponent was the experienced and awkward African Thulani Malinga. Roy dominated throughout the fight, and at the end of the 6th round he landed a powerful left hook. Malinga fell, he tried to get up, but his body did not obey. Knockout. In May 1994, Jones made his first defense of the IBF middleweight title, knocking out Thomas Tate in quick succession.
Super middleweight:
Afterwards, Roy decided to move up to super middleweight for a fight with the local champion -. At that time, Tony had already achieved more than outstanding achievements and occupied a high position in the ranking of the best boxers in the world, regardless of weight ( according to some publications - first place in this rating). He came into the Jones fight as a 6-to-5 favorite.
Both fighters were entitled to a fixed fee (Tony - $2.5 million, Jones - $2 million) plus interest on all income minus expenses (Tony - 45%, Jones - 35%). The fight collected 300,000 pay-per-view purchases. It took place on November 18, 1994, and can hardly be called particularly spectacular or competitive. At the beginning of the third round, Tony was knocked down, and at the end of the fight, Jones celebrated a confident victory by decision. The Ring called Jones' performance "the most dominant in a big fight in twenty years."
Then, Roy made his first defense against mandatory challenger Antoine Byrd, and then met with Vinny Pazienza, confidently and brilliantly dealing with him. This was followed by a quick victory over Mercui Sosa, the fight took place in the 78 kg limit.
In June 1996, Roy Jones fought Eric Lucas, who five years later would become the world super middleweight champion. 7 hours before the fight with him, Roy took part in a basketball match, playing for the Jacksonville Barracudas team in the US Basketball League. He spent 14 minutes of playing time on the court and earned five points for his team. Thus, Junior Jones became the first athlete in history who managed to perform at two sporting events on the same day, and even within different sports. Four months after the fight with Lucas, Jones scored another victory and decided to move up to light heavyweight.
To summarize this excerpt from Roy’s biography, it is worth noting that, perhaps, it was in the super middleweight division that Jones was at the very peak of his capabilities. Already at the time of leaving this weight, he was considered the best boxer in the world, regardless of weight, according to The Ring.
Light Heavyweight
In November 1996, Roy Jones fought his first fight in the light heavyweight category. He became his rival. Despite the fact that Mike was known as one of the most prominent boxers in middleweight history, he was already in the twilight of his career. Roy fought the battle quite carefully. He defeated 39-year-old McCallum in a one-sided fight and managed to knock him down. This happened simultaneously with the gong for the end of the 10th round. In this fight, Jones won the interim WBC title, but was later recognized as a full champion when the previous title holder, Fabrice Tiozzo, moved up in weight.
Next, Roy had to fight with the undefeated Montell Griffin, who had already scored two victories over James Toney. Jones was a 6 to 1 favorite for the fight in March 1997. It started actively.
Griffin looked for success by driving his opponent to the ropes. From the fifth round, Jones picked up the pace and the fight became somewhat more spectacular. At the end of the seventh round, Montell Griffin was knocked down. At the end of the ninth round, Roy shocked his opponent and rushed to finish him off. After a few more misses, Griffin dropped to his knees. The referee was late in reacting to the knockdown, and Jones delivered several more blows to his kneeling opponent. Heavy knockout.
Seeing Griffin's serious condition, referee Tony Perez decided to disqualify Roy. He later stated that if Montell had continued the fight, he would have simply taken a point or two off Jones. However, now, Jones' record has seen his first defeat - by disqualification.
“I wasn’t sure he fell. I didn't have time to think or see if he was on his knees or just crouched. And in general, I didn’t feel that the referee was trying to separate us.”- said Roy Jones himself.
After this incident, a wave of criticism followed towards Roy. A rematch was immediately scheduled. The fight also started actively. Already in the first seconds, Griffin was given a knockdown. Jones looked like a boxer, clearly looking to strike and win quickly. At the end of the first round, Montell found himself on the canvas again, missing a left hook. He tried to get up, but couldn't. And Roy Jones thereby regained his WBC title.
However, in early 1998, he relinquished the title and decided to move up two weights to heavyweight, signing a contract to fight James "Buster" Douglas for the IBA title on May 2. Meanwhile, in March, Graziano Rocchigiani became the new WBC light heavyweight champion, who defeated Michael Nunn by decision in the fight for the “vacancy”.
