Roy Jones Jr.
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For the English footballer, see Roy Jones (footballer).
| Roy Jones Jr. | |||||||||||||
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Jones in 2012
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| Real name | Roy Levesta Jones Jr. | ||||||||||||
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||
| Reach | 74 in (188 cm) | ||||||||||||
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| Born | January 16, 1969 Pensacola, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||
| Total fights | 73 | ||||||||||||
| Wins | 64 | ||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 46 | ||||||||||||
| Losses | 9 | ||||||||||||
Medal record[hide]
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Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is a Russian-American professional boxer, boxing commentator, boxing trainer, rapper, and actor who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He has won numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions, and is the only boxer in history to start his professional career as a light middleweight and go on to win a heavyweight title. As an amateur he represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the light middleweight division.
Jones, who is considered by many to be one of the best boxers of all time, pound for pound, left his mark in the sport's history when he won the WBA heavyweight title in 2003, becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in 106 years. He also became the undisputed light heavyweight champion in 1999, by unifying the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles.
The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named Jones as the "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1990s. He was also named Fighter of the Year for 2003 by the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
During his prime, Jones was known for possessing exceptional hand speed, athleticism, movement and reflexes.
Contents
[hide]- 1Amateur career
- 2Professional career
- 3Professional boxing record
- 4Titles in boxing
- 5Pay-per-view bouts
- 6Personal life
- 7Awards
- 8Music career
- 9Discography
- 10Filmography
- 11References
- 12External links
Amateur career[edit]
Jones won the 1984 United States National Junior Olympics in the 119 lb (54 kg) weight division, the 1986 United States National Golden Gloves in the 139 lb (63 kg) division, and the 1987 United States National Golden Gloves in the 156 lb (71 kg) division. As an amateur, he ended his career with a 121–13 record.
Jones represented the United States at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, where he won the silver medal.[1] He dominated his opponents, never losing a single round en route to the final. His participation in the final was met with controversy when he lost a 3–2 decision to South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun despite pummeling Park for three rounds, landing 86 punches to Park's 32.[1] Allegedly, Park himself apologized to Jones afterward and the referee told Jones that he was dumbstruck by the judges' decision.[2] One judge shortly thereafter admitted the decision was a mistake and all three judges voting against Jones were eventually suspended. An official IOC investigation ending in 1997 found that, although the offending judges had been wined and dined by South Korean organisers, there was no evidence of corruption in the boxing events in Seoul.[3] Jones was awarded the Val Barker trophy, as the best stylistic boxer of the 1988 games, which was only the third and to this day the last time in the competition's history when the award did not go to one of the gold medal winners. The incident led Olympic organizers to establish a new scoring system for Olympic boxing.[2]
Professional career[edit]
Early career[edit]
On turning professional, he had already sparred with many professional boxers, including NABF Champion Ronnie Essett, IBF Champion Lindell Holmes and Sugar Ray Leonard. Jones began as a professional on May 6, 1989, knocking out Ricky Randall in two rounds in Pensacola at the Bayfront Auditorium. For his next fight, he faced the more experienced Stephan Johnson in Atlantic City, beating him by a knockout in round eight.
Jones built a record of 15–0 with 15 knockouts before stepping up in class to meet former World Welterweight Champion Jorge Vaca in a Pay Per View fight on January 10, 1992. He knocked Vaca out in round one to reach 16 knockout wins in a row. After one more KO, Jones went the distance for the first time against future world champion Jorge Castro, winning a 10-round decision in front of a USA Network national audience.
Middleweight title[edit]
Roy Jones vs. Bernard Hopkins[edit]
Jones made his first attempt at a world title on May 22, 1993. He beat future Undisputed Middleweight Champion Bernard Hopkins by unanimous decision in Washington, D.C. to capture the IBF Middleweight Championship. Jones was ahead on all three judges scorecards (116-112 three times).[4] Jones landed 206 of 594 punches (35%) and Hopkins connected on 153 of 670 (23%).[4] Jones claimed he had entered the bout with a broken right hand, but still managed to outpoint Hopkins and secure a unanimous decision win. Jones reminded the world of this claim on his hit single "Ya'll Must've Forgot" later in his career.
For his next fight, he fought another future world champion, Thulane "Sugar Boy" Malinga, in a non-title affair. Jones beat Malinga by knockout in six rounds. Jones finished the year with another win, beating Fermin Chirino by decision. In 1994, Jones beat Danny "Popeye" Garcia by knockout in six, then retained his IBF title against Thomas Tate in two rounds at Las Vegas on May 27.
Super Middleweight title[edit]
Roy Jones vs. James Toney[edit]
Main articles: James Toney vs. Roy Jones, Jr. and Roy Jones Jr. vs. Vinny Pazienza
On November 18, 1994, he was set to face undefeated IBF Super Middleweight Champion James Toney, who was ranked highly in the "pound for pound" rankings. Toney was undefeated after 46 bouts and was rated the best in the world at 168 lbs. Billed as "The Uncivil War", Toney vs Jones was heavily hyped. Jones, for the first time in his career, was the underdog.
