Roy Jones Jr.

Revision as of 02:54, 15 January 2013

Name: Roy Jones Jr
Alias: Junior
Birth Name: Roy Levesta Jones
Born: 1969-01-16 (Age:44)
Birthplace: Pensacola, Florida, USA
Nationality: US American
Hometown: Pensacola, Florida, USA
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5′ 11″   /   180cm
Reach: 74″   /   188cm
Boxing Record: click

Trainers: Roy Jones Sr., Alton Merkerson
Managers: Fred Levin, Stanley Levin, and himself
Roy Jones Jr. Gallery

Amateur Highlights

Jones after winning a bout at the 1988 Olympics

• Record: 121-13
• 1986 National Golden Gloves Light Welterweight Champion (defeated Victor Levine in the final)
• 1986 Goodwill Games Light Welterweight Bronze Medalist in Moscow, Russia (lost a 4-1 decision to Igor Ruzhnikov)
• 1987 National Golden Gloves Light Middleweight Champion
• 1987 Junior World Championships (lost a 4-1 decision to light middleweight Andy Liebing)
• 1988 National Golden Gloves Light Middleweight Bronze Medalist (lost a decision to Gerald McClellan)
• 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials (defeated Frankie Liles twice to become the U.S. Olympic light middleweight representative)
• Light Middleweight Silver Medalist for the United States at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea

Olympic Results

• 1st round bye
• Defeated M'tendere Makalamba (Malawi) RSC 1
• Defeated Michal Franek (Czechoslovakia) 5-0
• Defeated Evgeni Zaytsev (Soviet Union) 5-0 (name also given as Alexander Zaitsev by some sources)
• Defeated Richie Woodhall (Great Britain) 5-0
• Lost to Park Si-Hun (South Korea) 3-2
• Awarded the Val Barker Trophy as the best boxer of the Olympics

The loss to Park Si-Hun was very controversial. Many believe it was revenge for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where 36 of the 37 decisions went to U.S. boxers.
The controversy from the Jones-Park bout led to a change in Olympic boxing scoring.

Park Si-Hun being awarded the win over Jones

• First Round
  • Jones: 20 of 85
  • Park: 3 of 38
• Second Round
  • Jones: 30 of 98
  • Park: 15 of 71
• Third Round
  • Jones: 36 of 120
  • Park: 14 of 79
• Total
  • Jones: 86 of 303
  • Park: 32 of 188

Awards & Recognition

• Named Fighter of the Year by The Ring in 1994.
• Ranked as the #1 Pound-for-Pound Boxer of All-Time in the Nov./Dec. 1997 issue of International Boxing Digest.
• His victory on April 25, 1998 over Virgil Hill was named The Ring Knockout of the Year.
• Voted Fighter of the Decade for the 1990s by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
• Named Fighter of the Year by the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Regional & Minor Titles

• WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Title (1992)
• IBO Light Heavyweight Title (2000)
• NBA Light Heavyweight Title (2001)
• WBF Light Heavyweight Title (2001)
• IBA Light Heavyweight Title (2001)
• WBO NABO Light Heavyweight Title (2006)
• IBC Light Heavyweight Title (2007)

Biography

Jones with his many championship belts

Roy Jones Jr. is a man who defies definition: a six-time world champion boxer in four different weight classes, a boxing promoter, a minor league professional basketball player, a recording artist, a music manager, and a television and motion picture actor. In short, Roy Jones Jr. is a renaissance man for his era and a legend for eras to come.

Amateur Career

Jones had his first amateur bout in 1979 at the age of 10. He was outweighed by 69 pounds, but gave his opponent a sound beating. Jones went on to win two National Golden Gloves titles and 121 of 134 amateur bouts.

The pinnacle of Jones's amateur career was the 1988 Seoul Olympics. After a first round bye, Jones dominated his next four opponents to reach the light middleweight final, where he was matched against Park Si-Hun of South Korea. Jones put on a dazzling display against Park and clearly won all three rounds. Before the decision was announced, Ferdie Pacheco, who was doing commentary for NBC, said, "If Roy loses here, there's something rotten in Korea." People were stunned when Park was awarded a 3-2 decision and the Olympic Gold Medal.

"It was a terrible thing," said Hiouad Larbi of Morocco, one of the judges who voted for Park. "The American won easily: so easily, in fact, that I was positive my four fellow judges would score the fight for the American by a wide margin. So I voted for the Korean to make the score only 4-1 for the American and not embarrass the host country."

Despite the loss, Jones was awarded the Val Barker Trophy, given to the Games' outstanding boxer.

Professional Career

On May 6, 1989, fighting before a hometown crowd in Pensacola, Jones stopped Ricky Randall in the second round. This time, when he stepped from the ring, instead of a medal, they handed him a check. "I loved fighting," Jones said. "I just figured it was time I started getting paid to do it."

