Roy Jones Jr.

Roy Jones, Jr.
File:Copped.jpg
Born	Roy Jones Jr. (1969-01-16) January 16, 1969 Pensacola, Florida, USA
Nationality	American
Other names	Junior Superman RJ Captain Hook
Statistics
Weight(s)	Light Heavyweight Heavyweight Super Middleweight Middleweight
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Reach	74 in (188 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	62
Wins	54
Wins by KO	40
Losses	8
Draws	0
No contests	0
Medal record Men's Boxing 1988 Seoul Korea Light-Middleweight

Roy Jones, Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous championships in the Middleweight, Super middleweight, Light heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions. He is the only boxer in history to start his career as a junior middleweight, and go on to win a heavyweight title. He is also noted for holding the WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO, NABF, WBF, and IBA light heavyweight championships; a record seven belts at the same time. Jones left his mark in boxing history when he won the WBA heavyweight title, becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a Heavyweight title in 106 years. Jones was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1990s by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Boxing career

Amateur career

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. 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. Allegedly, Park himself apologized to Jones afterward, and the referee told Jones that he was dumbstruck by the judge's decision. One judge shortly thereafter admitted the decision was a mistake, and all three judges voting against Jones were eventually suspended. An official IOC investigation concluding in 1997 found that three of the judges were wined and dined by South Korean officials. This led to calls for Jones to be awarded a gold medal, but the IOC still officially stands by the decision, despite the allegations. 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.

Professional career

On turning professional, he had already sparred with many professional boxers, including NABF champion Ronnie Essett, IBF world champion Lindell Holmes and Sugar Ray Leonard. Jones began as a professional on May 6, 1989, knocking out Ricky Randall in 2 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.

Roy Jones vs Bernard Hopkins

Jones tomade 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 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. While working for HBO as an analyst for Bernard Hopkins title defense against Simon Brown, Jones would admit on air that he was 16 pounds heavier than Hopkins on fight night, weighing 180 to Hopkins 163.

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. 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 world title against Thomas Tate in two rounds at Las Vegas on May 27.

Roy Jones vs James Toney

By this point in his career, Jones was considered one of boxing's top four "pound for pound" fighters. On November 18, 1994, he was set to face undefeated IBF super middleweight champion James Toney, #1 ranked "pound for pound" contender. Toney had gone undefeated in 46 bouts and was rated the best in the world. The Jones/Toney fight was ultra-hyped, and 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, scoring a flash knockdown in the third round. Ring magazine called Jones' performance the most dominant of any big fight in 20 years. Revelations that Toney was badly underprepared and dehydrated would surface in the days following the fight. Toney himself would reveal in an interview with Ring magazine that he had taken laxatives and diuretics the day of the weigh-in to make weight.

In 1995, Jones defended his super middleweight title successfully multiple times. He began the year by knocking out Antoine Byrd in round one. He faced former world lightweight champion Vinny Pazienza and defeated him in round six. He then beat Tony Thornton in round two by KO.

Career from 1996 to 2002

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 the fight, taking questions from a chair in the middle of the ring and defending his choice of Bryant Brannon as his opponenet instead of Frankie Liles, his nemesis from the amateurs. He then defeated Bryant Brannon in a round two TKO.

Roy Jones vs Mike McCallum

The 40 year old former multiple world champion and eventual hall of famer Mike McCallum was defeated by a wide decision in 12 rounds. Jones became a member of boxing's exclusive group of world champions in three weight divisions by winning the WBC light heavyweight championship. After Mike MacCallum lost the World Boxing Council light heavyweight crown to Roy Jones, he called Jones ``the greatest fighter of my time.'`

Roy Jones vs Montell Griffin I & II

In 1997 Jones had his first professional loss, a disqualification against Montell Griffin. 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. Jones sought an immediate rematch 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.