At the same time, Roy Jones refused the fight with Douglas and signed a contract for a fight with the outstanding ex-champion Virgil Hill. This fight took place in April, a weight limit was set ( 80.5 kg). Hill got off to a good start, pressing and jabbing hard, but Jones' speed advantage was solid. At the beginning of the fourth round, he caught his opponent with a right hand to the body. Hill was unable to continue the fight, this was the first early defeat of his career. The knockout was named “Knockout of the Year” by The Ring.
After this, in June 1998, the WBC declared Jones "champion on holiday" and Graziano Rocchigiani, who won the full title, "interim champion". Thus, Jones and Rocchigiani had to meet in the ring and reveal the real champion. Promoter Murad Muhammad canceled the fight because Graziano did not show up for a press conference. And the WBC stripped him of his title. Later, in the early 2000s, he won the trial, achieved substantial compensation and the return of the full WBC title.
In the next fight, Jones' opponent was the newly crowned WBA light heavyweight champion, Lou Del Valle. A few years earlier, he was Roy's sparring partner. Jones won a landslide victory, but during the fight he was knocked down for the first time in his career.
Roy's next fight was also a unification fight - with the WBO champion named Otis Grant. Jones scored an early victory in the 10th round. What is noteworthy is that out of 137 jabs thrown by Grant, only one found the target.
This was followed by a passing match, after which Jones again fought a unification fight. The opponent was IBF champion Reggie Johnson, who lost to Roy by decision. With this victory, Jones becomes the first undisputed light heavyweight world champion in almost 15 years. Towards the end of 1999, he had a minor motorcycle accident and injured his left wrist, but a month later he entered the ring and defended against David Telesco.
In May 2000, Roy defeated Richard Hall, but after the fight both fighters tested positive for anabolic steroids. Moreover, the content of prohibited substances in Hall’s tests exceeded the norm ten times, and Jones’s - 5-6 times. Roy said that it was all due to sports nutrition, in particular the fat burner Ripped Fuel. The state of Indiana, where the fight took place, did not have legal authority to test for steroids. No fines or sanctions were issued, with the exception of warnings.
Jones made several more defenses and captured a pair of minor titles. On 02/02/02 he had a famous fight with Glen Kelly, the same one where in the 7th round Jones put his hands behind his back. Also the day before, The Ring awarded him its light heavyweight title, which had not been awarded to anyone for almost twelve years.
Heavyweight Voyage and Trilogy with Antonio Tarver
At the beginning of 2003, Jones again came up with the idea of making a foray into the heavyweight division. This time he accomplished his plan. Jones' opponent was WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz. He made his third defense of this title. Jones was a 9-to-5 favorite. Additionally, his guaranteed purse was $10,000,000 + 60% of profits.
Jones' diligent preparation for this fight meant a solid increase in muscle mass without noticeable damage to speed and endurance. A combination that is very difficult to achieve, and therefore - Jones did not reach the heavyweight limit, but entered the fight with a record weight in his career at that time - 87,6
kg. Johnny Ruiz was 15 kg heavier.
In the fight, the champion sought success in attacks to the body, but he had little success. The difference in speed and class was noticeable and the dimensions could not affect it. Roy Jones was more accurate than his opponent, and several missed accentuated blows from a real “super heavyweight” did not bother him. As a result, he celebrated his victory by decision after 12 rounds.
Jones - Ruiz
Thus, Jones became the seventh boxer in history to win titles in four weight categories. In addition, he is the second former middleweight champion to win the heavyweight title. ( The first was Bob Fitzsimmons back in 1897 - approx. ToFight). The Jones-Ruiz fight was named “Event of the Year” by The Ring and collected 602,000 pay-per-view purchases.
Jones did not stay in the heavyweight division; he renounced the title and returned to light heavyweight. It is worth saying that Roy himself expressed a desire to fight with, who at that time was at the end of his career. His promoter claimed they were unable to secure fights with Tyson, Lewis and Holyfield. Jones's side refused the fight with Corrie Sanders for financial reasons.
“After winning the heavyweight title, I wanted a fight with Tyson. I did everything to make this fight happen, but Mike didn’t accept it. Look what Tony did to Holyfield and what I did to Tony. I could fight Tyson, just like Holyfield. And I would try to knock him out"
Thus, Roy had no choice but to look for worthy opponents in the light heavyweight division, and there they were. Two of Jones' remaining titles at that time were won by his compatriot, trained southpaw boxer Antonio Tarver.
The fight took place on November 8, 2003. Roy Jones was an 8 to 1 favorite. From the very first seconds of the fight, Antonio Tarver began to put pressure, actively using his jab. From the third round, Jones managed to seize the initiative. He emphasized the right punch to the body. In general, the fight turned out to be competitive; Roy won by decision of the majority of judges. The hit statistics were slightly in favor of Jones. He got his titles back.
