Boxing

 

Hey Roy: If You're The Best, Start Acting Like It!

By Walter C. Donovan

22.10 - Roy Jones versus WBA heavyweight titlist John Ruiz is a bout that may actually happen. Amazing. No, not because Ruiz outweighs Jones by more than fifty pounds, or that Jones has displayed immense trepidation in accepting the bout. Certainly can't blame him. It's amazing because Jones still has unfinished business at light heavyweight, and has the temerity to look elsewhere for challenges. One name: Dariusz Michalczewski. A legitimate threat to Jones, this is the man on whom Jones should concentrate, not John Ruiz. And until Jones faces Michalczewski, Jones cannot be considered the undisputed light heavyweight champion. He's simply a man with a multitude of belts.

Michalczewski has been the WBO champ at 175 since 1994, and has made 22 successful defenses. One of those defenses was a decisive May 1997 unanimous decision win over then-WBA/IBF champion Virgil Hill, whom in turn had defeated long-reigning IBF champion Henry Maske to unify both titles in his prior bout. Because Michalczewski held the WBO title, the WBA and IBF stripped him after beating Hill. The vacant WBA and IBF belts were eventually snatched by Lou Del Valle and William Guthrie, respectfully, which provided Jones with easy pickings against Del Valle and subsequent Guthrie conqueror, Reggie Johnson. Phew! This lineage is confusing even the most ardent observer, so don't worry if you're a tad baffled.

In essence, Jones' ascension towards the light heavyweight championship is predicated on his winning vacant titles. Does this make him the undisputed champ? Not if Dariusz Michalczewski and his supporters have anything to say about it. Make no mistake, Jones is a brilliant fighter, arguably the best ring tactician of the last twenty years. Nevertheless, Michalczewski has as much a claim to the title as does Jones.

It doesn't help Jones' credibility to have fiercely evaded the Michalczewski challenge since 1997. The term "undisputed" means exactly what it connotes, to have no one dispute Jones' grasp on the light heavyweight championship. Jones has also been fearful of fighting overseas since losing that egregious decision in the Gold Medal round at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the root of his hesitancy of fighting Michalczewski in Europe. Unfortunately for Jones, being a "world" champion obliges him to defend his title in other parts of the globe. Relegating his defenses to the comfy confines of Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or Pensacola simply doesn't suffice.

Again, Jones has work to do at light heavyweight before taking on a comparably mammoth heavyweight like John Ruiz. If Jones comes to his senses, takes on Michalczewski, and defeats him, then he could consider a bout with John Ruiz. Then again, there's undisputed #1 light heavyweight contender Antonio Tarver waiting patiently in the wings. No need get into that now. That's for next time.

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