REALLY...WHO CALL THE SHOTS?
www.insideboxing.com

Stephen S. Johnson


INSIDE BOXING (January 28, 2003) - Roy Jones, Jr. is the most talented boxer in the professional ranks.

There are no fighters at 175 pounds or under in the world that can beat him.

But does that make him deserving of leap-frogging other viable members of the heavyweight division to challenge a current heavyweight champion?

There seems to be little spoken regarding Jones’ opponent, John Ruiz.

Ruiz is in the peculiar position of having everything to lose and nothing to gain. I know, I know...the payday he attains will be substantial.

Should he beat Jones? Well, it was supposed to happen. He will enter the ring with some 40-50 pound weight advantage.

Should he lose? He will suffer the wrath of those who maintained all along he was a great pretender to the title of heavyweight champion.

Jones has publicly stated he will only entertain the notion of having the title “heavyweight champion” behind his name.

The idea that Jones and de la Hoya are allowed to stipulate whom, when and where they fight is ridiculous!

Not disputing their “marketability,” when does the ranking system - in all weight classes - mandate with whom the “champion” does battle?

De la Hoya has publicly stated that after he gets his revenge against “Sugar” Shane Mosley, he intends to take on “Winky” Wright or Vernon Forrest.

Forrest may have eliminated himself from the “de la Hoya sweepstakes” after suffering his first defeat as a professional this past Saturday night at the hands of Nicaraguan Ricardo Mayorga.

There is no doubt the Mayorga people will aggressively pursue de la Hoya in an attempt to get that elusive “big payday” all fighters are looking for.

I understand the junior-middleweight champion of the world wanting the welterweight champion of the world...but what of the middleweight champion?

Help me understand where de la Hoya has already mapped out his boxing agenda without mentioning the name Bernard Hopkins.

Hopkins has not fought in two years and would seem “ripe for the picking” by de la Hoya. Still, de la Hoya never mentions the name Bernard Hopkins.

The obvious answer is de la Hoya wants no part of Hopkins. The decision to avoid Hopkins is, for de la Hoya, a seemingly intelligent one.

Hopkins doesn’t seem to be the opponent the public demands in making the match attractive enough for de la Hoya to entertain.

Oscar de la Hoya is uninterested in fighting anyone who cannot command a huge payday for both participants...and one he may not be able to handle.

The one defeat de la Hoya will never avenge is that by Felix “Tito” Trinidad.

Trinidad let de la Hoya know that no amount of money can lure him back into the ring for a rematch. That decision by Trinidad will eat at de la Hoya for the remainer of his career.

But fair is fair.

De la Hoya beat Pernell Whitaker and said there would be no rematch because, “Why should I fight someone after I’ve already beaten them?”

The same should apply for de la Hoya when he is beaten. But what fighter feels he can turn down a $5 million-plus purse to give de la Hoya the chance at redemption?

Other than Felix “Tito" Trinidad, apparently no fighter can or will turn down that financial security. Trinidad seems quite content feeling that the defeat de la Hoya suffered at his hands is worth more than money can buy.

But should the “powers that be” allow de la Hoya to completely skip over the current middleweight champion of the world?

If the reign of de la Hoya allows him to fight current champions, where does the middleweight champion fit in?

How is Jones allowed to completely skip over the cruiserweight division and fight John Ruiz?

The obvious answer is Jones wants no part of the cruiserweight division. Again, the decision to avoid the cruiserweight division, for Jones is an intelligent one.

The logical step would be for de la Hoya to dominate the junior middleweight division and the weight classes under him.


Logically, Jones should first dominate the light heavyweight and under divisions before venturing into a heavier weight class.

But the “powers that be” have never been accused of being logical.

Trivial things such as “who is the most deserving opponent” in all weight classes is apparently the last thing on their minds.

While we sit and wait for Jones, de la Hoya and Lennox Lewis to determine THEIR next opponent, the “powers that be” do nothing.

Don King is considered by many to be everything that is wrong with professional boxing. The one entity that has control over such thoughts says nothing.

That is because King, Bob Arum, Cedric Kushner and the like do what they do best. They make money. Not only for themselves but everyone involved.

Fight fans are only interested in seeing their “favorite guy” do battle. It is up to the “powers that be” to determine in what order these battles happen.

So far, there seems to be no determination as to the pecking order world champions choose their opponents. They are allowed to determine opponents based on financial gain.

There would be nothing wrong with that, were it not for the organizations named WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO etc., etc., whose responsibilities entail such as making sure financial gain does not over-ride their own mandated ranking systems.

But fair is fair.

If Jones and de la Hoya are truly the most dominating forces in their respective weight classes and those under them, why not have them PROVE IT before allowing them to “test the waters” in upper weight classes.


Making their way up the ladder is the standard that should be used for all fighters in all weight classes.

There should be no selection of prospective world championship title fights by the current champion in weight classes above their own unless all ranked opponents in the class where that world title is held have been eliminated.

Was that hard to figure out? Not really.

Just...simply...logical.


Remember when de la Hoya lost to Trinidad and said, “When I lose it’s bad for boxing”?

I thought the statement ridiculous.

Ridiculous was my thinking he was wrong.