A rematch was scheduled, which took place in May 2004. In the second round, Tarver landed a left hook and Jones fell. Knockout of the year according to The Ring and the first early defeat in Roy’s career.
In the next fight, Roy met with another champion of this weight -. Johnson rushed into the attack from the first seconds. Roy spent the entire first round at the ropes, and his opponent shot him. From the second round, Jones began to move more and traditionally acted proactively. As for Glen Johnson, he mostly had success when his opponent got to the ropes. At the very beginning of the ninth round, he landed a right hand to the temple. Roy Jones fell and lay on the canvas for quite a long time. The hardest knockout.
Jones left the arena in an ambulance. The fight received the status of “Upset of the Year 2004”; before the fight, Glen Johnson was considered an underdog at a ratio of 6 to 1. Roy did not enter the ring for almost a year. And in October 2005, he faced a third, decisive fight with Antonio Tarver.
In this fight, unlike the previous two, Jones moved more than usual and tried to twist his opponent. The middle rounds turned out to be quite spectacular. At the beginning of the eleventh three-minute period, Jones was shocked. However, the fight came to a decision, and Antonio Tarver celebrated the victory. Statistically, Tarver landed almost twice as many punches throughout the entire fight.
Jones blamed the defeat on his father, whom he called on for the first time since 1992 as his second coach. However, the fighter claimed that his father did not comply with the regulations, argued with main trainer Elton Merkerson and interrupted him. In the next two years, Roy had only two fights with mediocre opponents.
In 2008, he defeated the famous Puerto Rican Felix Trinidad. It was the only notable victory for several years, but against an opponent long past their peak. This fight took place in the intermediate limit of 77.1 kg. The fight collected 500,000 PPV buys.
The fight with Calzaghe and the final stage of his career
At the end of the same 2008, Roy Jones fought with the undefeated former super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, who had previously defeated Bernard Hopkins in the light heavyweight division. The fight was initially scheduled for September, but was then postponed due to Calzaghe's injury.
Cut in fight with Calzaghe
The Welshman was knocked down at the end of the first round when Roy caught him in a counter move. Calzaghe took his quantity, throwing lungs ( and not really) blows. At the beginning of the fight, Roy managed to work well ahead, but as the fight progressed, he lost his advantage. Midway through the seventh round, he suffered a serious cut above his left eye. During the fight, Joe Calzaghe landed 985 punches and won by unanimous decision.
“I did my best today, this guy was better than me.”
— Jones after the fight with Calzaghe.
In the next five fights, Roy suffered three defeats: early from Danny Green, a decision in a rematch with Bernard Hopkins and a knockout from Russian Denis Lebedev. Over the next few years, Roy did not face any serious opponents, with the exception of Enzo Maccarinelli, to whom he also lost by knockout.
Needless to say about the natural loss of former speed and reflexes, about serious problems with the knees, and, in the end, about the age of this boxer... His boxing career continues to this day and spans almost 30 years. The last stage of his career takes place mainly within the framework of the first heavyweight division, where Roy also dreams of becoming a champion...
Achievements in and outside of boxing, personal life
The Boxing Writers Association named Roy "Boxer of the Decade for the 1990s." He became a 9-time world champion in four weight categories and was the undisputed light heavyweight champion for several years. He was repeatedly named “Fighter of the Year” and “Man of the Year” by many sports publications.
Roy and his family still live in Pensacola. He has a wife and six children, as well as a large farm. Natlyn and Roy got married in the early 2000s, but they have known each other since they were young. Roy Jones became her first boyfriend. Even now, Roy very rarely communicates with his father; they live in the same city, but in different houses. House and two cars ( Bentley and Rolls-Royse) Roy Sr. was bought by his son...
In 1998, Roy Jones founded his label Body Head Entertainment. In 2002, a hip-hop album called Round One was released, which peaked at number 50 on the Billboard chart. In 2004, Jones organized the musical group Body Head Bangerz, with which he released another album.
Roy has his own promotional company and often appears as a boxing commentator. He is actively involved in charity work, especially in the field of working with youth in his native Pensacola. He actively helps his disabled friend Gerald McClellan and visits hospitals. He has appeared in many films and television shows, and has provided voice acting for video games.
Roy Jones has dual citizenship - American and Russian. On August 19, 2015, in Crimea, he met with Vladimir Putin and received a Russian passport.
