Evander Holyfield vs Roy Jones

Roy Jones Jr. To Heavyweight? For Evander Holyfield?

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Roy Jones © Ed Mulholland
Former four division Roy Jones Jr. (52-5, 38KOs) is not ready to walk away for good. In his last outing, he lost a shutout twelve round decision to Joe Calzaghe. Jones had said in several interviews that he may decide to make a return to the heavyweight division for a major fight. Jones won a dominant decision over John Ruiz in 2003 to capture the WBA heavyweight title. He vacated the title a few months later to make a return to light heavyweight.

When he came back to 175, also in 2003, he was a changed man. His body never fully recovered from the drastic drop of muscle mass when Jones had to shed off 25-pounds to face Antonio Tarver. According to industry insiders, one opponent Jones may have interest in facing at heavyweight is Evander Holyfield (42-10, 27KOs), a four time heavyweight champion and former undisputed cruiserweight champion.

A fight between Jones and Holyfield is nothing new. The fight had been discussed more than once in the past. Egos always got in the way of the fight actually happening. Each fighter thought he was the bigger name and that led to a battle over the money. Both fighters are now older and their egos may have become wiser.

Holyfield recently suffered a controversial decision loss to seven-foot Nikolai Valuev, the WBA champion. Holyfield made a good enough effort to secure another future payday. A Jones vs. Holyfield encounter could sell on name recognition alone. Jones, who many saw as a shot fighter, did big business against a undersized Felix Trinidad, who was coming off a near three-year retirement.

Calzaghe was too fast and too active for the Jones of today. Holyfield is a lot slower and only fights in spurts, but his punch is still there. The fight is interesting and a case can be made for either of the two winning. The big question is whether there is enough money to be made for both boxers to seriously consider such a fight. Another question is Holyfield's mindset. He seems to be focused on winning a heavyweight belt. There are no title shots in the near future for Holyfield and he needs to make money and he needs to stay active.

 

If it were part of a great overall card it could be PPV.