10.03.04 – By Luke Dodemaide: The venue is set, the date is confirmed, the challenger has eagerly signed the dotted line and Don King productions are on board, the show is ready to go, all that it is missing is the star attraction, WBC light heavyweight champion who is regarded as the best pound for pound fighter in boxing, Roy Jones Jnr (49-1).
Antonio Tarver is a name that already appears a victim on Roy Jones record, Jones having defeated Tarver via majority decision last November. Many people cried foul, but having watched the replay multiple times it is clear to me Roy Jones Jnr won that fight, 116-112 on my score card ( eight
rounds to four). Although a close fight, especially by Roy Jones’ standards, it was not controversial.)
Although Jones was outworked at times, he landed the more telling blows and outboxed Antonio Tarver throughout the night. Sometimes people score the fight on what they expect from a fighter, not what is happening. And if a great fighter doesn’t live up to the high expectations he has set throughout his career, he will not win the rounds.
But either way, Antonio Tarver is now Roy Jones Jnr’s mandatory and if Roy decides not to give Antonio Tarver a re-match, he will have to vacate the WBC light heavyweight title. And in doing that Roy Jones Jnr will be title-less for the first time since 1997, when Roy handed that same WBC light heavyweight title to Montell Griffin when he hit Griffin while he was on the canvas, which resulted in a disqualification. Jones avenged the loss five months later via first round knockout.
If Roy Jones opts out of a second fight with Antonio Tarver, he must look for a big fight, at 35, some argue Roy Jones Jnr has not cemented the legacy he deserves. He hasn’t had the great opponent to complement his skills, salt has pepper, Ray Robinson had LaMotta, Louis had Schmelling, Ali had Frazier, the Fab Four ( Leonard, Duran, Hagler, Hearns ) had each other, Holyfield had Bowe and Oscar De La Hoya had Quartey and more recently Vargas. All the greats have great opponents, Roy has not yet found his perfect match.
Roy Jones Jnr is without a partner to take him to the gates of greatness. Is the reason for this because Roy Jones Jnr is simply too good for the rest of the world? Too good for anybody to compete with him? Antonio Tarver did, but will a second victory over Tarver really quench Jones’ thirst, or will boxing instead marvel at the skills of the 35 year old and talk about what he ‘could have been’.
Is 35 too old for a fighter to cement their legacy, Lewis did it when he was 37, but how many names like Mike Tyson are there around for Roy Jones to fight. Sadly for Roy the answer may be none.
So in my books Roy has three options, another venture into the heavyweight division, fight and convincingly beat Antonio Tarver or retire. It’s an old saying ‘ don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got till it’s gone’, and maybe when Roy Jones leaves boxing, his critics will see him for what he was, perhaps the most skilful fighter to ever strap on a pair of gloves.
And maybe that will be enough for him to stand next to the likes of Robinson, Armstrong, Leonard and Ali as one of the supreme legends of boxing history.
Roy’s place in history is a hot topic these days, depending on who you are talking to, Roy can be viewed as boxing’s greatest fighter or greatest farce. Many will argue, regardless of his skills, he doesn’t have the career to warrant a place among the true boxing legends. But I believe to determine his place in the history of the sport, you must look further than the names on Roy’s record, Roy has got more skills than anybody in his generation, and maybe anybody in the history of the sport. On skills alone, Roy is warranted a place in history, on the record he has championships in four divisions and a wins over champions such as James Toney and Bernard Hopkins.
Is it time for Roy Jones to follow Lennox Lewis into the sunset and hang up his gloves?
I think it may be.
Any queries, questions or comments on this article can be sent to l_dodemaide@hotmail.coml_dodemaide@hotmail.com