Ducking, RJJ vs BHops

Jones ducked a bunch of fighters in every division he was in. Basically name every marquee or respected fighter from 168 to HW. Jones' record is notable not for who he fought but who he didnt fight. Other than Toney, or Hopkins who wasnt even a big name yet, name me this list of great fighters that Jones fought to build this all time great resume. He basically cherry picked the weakest paper champs in each division he fought in (with the exception of Toney) to grow his massive collection of belts while stronger or more notable champs waited and never got to fight him.

 

No you name the marquee respected fighters he didnt face and why they were so much better than the fighters he did face? Hopkins needed to be a big name before it being a respectable win for Jones?
How about Hopkins? Did beating up on the Keith Holmes and Tito Trinidads of the time really make it that much bigger of a fight? He was more popular yes, but not so much better the fight would have been closer. Jones improved himself over that same time as well.

 

Its a bit of a myth, read this curtesy of McGrain about the prospective Benn fight:

In September of '95 Jones dispatched Tony Thornton with somethig like 25 unanswered punches, Jones made a suitably bizarre dedication:

"This is for everyone in the chicken business!"

But he also had a bit to say about Nigel Benn.

"You go tell Don King i'll take that fight [Benn] anytime! Nigel Benn is a great warrior and that's why I want to fight him!"


The problem was that Benn was with King. King wanted Jones to sign a "winning options" clause. Though Jones was happy to work with King for the right amount of dollar, he, and perhaps to an even greater degree, Stanley Levin (something to do with Roy's management team - don't know his exact role, he seems to be mostly labelled as a "advisor"?) did not want any part of Don long term, and you absolutley cannot blame them for that. Furthermore, King was determined that a fight this big should be on Showtime, Jones was connected to HBO.

Later, Jones was inerviewed by Claude Abrahams for Boxing News:

"I hear about King offring $25m for me and Benn. Instead, he can come up with $10m apiece and we can fight [without giving up long-term control]. I want a three fight package!"

Jones's "three fight package" wasn't a long-term deal for King, but rather an idea whereby he would come to England but not alone.

"My bros must go with me. I must have some cover if I go to another country. Bruno-[Alfred] Cole would be a good fight. Let's make it a great night. I've seen Hamed. He's a pretty good fighter but [Derek] Gainer watched the fight against Robinson, he says he can beat him. Derrick don't turn no-one down. Bruno can punch but Cole has more skill. That will balance it out into a good fight. Me and Benn - enough said. I like Benn and that's why I want to fight him. It's a sportsman's challenge. But they can't speak for themselves. They can't make their own decisions without King. They can't make their own decisions. We can. They don't have the power. They are denying the public some great fights. I really like the big challanges. When I fought Toney it was a project. Benn is a project because he is a warrior and it will be a test for me. I really believe Benn wants to fight me. I respect him."

Several things strike me about this. Firstly, I believe Roy was up for this. That strikes me. Do you? Or just bombast? Secondly, he really seems bored with the Sosas of this world. I think it screams of the page that he wants to be challenged. Thirdly, Jones shows real give. He doesn't make problems. Read between the lines. He's talking about coming to the UK AND taking a pay cut in this passage. I don't think you can hold it against him that he didn't want to sell his soul to the devil.

Of course it never came off. After the Sosa fight Jones said: "Boxing isnt a challenge for me no more. The only challenge is Benn and he don't return my phone calls." You can see the boredom.


Benn, for his part, was probably not the problem. After the Nardiello fight talking to Ian Darke: "Roy Jones...I don't mind being second to Roy Jones. I think he's a class act. I'd really like to fight him. He'll frighten me. That's what I need - somebody to really frighten me. I'd be up for that fight like a mother...so please, God, Don King, Frank Warren HBO, if you can get that fight i'll fight him in his - no, my back yard. Roy Jones is the only one who's gonna give me that real fear. He's going to put the fear of God up me."


**** Don King.


Has anyone got a link or a quote attributed to Jones saying he didn't want to fight Benn because of the Gerald McClellan thing? I never heard him say that, but you run into it a fair bit in General.

 

Jones calling for Dariusz fight:

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/ubp0302.html

Dariusz Michalczewski welcomes Roy Jones’ willingness for showdown

03.02 - Hamburg – After several years of equivocation light heavyweight champion Roy Jones jr. apparently decided to do the right thing. The world champion of WBC, WBA and IBF finally displayed serious willingness to fight against undefeated WBO king Dariusz Michalczewski, 44-0 (37 KOs).

“I'm going to go to HBO Monday and say HBO give me some money and let me go ahead to Germany and make this thing happen with Dariusz Michalczewski, if he wants some”, Jones said after he defended his titles in Miami against Australian Glen Kelly by way of 7th round knockout.

Three days prior to the fight Jones pointed out that a duel against Michalczewski would be more likely than against any other world class boxer. In a slightly trite statement Jones asked Michalczewski to come to the US to fight him.

“You tell the guy from Germany to bring his butt on over here”, Jones said. “And you tell him I said that.”