In 1998, Jones began by knocking out former light heavyweight and future cruiserweight champion Virgil Hill (who had already lost his belts to WBO champion Darius Micalczewski) 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 champion, 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 who few had ever heard of as well as his steadfast refusal to meet WBO champion Darius Michaczewski in a unification bout. Jones answered these calls on June 5 of that year, when he beat the IBF's world champion, 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.

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 the light heavyweight world championship. 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 TKO over Richard Hall at the Conseco Fieldhouse. 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.

In 2002, Jones retained his title by knocking out Glen Kelly in seven rounds. Jones then defeated future world champion Clinton Woods by technical knockout. He performed a song from his CD during his ring entrance.

WBA Heavyweight Champion

On March 1, 2003, in Las Vegas, Roy Jones defeated John Ruiz, the man who defeated an aging Evander Holyfield, for the WBA heavyweight title. Jones officially weighed in at 193 lb (88 kg) and Ruiz at 226 lb (103 kg). Jones became the first former middleweight title holder to win a heavyweight title in 106 years, though many historians refuse to recognize the accomplishment because Lennox Lewis was the true and lineal champion at the time of the bout. Jones also became the first fighter to start his career as a junior middleweight and win a heavyweight title.

Jones vs. Tarver

On November 8, 2003, Jones came back down to the light heavyweight division to fully duplicate Bob Fitzsimmons' feat from 1896. He regained the light heavyweight championship belt by beating Antonio Tarver. And by doing this, he became the second boxer in history to win a heavyweight title, then regain the light heavyweight title. 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.

Fall From Grace

Jones vs. Tarver II & Jones vs. Glen Johnson

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.

On September 25, 2004, Jones attempted to win the IBF light heavyweight title from Glen Johnson in a match in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson knocked out Jones 49 seconds into the ninth round. Jones lay on the canvas for three minutes after being counted out. 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 on November the 1st.

Jones vs Tarver III

After almost a year away from the ring, focusing on training and working as an analyst for HBO Boxing, Jones scheduled a third fight with Antonio Tarver, on October 1, 2005, at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, which aired on HBO PPV. For only the second time in his career, Jones was considered an underdog going into the fight. Tarver won by unanimous decision (117-111, 116-112, 116-112).

Fallout with HBO

After the loss in the third Tarver bout, Jones resumed his duties as a commentator for HBO World Championship Boxing, calling the Floyd Mayweather Jr-Sharmba Mitchell fight on November 19, 2005, and the Jermain Taylor-Bernard Hopkins rematch on December 3, 2005. His return to the network was short lived, as Jones was let go from his ringside analyst role in January 2006. HBO cited his reported lack of commitment to attending the network's production meetings.

Comeback Trail

Back to winning ways

Jones took on Prince Badi Ajamu on July 29, 2006, at the Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho. Jones defeated Ajamu by a unanimous decision, winning the NABO light heavyweight title.

Next up for Jones was the undefeated Anthony Hanshaw, on July 14, 2007, at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi. Hanshaw was knocked down in the 11th round. Jones won the bout by unanimous decision and in doing so won the IBC light heavyweight title.

Félix Trinidad

On January 19, 2008, Jones faced former 147 and 154 pound five-time world champion Félix Trinidad at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The bout was fought at a catchweight of 170 lbs. Jones had a noticeable size and speed advantage, and in round seven, a short right hand to the temple dropped Trinidad to his knees. Jones fired a combination in the tenth round to send Trinidad down once more. Jones won the fight by scores of 117-109 and 116-110 (twice). This was the first time a former heavyweight champion returned to fight successfully at 170 lbs.