One of his hobbies for a long time was cockfighting; at one time he even raised roosters himself. He still has a passion for basketball and spends every morning playing at the military base in Pensacola.
Prepared by Alexander Amosov
Read also
Roy Jones
Height: 180 cm.
Weight: 80 kg.
Date of birth: January 16, 1969
American boxer Roy Jones Jr. has forever written his name in history. Having won on points in a 12-round fight against John Ruiz, who outweighed him by 15 kilograms, Jones won the WBA world heavyweight title and became the first boxer in the world to have an average of 72 gold belts in his collection. .6 kg), super middle (76.2 kg), heavy (79.4 kg) and super heavy weights. Perhaps, this was achieved only by the Soviet boxer Evgeniy Ivanovich Ogurenkov (1913-1973), who successfully performed consistently in six weight categories, and back in 1943, being a middleweight, won the title of absolute champion of the USSR.
Born on January 16, 1969, Jones lived in Pensacola, Florida, where he began boxing at the age of 10. Weighing 69 pounds, Jones defeated 14 year old boxers weighing 85 pounds. This was just the beginning. Jones was predicted to have a great amateur career when he won the 1984 US Junior Olympics; National Golden Gloves in 1986 at 139 pounds; and, after moving up two weight classes, National Golden Gloves again in 1987 at 156 pounds. However, his dream of winning the Gold Medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics did not come true. In what would later be considered one of the worst decisions in Olympic history, Jones' South Korean opponent took the gold and Jones the silver, losing 3-2. In an ironic attempt to correct the fight's judging fiasco, Jones was awarded the Val Barker Trophy as the 'Outstanding Boxer' of the 1988 Olympics.
In 1992, Jones defeated former world champion George Vaca and former US Boxing Association champion Art Servano by knockouts in 1 round. He won, as a result of a unanimous decision, against George Castro and dealt with the previously unbeaten Glen Thomas by technical knockout in the 8th round. Jones' first title came in 1993. On May 22, Jones, having defeated Bernard Hopkins by unanimous decision, became the IBF world champion in the Middleweight category.
A knockout victory over top contender Thomas Tate in 1994 set Jones up to face IBF Super Middleweight champion James 'Light Out' Thuney in November 1994. Undefeated in 46 fights, Thuney was known as the best fighter in the world. and, for the first time in Jones' career, he was perceived in advance as the underdog. Jones won by unanimous decision and became the world champion in the second weight category Super Middleweight.
In 1995, Jones scored three victories over three boxers, none of whom saw the start of the seventh round. In 1996, three more victims faced Jones and another world title was successfully defended. In January, Jones defeated Mercui Sosa via TKO in the 2nd round. And six months later, he won the title in the third weight category Light Heavyweight after a difficult 12-round fight with the legendary Mike McCallum.
On March 21 in Atlantic City, Jones experienced the second setback of his career, which he would later call “the biggest disappointment” since the Olympic Games. Jones's plan was to take down the tenacious, powerful challenger Montella Griffin. Acting strictly according to his plan, Roy began to press, while Griffin gradually got tired. While the referee was in an unfortunate position and was considering whether to intervene or not, Jones landed two punches on the collapsing Griffin. Then the referee finally made up his mind and stopped the fight, disqualifying Jones. The victory was awarded to Griffin.
After the fight, Jones insists that he did not lose the fight to Griffin and promises to return the WBC world title. Roy didn't waste much time fulfilling his promise. He regained the WBC world title in August 1997 in their rematch with 2 minutes and 31 seconds remaining in the first round.
1998 brought Jones to Biloxi, where he defeated former WBA champion Vergel Hill in a 12-round non-title bout; to New York, where he defended the WBC title and won the WBA title by unanimous decision in a 12-round fight against current WBA champion Lou Del Valle; and to Connecticut where Roy defeated former WBO Middleweight champion Otis Grant by technical knockout.
Roy Jones' explosive combinations, blinding jabs and fantastic footwork continue to amaze spectators as he eliminates his opponents. Currently, Jones himself is his own manager and promoter, discovering new facets of his talent. But Jones' talent isn't limited to the ring ropes. Jones spends most of his free time talking to young Americans about the benefits of education and the dangers of drugs. Roy's close friends describe him as 'ten thousand times more of a man than a boxer'.
There is no doubt that Jones is completely unstoppable, no matter the opponent or the location of the fight. He sets his own rules, clouds the opponent’s mind and moves forward. This combination of strength and kindness has created a true champion for us in the ring and in life.
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