So far a Michalczewski-Jones showdown was prevented by the unrealistic high purse demands of Roy Jones. In an interview displayed by German Pay-TV channel Premiere last Saturday Jones said he would demand $10 million for a fight against the undefeated WBO champion.

Nevertheless Dariusz Michalczewski who was watching Jones’ fight on TV enjoyed the recent promising statements of his American rival.

“I was always sure that the big fight between Jones and me will take place”, Michalczewski stated Sunday morning on Premiere World. “I always wanted it and my promoter Universum wants the fight as well. And we just have no choice. The public is demanding this fight. I’m confident that before the end of the year Jones and me will meet inside the ring.”

Michalczewski expressed respect for the skills Jones displayed Saturday night when he scored several knockdowns against Glen Kelly before knocking him out in round 6 with a highly unorthodox trick punch.

“Jones was very variable. He fought excellent and displayed his speed”, the 33-year-old said. “However, Kelly lost his confidence very early. From that point on Jones was able to do what ever he wanted.”

“If Jones likes to pull faces and be a clown inside the ring that’s up to him”, Michalczewski commented the provocative gestures and trick shots of the American. “That’s not my style, though.”

“Jones never faced an opponent inside the ring who is putting real serious pressure on him from the first moment on. My best weapon is my jab. In the Kelly fight I realized once again that Jones is vulnerable to a good jab.”

“Jones’ clowing will backfire some day”, Universum chief coach Fritz Sdunek said, a man who among others trains both Klitschko brothers, Dariusz Michalczewski and undefeated lightweight king Artur Grigorian. “Naseem Hamed should be a warning to him. Everybody can be defeated. Roy Jones should think carefully about playing games with Dariusz inside the ring.”

“Dariusz just wouldn’t give Jones room for clowning. You can’t compare this to the Kelly fight. Kelly was tailor made for Jones. Roy Jones is quite aware how dangerous a fight against Michalczewski would be for him. Dariusz would move well so Jones couldn’t pick his punches. And most definitely Michalczewski’s left hand would land.”

The next title defense of Dariusz Michalczewski is intended for April.

 

I dont buy anything that comes out of Jones mouth about challenges, like mayweather he constantly talked about fighting people and then wouldnt. Big ****ing deal. The proof is in the pudding and the amound of interesting fights that ARENT on his record far outweighs the ones that are. he was such a ****ing coward that he got so tired of hearing people call him out on Darius that he tried to get it written into his HBO contract that they would not mention Darius name on their network. Now thats a *****.

Fights with Collins, Benn, Calzaghe, Eubank, Rocchiggiani, Jirov, Darius, Nunn, Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis (Roy talked about all of these fights so dont say Im being unrealistic) rematches with Toney and Hopkins (he only met Hopkins in a rematch and Calzaghe when he knew he had nothing to lose and could blame old age on losses). Those are all fights that Roy would say he could win but wouldnt take. His record is pathetically full of more holes than swiss cheese. Hell it was proven in the Rocchiggiani case that Jones was being handed titles without even having to fight for them and actively ducking fights he was obligated to take. Only his ghetto nuthuggers will buy that this overrated HBO hypejob was a legitimate risk taking great.

You can post article after article about Jones calling fighters out but the fact is that these fights NEVER happened. You can say for one or two that maybe they were avoiding him but ALL of those names avoided Jones who had the backing of sanctioning bodies and the most powerful/richest network in boxing??? Dream the **** on.

 

Jones ducking Rochiagani now? Jones was scheduled to fight Roch until Roch couldn't commit to the press conference

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/30/s...f-fisticuffs-not-high-kicks.html?pagewanted=1

This bout represents both a change of site and a change of opponent for Jones (40-1), who will turn 31 the day after the bout. Jones was originally supposed to fight Graciano Rocchigiani of Germany at the Garden. But the Knicks were playing at the Garden on Jan. 15, and Rocchigiani could not commit to the schedule of the news conference in New York and to the date of the fight. So, the fight was shifted to Radio City, which is owned by Cablevision, the parent company of Madison Square Garden, and Rocchigiani was replaced by Telesco (23-2).

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/30/s...st-holyfield.html?scp=2&sq=Rocchigiani&st=cse

It appears that the Nov. 6 bout between ROY JONES Jr., the undisputed light-heavyweight champion, and GRACIANO ROCCHIGIANI is off. Rocchigiani was supposed to be training in the Poconos with EMANUEL STEWARD. Steward said he hasn't seen him. HBO will fill the Nov. 6 date with a bout between FLOYD MAYWEATHER, the W.B.C. junior-lightweight champion, and DERRICK GAINER. The Jones-Rocchigiani bout could come off in January.