Joe Calzaghe

After Joe Calzaghe's split from promoter Frank Warren, it was officially announced that Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Calzaghe had reached an agreement to fight for the The Ring light heavyweight championship in New York City at Madison Square Garden on September 20, 2008 on HBO PPV. However, Calzaghe claimed injury to his right hand in training, so the fight had to be postponed a couple of weeks, with November 8 being set as the new date. Calzaghe was knocked down by an accidental forearm and cut on the bridge of the nose in the first round. Calzaghe resumed control almost immediately and dominated Jones throughout the remainder of the fight. Calzaghe toyed with Jones and mocked him from the center of the ring, daring Jones to try and hit him and then countering with fast combinations. The Welshman opened a cut over Jones' left eye. Jones' corner, who had never seen Roy cut before, didn't know how to properly handle the situation. Blood covered the left side of Jones' face. Ultimately Jones lost by unanimous decision, winning only 2 rounds on the 3 official judges cards.

Recent fights (2009)

Jones defeated Omar Sheika on March 21, 2009, via fifth-round technical knockout. Despite Sheika having won 27 of his 35 professional bouts, including a defeat of Glen Johnson, who had knocked out Jones in 2004. On August 15, 2009, Jones beat former super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy in 10 rounds after Lacy's corner stopped the fight. Lacy had never been knocked out or stopped before.

In December 2009, Roy Jones was set to face Australian boxer Danny Green in Sydney, Australia. In the weeks leading up to this fight, there were reports in the newspapers indicating difficulties getting Roy's sparring partners into Australia. Then on December 2, 2009, following an extensive pre-fight delay due to hand wrap protests, Danny Green defeated Jones in a first round TKO

Roy Jones vs Bernard Hopkins II

Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins met in a rematch bout, on April 3, 2010 in Las Vegas. After 12 foul-filled, uneventful rounds, Hopkins was awarded with a unanimous decision.

Personal life

Roy Jones, Jr., was born in Pensacola, Florida, to two very different parents. His mother, Carol, was warm and easy-going, whereas his father, Roy Sr., was much like a Marine Drill Instructor with respect to his son. A decorated Vietnam veteran, ex-club fighter, and retired aircraft engineer who had taken up hog farming, Roy Sr. was hard on his son from early on, taunting the child, ``sparring'` with him, enraging Roy Jr., yelling at him, and beating the child, often for 20 minutes at a time. This behavior never really changed; if anything it became more brutal as Roy Jr. grew up. Many people would call the father's treatment out-and-out abuse, but he believed he had a good reason for it: to make Roy Jr. tough enough to be a champion. In this pursuit, he was relentless, and Roy Jr. lived in constant fear of his father's verbal and physical violence against him.

Jones described his childhood in Sports Illustrated: ``After a while I didn't care about gettin' hurt or dyin' anymore. I was in pain all day, every day, I was so scared of my father. He'd pull up in his truck and start lookin' for something I'd done wrong. There was no escape, no excuse, no way out of nothin'. ... Getting' hurt or dyin' might've been better than the life I was livin'. ... Used to think about killin' myself anyway.'` There's no way to know whether or not Jones would have become a world champion fighter without this extremely punitive upbringing, but there's little question it toughened the young man.

Roy Sr. ran his own boxing gym, to which he devoted all his available time and financial resources. He offered direction and useful discipline to numerous youths, and steered many of them away from trouble. Roy Sr. did everything possible to expand the program and help more kids. But towards his own son he was merciless, driving Roy Jr. to the brink of exhaustion, screaming at him in front of all the other fighters, assaulting him. Roy Sr.'s father had been a hard-working laborer, and had been tough on him the way he was on Roy Jr. But Jones, the world champion boxer, will not continue this line of treatment. He is very attuned to others' anguish; on his web site, he says, ``What gets [me] down?'` is watching other people be hurt and mistreated.'` It is a feeling he has known very well.

Using his birds as an image for his own predicament, Jones said in the same Sports Illustrated piece: ``I spent all my life in my dad's cage. I could never be 100 percent of who I am until I left it. But because of him, nothing bothers me. I'll never face anything stronger and harder than what I already have.'` Jones' father, with his overbearing and overwhelming personality, had created a powerful craving in the boxer—the need to become his own man.