Over the course of the 12-round unanimous decision, Jones demonstrated his greatness. He danced circles around Toney, utilizing his speed and athleticsm to dictate the action, and landing quick combinations whenever Toney pressured him. Jones scored a flash knockdown in the third round with a leaping left hook after goading Toney by imitating a fighting cock.[5] Ring magazine called Jones' performance the most dominant of any big fight in 20 years. Jones landed 285 of 614 punches (46%) and Toney connected on 157 of 451 (35%). Jones was ahead on all three judges scorecards (117-110, 119-108 & 118-109). The fight generated 300,000 pay-per-view buys.[6]
Miscellaneous defenses[edit]
In 1995, Jones defended his super middleweight title successfully multiple times. He began the year by knocking out IBF #1 Antoine Byrd in round one. This was the first time a championship fight took place at Pensacola. In a fight billed as 'The Devil & Mr Jones', he faced former IBF Lightweight Champion Vinny Pazienza and defeated him in round six, after knocking down Pazienza three times. In the fourth round, Jones became the first fighter in CombuBox history to go an entire round without being hit by his opponent. Pazienza was credited with throwing five punches and landing zero. Pazienza was guaranteed $1.35 million, while Jones, who worked off percentages of the gate and the pay-per-view revenue, was guaranteed at least $2 million. Jones then beat Tony Thornton in round two by KO three months later.
In 1996, Jones maintained his winning ways, defeating Merqui Sosa by knockout in two and future world champion Eric Lucas in round 11. When he boxed Lucas, he became the first athlete to participate in two paid sports events on the same day. He had played a basketball game in the morning and defended his boxing title in Jacksonville, Florida that evening. He also held a press conference in the ring just before his 3rd bout of the year, taking questions from a chair in the middle of the ring and defending his choice of Bryant Brannon as his opponent instead of Frankie Liles, his nemesis from the amateurs. He then defeated Bryant Brannon in a round two TKO.
Light Heavyweight title[edit]
Roy Jones vs Mike McCallum[edit]
Main article: Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Mike McCallum
In November 1996 at Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida, Jones defeated 40-year-old former three-weight world champion Mike McCallum via a shutout decision (120-107, 3 times) before a crowd of 12,000, to win the vacant Interim WBC Light Heavyweight title. Jones scored a knockdown just before the bell at the end of round 10. Jones landed 254 of 535 punches (47%) throughout the 12 rounds and McCallum connected on 209 of 651 (32%) Jones was soon upgraded to full champion by the WBC when former titlist Fabrice Tiozzo moved up to cruiserweight. Jones made $2.8 million from the fight and McCallum got $750,000.[7]
Roy Jones vs. Montell Griffin I & II[edit]
Main articles: Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Montell Griffin and Montell Griffin vs. Roy Jones Jr. II
In 1997 Jones had his first professional loss, a disqualification against Montell Griffin (26-0, 18 KOs) at the Taj Majal Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Griffin was trained by the legendary Eddie Futch, who had taught him how to take advantage of Jones technical mistakes and lack of basic boxing fundamentals. Griffin jumped out to an early lead on Jones but by round 9 Jones was ahead on the scorecards by a point and had Griffin on the canvas early in round nine. But as Griffin took a knee on the canvas to avoid further punishment, Jones hit him twice. Subsequently, Jones was disqualified and lost his title. At the time of disqualification, Jones was ahead on two of the judges scorecards (75-76, 77-75, 76-75).[8]
Jones sought an immediate rematch five months later at Foxwoods Resort, Connecticut, USA and regained the World Light Heavyweight title easily, knocking Griffin down within the first 2 minutes 31 seconds of the fight, then ending the fight by knocking Griffin out just over two minutes in with a leaping left hand shot. The fight took place in a bingo hall before a sellout crowd of 4,500. Both Jones and Griffin earned a $1.5 million purse.
Career from 1998 to 2002[edit]
In 1998, Jones began by knocking out former Light Heavyweight and future Cruiserweight Champion Virgil Hill (who had already lost his belts to Lineal & WBO Champion Dariusz Michalczewski) in four rounds at Biloxi, Mississippi with a huge right to the body that broke one of Hill's ribs. He followed that with a win against the WBA Light Heavyweight title holder, Puerto Rico's Lou Del Valle, by a decision in 12 on July 18, to unify the WBC and WBA belts. Jones had to climb off the canvas for the first time in his career, as he was dropped in round eight, but continued to outbox Del Valle throughout the rest of the fight and gained a unanimous decision. Jones then followed with a defense against Otis Grant. He retained the crown by knocking Grant out in ten rounds.
Jones began 1999 by knocking out the WBC number one ranked contender at the time, Rick Frazier. After this, many boxing critics started to criticize Jones for fighting overmatched mandatories, despite the fact that boxers are obligated to fight mandatory opponents to keep their belts. Dariusz Michalczewski's refusal to travel to the United States to face Jones in a unification bout only complicated matters further. Jones answered all of these critics on June 5 of that year, when he beat the IBF title holder, Reggie Johnson, by a lop-sided 12-round decision to add that belt to the WBC and WBA belts he already owned in the division. Jones dropped Johnson hard in the second round, but backed off and allowed Reggie to finish the fight.