 

The Steve Collins fight was on in 2009 as Collins was coming out of retirement for £3million but Collins decided not to come back after being beat up by Howard Eastman in sparring

 

As for a Eubank fight, Chris has been quoted as saying such a fight would lessen his life expectancy and he wouldn't fight Jones unless Jones was a mandatory for 1 of his belts but as both were champions at the same time that was impossible (also he doesnt mention the WBO rarely has mando's anyway)

Does anyone have a link to that quote? If not can someone verify I'm not BS'ing

 

Not the same quote I was looking for but a similar 1

Chris Eubank: People always ask me why I never fought Roy Jones. The reason is simple, Roy Jones was never my mandatory contender and I was never his. He used to call me up over the phone and say "Eubank, stop hiding and give Roy a shot", but at that time he was not a big name and there would of been no need to fight him, it would of been abit random. When 1996 was on the scene, I wanted to fight Roy Jones in his backyard and even told HBO that I'd publicly bet $1,000,000 on knocking him out in the 1st-round. When I rang Roy Jones, he hung up on me every time. He wouldn't fight me when I was no longer champion, he didn't want to take risks you see. I can say this about a fight with Roy Jones, if he had been my mandatory I would of fought him, I am a professional. People think that I would of made a fight with him become boring and louzy, I would not have done. If you hold back against that guy, he will hurt you and stun you before you have the chance to throw your best shots at him and by then it's too late because they won't be your best shots, you will be hurt and stunned already. If you give him the chance to view and the time to get set, he will land first because his quickness and timing is that good. That's why I would of made it an all-out war with him, so that I'd have more chance of throwing my best shots at him and so there would be less chance of him landing his best shots on me. You don't want to make life easy for him, I would of stood as good a chance as anybody of beating him. Roy Jones would of came out of the fight in bad shape, but I would of came out worse off!

 

Jones Jr showing respect for Benn, Eubank and Collins ...

Jones Jr on Benn: "At one time, Benn was 22 - 0 with 22 knock outs. That's hard to do. Oscar De La Hoya didn't do that, Roy Jones didn't do that. Nobody hardly got that far with straight knock outs, not even Mike Tyson did it. Nobody still fighting today has done it, Benn has got furthest, not De La Hoya or anyone. I got about 17, I think. So, that tells you something about his punching power." - 1996, "You discount Benn's boxing skills at your peril." - 1994, "He was truly a warrior." - 1996, "he's been one of the best come forward fighters of the last 10 years." - 1996.

Jones Jr on Eubank "Chris was a good champion, a good champion, he was great for the sport, especially in England where he was based. You see, it was that he was an amazing charactor, very colourful, made you smile, but also defended his belt over and over. It's a shame that he didn't have his second reign as champion when he moved up to Cruiser, him doing that is what gave me the idea to move up to see if I could become champ in the Heavy's - it inspired me slightly, I had that idea in the back off my head from then. Now, he didn't give me a shot when I was climbing, but I salute you Mr Eubanks!" - 2003, "His style was this curious mixture of power, skill, unorthodox movement and some downright sloppy moments that included a long, loopy overhand right that made me smile that every time I saw it thrown. No but he was a great fighter who needed more challenges. Toney gave his people a contract to sign but they wouldn't sign, that's the downside to him. But no, I like Chris." - 1997.

Jones Jr on Collins: "Stevie Collins would be a great fight because he's always there, good staying power. I think he could get some shots in on me because he's developed into being very, very competent, I think he's come a long ways from the days he was losing his shots. But ofcourse I'd be hitting back and hurting him, but he's got heart. I just think that with Collins, he'd be taking too many shots to get a win over Roy. But he is a warrior and has worked hard for a place at the top table. To send Eubanks and Benn into retirement is something that I wanted to do to make a name for myself in Europe and England, but he got there first." - 1997.

 

Like I said, he didnt yell for Hopkins until he had nothing to lose by losing to Hopkins. He put up every single stumbling block to rematching Hopkins (and fighting anyone in general that would have been viewed as a threat) in order to keep those fights from happening. He wouldnt fight any foreigner on foreign soil at a time when foreigners were the biggest names in his divisions but he was happy to go and fight abroad when he needed some credibility going into the Hopkins fight. It isnt really even worth arguing about because anyone with half a brain can see that Jones record is alarmingly devoid of talent and amazing packed full of tomatoe cans even during a period when he shouldnt have been anywhere near a tomatoe can. Fighting the Glen Kellys, Ricky Fraziers, David Telescos, Derrick Harmons etc of the world, with their padded records may be great when you trying to gain experience and establish yourself as a contender but to pretend that these guys are contenders themselves, worthy of being on HBO or PPV, and pad your record with them while you calling yourself a P4P great and avoiding better matches left and right is pretty ****ing pathetic. If thats the boxing you want to watch then we can differ on what competition actually is and what it actually means. You are probably also someone who enjoys shooting fish in a barrell because thats basically what Jones was doing throughout latter half of his career.

 

Are you seriously that ignorant Jones offered Hopkins 40% on live TV, the same Hopkins he beat, when Jones was P4P no1, and Hopkins kept asking for 50-50 and a catch weight

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJbOw_5DPiE[/ame]

'60-40 get your ass kicked'