By James Slater: As with fellow modern day legends Evander Holyfield and James Toney, the once untouchable Roy Jones Junior is a fighter who cannot walk away. This despite the fact that the 42-year-old has been painfully KO’d a number of times in recent years.
The last time, against Denis Lebedev in May of this year, Jones Jr was damn near seriously hurt after being pole-axed to the mat in the 10th and final round. Final round? That three minutes sure should have been the last round in the career of the once masterful Jones, but he has spoken recently of his plans to box again.
Speaking with Brad Cooney of examiner.com, the former middleweight, super-middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight ruler said he has a planned December 10th fight in the works, against Max Alexander. Reportedly, Jones, 54-8(40) is close to signing for the fight which would take place in Atlanta, Georgia.
Fans will surely be asking “why?” but it’s Jones’ call and he, like another stubborn old warrior in Holyfield, is deaf to the pleas from the fans who worry about his health. But who is Max Alexander?
The 30-year-old from Camden, New Jersey has a reasonable pro record at 14-5-2(2), but he is coming off three straight losses and the best he could manage from his last six was a draw. Not a big puncher with those 2 KO’s, Alexander is usually durable, having never officially been stopped (his 2006 loss to Marty Lindquist was originally a 1st-round KO defeat, later changed to a No-Contest due to Lindquist failing a drugs test). And the 6’2” former super-middleweight has been in with some good names.
A former “Contender” participant back in 2007, Alexander lost decisions to Sam Soliman and then Bryan Vera. A 2008 move up to cruiserweight brought little success, with a draw Vs. Rob Calloway and then losses to Ali Ismailov, Alexander Alexeev and, last time out, back in October of 2009, Moyoyo Mensah. So, Jones Junior will, if the fight happens, be facing a rusty journeyman who has never before met anybody approaching his class. But how much does Jones have left?
What a win over Alexander would lead to for Jones is not clear, but this time he is opting to go in with a relative non-puncher. Jones should be able to outbox his man and win a comfortable decision. We can only hope, however, that the former superstar will then feel content enough to away from the sport off a win. In reality, a victorious Jones will almost surely pursue another big fight.