I've always been interested in Jones, whose bouts were regularly televised and who became known as 'Mr Televsion' as a result. While his overall record would certainly not cause one to sit up and take notice (52-32) he fought a lot of notable fighters of his era including the mob controlled Johnny Saxton, Johnny Bratton, Kid Gavilan, Joey Giardello, Sugar Ray Robinson, Carl 'Bobo' Olson, Eduardo Lausse, Gene Fullmer, Paul Pender and Laszlo Papp. He fought some of these men more than once too, and held wins over Bratton, Bobby Dykes, Gavilan, Giiardello and Robinson. He was stopped only once, very early in his career, so his chin was solid and dependable, although he didn't have a big punch. So Jones was certainly no bum. He seems to me to be the ultimate gatekeeper type of the period. While his record is by no means anything stellar, it doesn't tell the whole story of his career, not by a long shot. His biggest win was over the comebacking Ray Robinson who was having his second fight on the comeback trail. Jones was on a five fight losing streak and was desperate to reverse his fortunes. Film of the fight reveals a Robinson far from his best shape. He pushes the jab instead of snapping it out, his right hand seems nowhere near the same punch it had been in his prime, his hook was notable by it's absence and he was visibly tired only halfway through the fight. However, even a Robinson fighting on fumes is a good fighter, and this victory for Jones (which by the way was a landslide win on points) was as good and as legitimate a win as there has ever been. Robinson would go on to win the middleweight title again and was by no means a spent force, although his best days were behind him. In any event, Jones never did get a title shot. Perhaps he was just too inconsistent to build up enough momentum to warrant enough attention, or maybe he didn't have the right management behind him. Whatever the case, Jones on his night could give anyone a good fight as Ray Robinson found out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL7GU3n-0wo Here is a nice article on Jones: http://www.boxing.com/looking_back_part_one.html
Thanx for sharing that great video. Sad for me, I do not recall watching any of Tiger's fights though I do remember his name being mentioned back in the day. Perhaps that's because he was fondly remembered in Brooklyn which was his original home town. As for the fight, even when he wasn't at his best SRR put up a tremendous fight. He remained quick enough to keep moving and Tiger was not able to cut off the ring. Perhaps it was his inability to make adjustments during the matches that led to his record of 30+ losses. He sure fought against the best of that era. One last thing - whenever I watch these old matches I feel like a kid again. When watching it this evening I just had to make myself a malted milk shake in order to think over the old times. It was very tasty and helped me to enjoy the match even more!
I can drink to that. :thumbsup It makes you wonder just how many fighters, fighters with interesting stories to tell, have been lost due to the passage of time.
