By James Slater: Living legend Roy Jones Junior, seemingly unable or just unwilling to retire, bagged himself a reasonably big win last night in Poland. Facing the unbeaten Pawel Glazewski, the 29-year-old entering the ring with a 17-0(4) pro record and a #9 WBC ranking at light-heavyweight, 43-year-old Jones had enough left to score with flashy-looking punches as he out-speeded the Pole to win by scores of 96-93 and 96-94. Glazewksi got the third card at 95-94.
Now 56-8 (40), Jones, who survived a 6th-round knockdown, is hoping for a shot at a version of the cruiserweight title (already there is talk of Jones maybe fighting WBC 200-pound boss Krzystof Wlodarczy).
Jones has taken his show on the road for a number of his recent fights and it was thought he might suffer yet another humbling loss last night. Instead, against a veritable non-puncher – one who was still able to put him on the canvas, with a left hook, Jones picked up his first win over a ranked opponent in quite some time (Glazewski actually a late replacement opponent). What it means is open to interpretation, but Jones’ critics will not suddenly be swayed into thinking he is not a fighter who should be sat at home relaxing. If a non-puncher can deck Jones, what would a hard-hitter do to him? Actually, we know – at least those fans who were unfortunate enough to have seen the former multi-weight king’s brutal KO loss to Denis Lebedev know.
A fight between Jones and Wlodarczy would probably be a bid deal in Poland, yet you wouldn’t find too many fans willing to give Jones a decent shot at winning. But winning a piece of the cruiserweight title is something Jones says he has to do before hanging up the gloves. It’s easy to see this fight happening, that’s for sure. It’s tough to see Jones making history and winning the fight, however.
It’s also hard to see Jones’s Hall of Fame career finishing on a happy/victorious note. Jones is still in shape and he has retained his hand speed, yet his punch resistance is virtually nonexistent today and his once-legendary punching power is nowhere to be seen. It might have been a different story if Jones had met original foe (the currently imprisoned) Dawid Kostecki last night.
Two other veterans, in Nate Campbell and Jameel McCline enjoyed mixed fortunes on last night’s card, as the former 135-pound king won a decision over Kryzsztof Szot and former heavyweight title challenger “Big Time” dropped a decision to unbeaten contender Artur Szpilka. McCline, who hopes to again challenge for the world title, suffered a big setback.
Undercard results:
Artur Szpilka UD 10 Jameel McCline
Nate Campbell UD 8 Krzysztof Szot
Rafal Jackiewicz UD 10 Luca Michael Pasqua
Krzysztof Zimnoch TKO 1 Adnan Buharalija
Krzysztof Kopytek UD 4 Aliaksandr Abramenka