Boxing

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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