'Filipinos don't duck and dodge nothing': Roy Jones Jr. Exclusive Interview

By Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo:

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As far as legendary boxers go, Roy Jones Jr. is as legendary as they come. The BWAA's Fighter of the Decade in the 90's, Jones is the first former middleweight champion to ever win a heavyweight title in 106 years. He was considered as the pound for pound best boxer in the world for numerous years, and held a record 7 belts at the same time at one point.
Jones influenced several boxers of today, and brought his own brand of excitement to the sweet science. As a teenager, I grew up idolizing Jones like a lot of boxing fans during that time. Never did I imagine that Jones would still be an active boxer at age 42, nor did I foresee being able interview the man and talk about Philippine boxing.

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Check out the transcript of my interview with Roy below as we talked about his career, his future and Filipino fighters he admires such as Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire Jr. and Gerry Penalosa, likening them to fighting roosters. Roy also shared with me his interest in getting a house in the Philippines.
Jones has a fight in Russia on May 21 against a bigger Russian challenger in cruiserweight Denis Lebedev.


dSource - Hey Roy, how are you doing?
Roy Jones Jr. - Hey Dennis. How are you doing Dennis?
dSource - I'm good. It's an absolute pleasure to be speaking with you tonight man.
Roy Jones Jr. - Thank you Dennis. I appreciate that.
dSource - So I just wanted to ask you a few questions. You've been in the game for quite some time now. You've accomplished more than any boxer can dream of in the sport. So what keeps you motivated to wake up early in the morning and do your roadwork and go through the rigors of training, and risking your health inside that boxing ring?
Roy Jones Jr. - "The fact that there's nothing else I can do that I enjoy as much as I enjoy boxing. God blessed me with a gift and talent [...] Me I still believe that God has still has more for me to do inside the ring. He's not telling me to stop yet. So if I stop now, it looks like I gave in to the past and father time. Eventually I'm going to get there, but right now it's not time yet, feel me?"
"I love to be on the downside, for people to count me out. Those who say 'he can't do it no more,' that's what makes me tick. So the more they say I can't, the more they encourage me to go harder. So the fact that they doubt me, makes me want to go even harder."
"The health part, I look at it that way too, and I tell people all the time
dSource - And you still have a high demand, and a lot of fans all around the world that wants to see you fight..

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Roy Jones Jr. - "And they showed me that in Russia when I was there last week. They showed me that I am still very well loved, and people still want to see, even if I have just a little bit left, they still want to see that little bit. 'We don't care if he don't got all of what he used to have, [...] we want to see it,' that's what they said. And I'm like 'Wow!' But there's still a lot left. There's still plenty left to get the job done. But just the fact that they wanted to see what I still got left, it inspired me.
dSource - "You have a lot of fans from the Philippines. Can you relate to us some of your experiences with Filipino fans?"
Roy Jones Jr. - "Well yea, I can relate to Filipino boxing fans. I love the Filipino boxing fans, because for me, they love some of the same things that I love. They believe in it like I believe in it. They believe in it from the game roosters going to the top from the bottom. So if you're a warrior, you're a warrior. That's what game roosters stand for, and that's what most of the Philippine boxing stands for. Like Manny Pacquiao, he's saying basically that 'I'm the baddest rooster in the block, ain't no rooster close to my size that can take it,' understand me? You got to love it. These guys don't duck and dodge nothing. That's what Roy Jones love. That's what Roy Jones stood for. Just like Denis Lebedev, he's a lot bigger than me. He's a cruiserweight, and he's a southpaw. They think I don't got a lot left, and he want it, and the Russian fans said they want, so let's bring it on. If ya'll are going to be fair with it, then lets go. I duck and dodge nobody either, that's what I like about Pacquiao, he ain't ducking and dodging nothing, same with Nonito Donaire, he ain't ducking or dodging nothing. That's what I'm talking about.
dSource - "Yup, just like how you showed them when you became a heavyweight world champion."
Roy Jones Jr. - "That's exactly right. I ain't ducking or dodging nothing. You ain't got to be my size or frame anyway."
To be continued...