Jones jr. vs Sanders
not a done deal
By Chris Askov
09.08 - Coming as little or no surprise the "breaking
news" of a heavyweight showdown between Roy Jones
jr, and Corrie Sanders appears to be premature. Despite
confirmation by Jones jr, promoter Murad Muhammad (August
7 edition of USA Today) that the fight was set, for
Saturday November 8, it appears that Roy will pass on
the opportunity to fight the heavy handed south paw.
The reason behind Roy's sudden disinterest coincides
with the decision by the WBO to strip Corrie Sanders
of their version of the heavyweight title for opting
to fight Roy Jones rather than make his mandatory title
defense against Lamont Brewster. Roy has made no secret
of his affinity for championship belts and apparently
is unwilling to fight Sanders unless the WBO will sanction
the fight.
The reasoning behind the WBO's decision to relieve
Sanders of his title is puzzling. Roy Jones is riding
high on the crest of a wave he created when he dove
into the heavyweight division and claimed the WBA title
in a victory over John Ruiz. Roy Jones has never to
this point in his career been a more bankable fighter
for potential PPV fights. You may ask yourself, why
then would the fringe WBO possibly decline the opportunity
to be involved with a high profile, big money, live
bout seen by millions the world over in favor of sanctioning
a contest between Sanders and the little known Lamont
Brewster? An expectable answer to this question is not
yet forthcoming from any WBO official.
Sanders KO win over Wladimir Klitschko to claim the
title gave him the opportunity that should, in theory
anyway, be the point of holding a championship belt;
the chance to test your skills against an interesting
opponent for a big purse. The all to common irony coincidental
among all the alphabet organizations is that exactly
the opposite occurs. When someone claims a championship
belt the particular sanctioning body then forces the
champ into facing less interesting opponents in order
to satisfy mandatory challengers which, ultimately,
only serve to justify the rankings of certain boxers.
While the factors behind the WBO's decision to remove
itself from the contest may be questionable, the resulting
consequences are all to obvious. Specifically, the brunt
of the collateral damage resulting from the WBO's decision
will, of course, be felt by Corrie Sanders. He has lost
out on the biggest purse of his career. More broadly,
with the apparent retirement of Lennox Lewis, the financial
troubles of mike tyson, and Holyfield's decision to
fight James Toney, there is an ever shorting list of
interesting matches to be made, and promoted for WBA
kingpin Roy Jones in the heavyweight division.
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