Kimball: Jones W/O Peer Today
Paul Dalrymple
Jones proves he's without peer
by George Kimball, Boston Herald
Monday, June 7, 1999
BILOXI, MISS. - A few hours before he would thrash Reggie Johnson to win a
Triple Crown of his own, Roy Jones Jr. sat in his room overlooking the Gulf
of Mexico and watched the telecast of the Belmont Stakes. Interestingly,
Jones drew no portent from Charismatic's failed quest or even the fact that
he himself was about to enter the ring with a 15-1 underdog. What piqued his
interest were the 26-year-old clips of Secretariat.
Michael Jordan had been in attendance at Saturday night's fight, and after
disposing of Johnson, Jones allowed himself to draw a comparison among
Jordan, the race horse and himself.
``The very best of all time at what they did,'' he said.
There aren't many boxing historians who would rate Jones that highly in the
historical pantheon of the sport, but it becomes increasingly difficult to
argue with the proposition that he is the best boxer on the planet today.
Consider: The other pretender to that mantle, Oscar De La Hoya, is unbeaten
in his own weight class, but has struggled to defeat the likes of Pernell
Whitaker and Ike Quartey. Jones, on the other hand, is so superior to his
own competition that he must constantly invent new ways to test himself.
Saturday's bout against Johnson, the IBF light heavyweight champion, was
supposed to provide one such yardstick, but the ridiculous ease with which
Jones handled his most significant competition renders judgment almost
meaningless.
In adding Johnson's title to the WBA and WBC championships he already held,
Jones knocked Johnson down twice, once a minute into the bout and again in
the third round, and then toyed with him for the balance of the evening. The
final scorecards - all three judges, HBO's Harold Lederman, the Herald and
everybody else at ringside scored it by the same lopsided 120-106 tally -
made it the boxing equivalent of a 120-0 football game, a 23-0 baseball
shutout, or perhaps Secretariat lapping the field at Pimlico.
In 11 of the 12 rounds, Johnson landed fewer than 10 punches, and in the one
exception, the second, he only landed 11. Jones later claimed that this
exercise in child's play came because he ``didn't want to take any chances''
with a dangerous opponent.
``I thought he carried him,'' agreed Patriots linebacker Ron Merkerson,
whose father trains Jones. ``I'm going to have to speak to Roy and my Dad
about that.''
Another member of the Jones camp suggested that the champion allowed Johnson
to linger out of respect and a reluctance to embarrass his one-time friend
and sparring partner, but could a knockout in any round have been more
humiliating in the end than what did occur?
Even as Jones was amusing himself by torturing Johnson, HBO, his sometime
employer, was conducting an online poll of its viewers. Out of over 6,000
responses, over half said they would like to see Jones move up to
heavyweight in search of other worlds to conquer.
``If that's what the people want to see,'' said Jones, ``then I'll fight as
a heavyweight,'' and he even looked briefly at Evander Holyfield when he
said it, conveniently overlooking the fact that just two years ago, Jones
had turned down $6 million to fight Buster Douglas.
Jones later amended his position, explaining that he had no intention of
campaigning as a heavyweight, but might, in a one-shot deal, take on a top
heavy while maintaining his present 175-pound weight.
He was also reminded that despite having secured the three principal titles
under one roof for the first time since 1985, his position was almost, but
not quite, as ``undisputed'' as the promoters had claimed. One significant
remaining opponent lingers in the 175-pound jungle - Germany's WBO claimant
Dariusz Michelczewski.
The suspicion is that you'll see that one happen before you'll see him fight
Holyfield or any other top heavyweight.
Larry Roberts
against the really big boys. He could easily carry 185-195 lbs. without
losing much of his speed. Now that he's pretty much unified the light
heavyweight class (the German boy's just looking for an all-expense paid
trip to the hospital), he should abandon it and campaign as a cruiser.
Larry "Cap" Roberts
> He was also reminded that despite having secured the three principal titles
> under one roof for the first time since 1985, his position was almost, but
> not quite, as ``undisputed'' as the promoters had claimed. One significant
> remaining opponent lingers in the 175-pound jungle - Germany's WBO claimant
> Dariusz Michelczewski.
--
Pax vobiscum
Michael NOSKY
cruiserweights won't help him. there are no big draws there for him.
jones, jr v. tiozzo just doesn't cut it at the box office!!!
mfnman
MFN...@webtv.net
www.inergy.com/MFNMan
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