Roy Jones Junior, now aged 47 and last seen being brutally KO’d by Enzo Maccarinelli is his adopted Russia in his most recent bout of any meaning, will box again on August 13. Set to face fellow veteran Rodney Moore in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida, Jones Jr will reappear after his winning curiosity bout against competition winner and debutant Vyryon Phillips in March.
Jones Jr, 63-9(46) has been shot or close to it for years, certainly nothing like the once untouchable boxing master he was in the 1990s and early 2000s, yet he cannot, for whatever reason, walk away and retire. Against Moore, 17-11-2(7) will be attempting to defeat a 40-year-old cruiserweight who has not won a fight since way back in 2002. “Rocking” Rodney of Houston, Texas has faced a number of good fighters during his 20 year pro career (that saw a gap of inactivity between 2006 and 2011) – including Richard Hall, Darnell Wilson, Andrey Fedesov and, more recently, in June of 2015, Murat Gassiev. But Moore has lost to the names he has faced. Moore has only been stopped once, by the rising Gassiev, but it is unclear how much he has left to offer today.
The same of course could be said of Jones Jr. The KO defeat he suffered against Maccarinelli was as sad as it was shocking to witness. The Jones Jr of his prime – who was easily taking care of fellow greats Bernard Hopkins and James Toney – would have played with Maccarinelli. Jones Jr might play with Moore next month (and on his Face Book page, the Moore fight is being promoted as “what could be his farewell”) and those fans who remember how special the former multi-weight king was, really do hope the end will come ASAP.
It’s anyone’s guess what we can expect from Jones Jr-Moore, but it would be nice if the living legend won and then really did walk away, putting his boxing gloves far from reach for evermore. But if Jones Jr does win? Yet another bout would be a distinct possibility. Fans who admire and respect Jones Jr just hope he walks way in good health when his boxing career at last fizzles out.