The year 2000 began with Jones easily beating the hard-punching David Telesco via a 12-round decision on January 15, at Radio City Music Hall to retain his titles. Jones reportedly fractured his wrist a few weeks before this fight and fought almost exclusively one-handed. He entered the ring surrounded by the famous group of dancers, The Rockettes. His next fight was also a first time boxing event for a venue, as he traveled to Indianapolis and retained his title with an 11-round technical knockout over Richard Hallat the Conseco Fieldhouse. A post fight drug test showed that both Jones and Hall tested positive for androstenedione which was available legally over the counter at that time but banned by the IBF. The results of Jones' next two drug tests, which were negative, were sent to the Indiana Boxing Commission. The IBF chose not to take any action against Jones or Hall.[9] Jones ended the year with a 10-round stoppage of undefeated Eric Harding in New Orleans.
In 2001, Jones released Round One: The Album, a rap CD. That year he retained the title against Derrick Harmon by a knockout in ten and against future world champion Julio César González of Mexico by a 12-round unanimous decision a crowd of 20,409. The three judges scored it (119-106, 118-107, 119-106) all for Jones. Jones knocked Gonzalez down in rounds one, five and twelve and earned a $1.5 million purse. Jones landed 192 of 375 punches (51%) whilst Gonzalez connected on a very low 91 of 609 (15%).
In 2002, Jones retained his title by knocking out Australian boxer Glen Kelly in seven rounds via knockout. Jones put both hands behind his back. As Kelly moved in behind a jab, Jones went over the jab with a right to the head. Kelly went down and was counted out. Jones landed 124 of 249 punches (50%) and Kelly connected on 42 of 171 (25%). Before this bout, Jones was controversially awarded The Ring Championship belt, despite Dariusz Michalczewski still being regarded as the Lineal champion in the same weight class.[10]
Jones then defeated future world champion, WBC #1 Clinton Woods by technical knockout before a crowd of 16,229. He performed a song from his CD during his ring entrance. The bout was stopped in round 6 after Woods' corner threw in the towel. Jones landed 140 of 300 punches (47%) and Woods connected on 39 of 166 (23%).
WBA Heavyweight Champion[edit]
Roy Jones vs. John Ruiz[edit]
Main article: John Ruiz vs. Roy Jones, Jr.
On March 1, 2003, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas,[11] Roy Jones defeated John Ruiz, the man who defeated an aging Evander Holyfield, for the WBA Heavyweighttitle in front of 15,300 fans. Jones officially weighed in at 193 lb (88 kg)[12] and Ruiz at 226 lb (103 kg). Jones became the first former Middleweight title holder to win a Heavyweight title in 106 years.[13] Jones also became the first fighter to start his career as a light middleweight and win a heavyweight title.[14] Jones was guaranteed $10 million against 60% of the profits. Ruiz had no guarantee. He received 40% of the profits, which he had to share with promoter Don King. Jones won on all three scorecards (116-112, 118-110 & 117-111). According to Mark Taffet, HBO's Senior Vice-President of Sports Operations and Pay-Per-View, the fight generated 602,000 pay-per-view buys.[15]
Roy Jones vs. Antonio Tarver[edit]
Main article: Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones, Jr.
Jones chose to return to the light heavyweight division and on November 8, 2003 he defeated Antonio Tarver to retain The Ring Light Heavyweight Championship and win Tarver's WBC title, as well as the vacant WBA (Super) title.[16] Jones appeared a lot weaker after coming back down to the light heavyweight division, losing the muscle he gained for the heavyweight fight seemed to have taken a toll on his aging body and his cat-like reflexes appeared diminished. Jones won by majority decision, the judges giving him 117–111,116–112 and 114–114.[16]
Fall from grace[edit]
Roy Jones vs. Antonio Tarver II[edit]
Main article: Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver II
On May 15, 2004, Jones faced Tarver in a rematch. Jones was heavily favored to win, but Tarver knocked him down at 1:41 of the second round. Jones had won the first round (Tarver only landed two punches in the first round), but in the second, as Jones tried a combination, he was caught by a big counter left hook from Tarver. Jones got on his feet by the count, but for the first time in his career was ruled unable to continue by referee Jay Nady.
Roy Jones vs. Glen Johnson[edit]
Main article: Glen Johnson vs. Roy Jones Jr.
On September 25, 2004, Jones attempted to win the IBF Light Heavyweight title from Glen Johnson in a match in Memphis, Tennessee.[17] Johnson knocked out Jones 49 seconds into the ninth round. Jones lay on the canvas for three minutes after being counted out.[18] Johnson was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the knockout (77–75, 77–75, 78–74) and had landed 118 punches to Jones's 75. Jones used the ring's canvas that night as a billboard for his upcoming rap CD, which came out November 1.
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