Sharkie’s Machine
By Frank Gonzalez Jr.
July 15th, 2007
“Some Thoughts on Roy
Jones Jr.”
Its not that surprising that nobody cared much about the return of Roy Jones Jr.
(51-4-0, 38 KO’s) and his fight against Anthony Hanshaw (21-1-1, 14 KO’s) that
aired on PPV Saturday night, the same night HBO delighted fans with a -triple
header of exciting and defining match ups.
I read a few articles about Jones vs. Hanshaw on the only real place for boxing
news—the Internet. What really closed the door of interest about the Jones fight
Saturday was that it was on Pay-Per-View. Why on Earth would anyone pay to see
Roy Jones Jr. in a potentially boring fight, when they could catch three great
fights for the price of subscription to HBO on cable TV?
Even though the venue where Jones vs. Hanshaw took place was crowded, I figure
most fight fans didn’t see it, knowing that it would be re-aired next week. Most
fight fans were revved up to watch Margarito Williams, Gatti Gomez and Cintron
Matthysse.
According to what I read, it was a competitive fight. Hanshaw opened the first
round with a can of asswhoop to win the first round but that Jones was able to
outbox him most of the fight. Jones knocked Hanshaw down in the 11th round, but
instead of going for the kill, he let up and coasted to a Decision victory.
After the fight, Jones said he just felt he needed the rounds. That is
questionable but understandable. Had the fight been on regular cable, most fans
would’ve at least taped it and watched it after HBO’s triple-header.
While Jones won the fight in his return to the ring, hardly anyone got to see
it, mostly because it was on PPV.
There was a time when Roy Jones Jr. was electrifying. When he beat James Toney
in 1994, putting Toney down in the third, then out boxing him to the point of
humiliation throughout, I was amazed. His reflexes and unorthodox style was
almost like kung fu with just the hands. I couldn’t wait to see him fight again.
But after a while, I noticed that he was becoming the King of the Bees instead
of the best fighter fighting and beating the best fighters. Most of his
opponents since 1997 were B class fighters and yes, that includes John Ruiz, who
is arguably the most B Class HW champion we’ve ever known.
Yeah, he knocked out Virgil Hill with a body shot in 1998 but he absolutely
refused to fight Hopkins or Toney again using contract negotiations to kill it.
He also refused to go to Germany to fight Dariusz Michalczewski, unless he’d be
paid the ridiculous sum of 25 million. Jones used the negotiation process to
insure that certain dangerous fights never happened. He said he’d fight the
winner of Trinidad vs. Hopkins but when Hopkins won, he used the negotiation
process to insure that Hopkins wouldn’t fight him. For a man who was being
touted as the best pound for pound fighter in all boxing, Roy was reluctant to
ever prove it against credible opponents.
Roy did what he pleased in the boxing world. It felt like he had connections
with endless pull (see HBO). His mandatory opponents always looked like made to
order tomato cans that were slow, awkward and not known for having much pop in
their punch. There was often the feeling that there were bigger fish for Jones
to fry but Jones made it clear that anyone who wanted to fight him had to earn
the number one spot and take way less money than him. When he fought Glen Kelley
of Australia—that was it for me. Like many fans, I was sick of Jones fighting
guys who weren’t top-notch fighters. How could you be the greatest if you always
fought the so-so guys? And all his fights were on PPV. Jones ego got bigger than
anyone he ever fought, even James Toney. It felt like Jones was scamming the
public and being paid big money to fight little names.
Finally, in November of 2003, he fought Antonio Tarver, a man who had been
calling Jones out for a long, long time. It was a close fight and I thought
Tarver won but the Judges gave the decision to Jones. There were a lot of fans
that thought Roy got a gift and wanted to see a rematch. To my shock, a rematch
was made six months later in May of 2004 and Tarver knocked Jones out cold in
the second round with a counter punch that Jones never saw coming. The way Jones
went down was chilling. Looked like his jaw had not been tested in such a long
time that Tarver’s punch was like a bull in the China closet. After that fight,
Jones stock plummeted.
Four months later, in September of 2004, Jones picked an opponent to redeem
himself with in Glenn Johnson. Johnson was able to control the fight with
aggressive pressure and knocking Jones out cold in the ninth round.
Questions about Jones chin had been answered.
Thirteen months later, Jones got real brave and fought a rubber match with
Antonio Tarver but lost a 12 round decision in what might’ve been candidate for
the boringest fight of the decade.
No longer considered best Pound for Pound fighter. No longer much considered at
all, Jones continued on, fighting Prince Badi Ajamu in July of 2006, winning a
Unanimous Decision. Last Saturday night, a year later, Jones fights up and
coming Anthony Hanshaw and wins another UD. Jones has been disappearing as
subtly as he ever appeared.
There is one fight I’d like to see Roy Jones Jr. take before he retires—and that
is against Bernard Hopkins. If he were to beat B-Hop after all he’s been through
and after all Bernard has accomplished in his own right, Jones will have some
redemption that will be meaningful. Of course that fight would be on PPV and
that…would be understandable.
* * *
Comments can be emailed to dshark87@hotmail.com
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