Former heavyweight champion George Foreman said Jones "hits like a heavyweight and moves like a lightweight"

Boxer Montell Griffin who faced Jones twice at 175 lbs, and sparred with Floyd Mayweather Jr at 140 lbs said, "Floyd was no comparison as far as speed. Roy was much faster".

In 1996, High Frequency Boxing's John DiMaio wrote ``The early evidence points toward the real possibility that Jones is the greatest talent this sport has ever seen. His skill so dwarfs that of his nearest ranked opposition...that providing competitive opponents is a more challenging dilemma than the fights themselves.'` The expert opinion of Boxing magazine's editor, Bert Sugar, is provided on Jones' website: ``He possesses the fastest hands in boxing with lightning fast moves and explosive power in both hands.'` After Mike MacCallum lost the World Boxing Council light heavyweight crown to Roy Jones in a 1996 unanimous decision, he called Jones ``the greatest fighter of all time.'`

Awards

Selected Awards: Ring Sports Magazine—1993 Fighter of the Year; 1995 Man of the Year; 1996 Sportsman of the Year. Ring, Boxing Illustrated, and Boxing Scene magazines—1994 Fighter of the Year. International Boxing Federation—1995 Fighter of the Year and 1995 Fighter of Unlimited Potential. ESPN ESPY Award—1995 Boxer of the Year. The Sports Network-Boxer of the Decade. Boxing Illustrated's Budweiser ratings, June 1995 onward—Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World. March of Dimes—1995 Honorary Chairman. KO—1996 Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World and 1996 Best Fighter in the World. Congress of Racial Equality—1996 Outstanding Achievement Award. American Association for the Improvement of Boxing (the Marciano Foundation)--1996 Humanitarian of the Year. Boxing 1996—Best Pound-for Pound Fighter in the World. Harlem Globetrotters—Honorary Ambassador of Goodwill (1997). Escambia-Pensacola Human Relations Commission—1997 Olive Branch Award, for humanitarianism.

Music career

See also: Body Head Bangerz

Roy Jones, Jr.
Birth name	Roy Lavesta Jones, Jr.
Origin	Pensacola, Florida, United States
Genres	Hip hop, Southern Hip Hop, Crunk, Dirty South
Occupation(s)	Boxer, rapper, actor, promoter, sports commentator
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Body Head Entertainment

Jones started his rap music career in 2001 with his album, titled Round One: The Album and the debut single, "You all Must've Forgot". In 2004, Jones formed a group - Body Head Bangerz and released an album. The album, Body Head Bangerz: Volume One, featured B.G., Juvenile, Bun B of UGK, Petey Pablo, Lil' Flip, and Mike Jones among others.

Discography

Album

Album information
Round One: The Album Released: February 26, 2002 Label: Body Head Entertainment Last RIAA Certification: None Singles: "Y'all Must've Forgot", "And Still"

with Body Head Bangerz

Album information
Body Head Bangerz: Volume One Released: October 26, 2004 Label: Body Head Entertainment Last RIAA Certification: None Singles: "Can't Be Touched", "I Smoke, I Drank (Remix)"

Solo singles

• 2001: "Y'all Must've Forgot"
• 2001: "And Still"
• 2009: "Battle of the Super Powers"

Featured singles

• 2004: "Can't Be Touched"

Filmography

• Married... with Children, Torch Song Duet (1996) - himself
• The Devil's Advocate (1997) - uncredited
• New Jersey Turnpikes (1999) - unknown
• The Wayans Brothers, Rope-a-Dope (1999) - himself
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - Captain Ballard
• Enter The Matrix (2003) - Captain Ballard
• Cordially Invited (2007) - Lenny Banks
• Universal Soldier: A New Dimension (2012)

External links

• Boxing record for Roy Jones Jr. from BoxRec (registration required)
• Roy Jones Jr's Official Blog
• Roy-Jones.net
• Roy Jones Jr. Fight-by-Fight Career Record
• Boxing-Encyclopedia
• "One Tough Bird" - a 1995 Sports Illustrated feature article by Gary Smith.