The great Roy Jones holds many accolades, and he won many titles. Jones has also received plenty of praise over the years, and rightly so. Jones, who really was untouchable in his prime (1993 to 2003), scooped up world titles at numerous weights, this as he almost routinely went about defeating superb fighters along with more than capable fighters, such as Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, Mike McCallum (an admittedly past his best version of “The Body Snatcher”), Montell Griffin (in a rematch, this after Jones suffered an extremely rare prime time loss, albeit controversially) and John Ruiz (for a slice of the heavyweight championship).
One of Jones’ perhaps lesser-known accolades/proof of his supreme boxing ability, his sheer speed and his defensive ability, is the one he picked up on this day back in 1995. Jones, aged 26 and at his dazzling best, met the tougher than tough Vinny Pazienza in defence of his IBF super-middleweight belt. Jones was expected by at least a handful of experts to have, perhaps, for a few rounds, maybe more, a tough time with the aggressive and unpredictable “Pazmanian Devil.”
Instead, the fight could not have been more one-sided if Pazienza had fought with a blindfold on. Vinny – who had stunned the world with his astonishing 1992 comeback, this following a car wreck that almost left him paralysed – found out just how super-special Jones was. Paz was no slouch in terms of speed and power, while the former lightweight and light-welterweight champ had great conditioning, immense desire, and a reliable chin (Vinny having been stopped just once prior to the Jones fight, this way back in 1984).
None of this helped Pazienza in the slightest when he faced Jones.
It was a one-sided beating, a veritable massacre. Jones, his speed and reflexes having a genuine otherworldly quality, dominated the 32 year old Paz, winning every minute of every round. And, in round four, Jones made compubox history, this by becoming the first fighter since the inception of the punch-stat computer program to win a round without taking a SINGLE punch. Jones was literally untouchable over the course of these three minutes as, try as he did, Paz could not lay a glove on Jones. Not one. In addition to this, Jones busted Pazienza’s nose in the round.
Jones ended matters in brutally beautiful fashion in round six. Turning it on with nothing short of devastating results, Jones blasted Paz with a sizzling left hook and a follow-up combo that put Vinny down. Pazienza got back up, but he was soon knocked down again, this time courtesy of a right hand. Once again, the all-heart Pazienza made it to his feet, but the flawless punching machine he was facing was too much. Way too much. A stupendous six-punch combination tore into Pazienza as Jones scored a third knockdown. This time, the referee had seen enough (more than enough) and he waved the fight over.
Jones was now 29-0(25) and it seemed no man could ever beat him, would ever beat him. In short, added to all of his other assets as a fighter, Jones was a boxing master who was almost impossible to hit with anything like a clean shot. For now he was, at least. Pazienza, now 40-6(27) had never met a force quite like Jones before.