His record grew quickly: four wins in 1989, seven in 1990, four more in 1991, and another five in 1992. Only one of his 20 victories went the distance. All but four of the wins came in Pensacola, a fact hammered by a small army of critics. Ignoring the cries for him to fight tougher opponents in larger arenas, Jones steadily honed the skills that would make him the best fighter in the world.

"I know where I am going and no one is going to hurry my getting there before I am ready," he told a small circle of friends. On the night of May 22, 1993, Jones fought for his first world title. By then, he had tested his tremendous skill against former world champion Jorge Vaca (49-8-1), future world champion Jorge Fernando Castro (70-3-2) and young prospect Glenn Thomas (24-0).

Jones fought Bernard Hopkins, who had a 22-1 record, in Washington, D.C. for the vacant IBF middleweight championship. Jones boxed his way to a 12-round unanimous decision: all three judges scored the fight 116-112.

After three straight non-title fights, Jones made his first title defense against Thomas Tate, the #1 contender, on May 27, 1994. A left hook early in the second round sent Tate to the canvas. He rose on rubbery legs and his corner stopped the fight.

Jones's next fight came against unbeaten IBF super middleweight champion James Toney on Nov. 18, 1994. In a sensational display, Jones thoroughly outboxed the favored Toney and won by a lopsided unanimous decision. The highlight of the fight came in the third round. Jones taunted Toney by spreading his arms and sticking out his chin. When Toney copied the move, Jones quickly leaped forward with a left hook that sent Toney reeling against the ropes. The referee ruled that the ropes kept Toney from going down, and Jones was credited with an official knockdown.

On June 15, 1996, just a few hours before he [Fight:10718|defended]] his IBF super middleweight championship against Eric Lucas, Jones spent 15 minutes playing for the Jacksonville Barracudas of the United States Basketball League. He scored six points.

Jones won every round, and Lucas's corner stopped the fight after the eleventh round. "He was a bit stubborn," said Jones of the Canadian, who would go on to become WBC super middleweight champion five years later. "That is the last time I do that. It was one long day."

After five defenses of the IBF super middleweight title, Jones moved up in weight and scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Mike McCallum to win the interim WBC light heavyweight championship. Shortly after the fight, Jones was elevated to full WBC light heavyweight champion.

On March 21, 1997, Jones defended the WBC light heavyweight title against Montell Griffin in Atlantic City. Leading on two of the three scorecards, Jones hurt Griffin with a right hand in the ninth, and Jones, anxious to finish him, hit Griffin twice after he took a knee. Jones was disqualified for the foul. It was Jones's first professional lost.

Jones's character and sense of fair play triggered the following response to his lawyer/adviser Fred Levin after the fight. "Get me the rematch. Do it now. I want it to be my next fight. Give him anything he wants. I don't care what it costs."

Revenge was swift and devastating. Jones regained his WBC belt with a first round thrashing of Griffin, decking him twice before mercifully ending it at the 2:31 mark.

"Losing that first fight to Griffin was nearly as disappointing as losing the Olympic Gold Medal," Jones said. "When I fought him the first time, I was just trying to beat him. When we fought the second time, I would not argue if people suggest that there was more than just winning on my mind."

Jones made eleven successful title defenses and unified the WBC, WBA, and IBF light heavyweight titles. As a unified champion, the WBA upgraded Jones to "Super Champion" in 2000.

On March 1, 2003, Jones left his mark firmly in boxing history by becoming the first former middleweight champ to win a heavyweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons turned the trick in 1897. Giving away almost 30 pounds to John Ruiz, Jones scored a remarkably easy 12-round decision to win the WBA heavyweight title. He won eight rounds on one scorecard, nine on a second and a ten on the third.

"I know what people are going to say, but there is nothing wrong with John Ruiz," said Jones. "Like a lot of other guys I fought, he was just slower than me. And I kind of out thought him."

"What's next?" a visitor asked the 34-year-old WBA heavyweight champion. "I'll think of something," said Jones with a wide grin.

Following the win over Ruiz, Antonio Tarver, who was seated along with the media at the post-fight press conference, called Jones out. "I want my shot at history, Roy," he said. Jones obliged and return to the light heavyweight division for the fight, which took place on November 8, 2003 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jones packed on a lot of muscle when he moved up to heavyweight and had difficulty getting back down to 175 pounds. Jones, who was physically drained, had to dig down deep, arguably the deepest in his career, to win the last two rounds and pull out a disputed 12-round majority decision. Jones regained the WBC light heavyweight title and won the vacant WBA super title.

The two had a Jones-Tarver rematch on May 15, 2004, again at Mandalay Bay. The action was just starting to heat up when Tarver scored a knockdown midway through the second round. Jones got up just after the referee reached the count of 10 and waved the fight over. After the fight, Roy said, "There ain't no excuses on my part. I come out and do what I do. Guys always get up to fight Roy Jones. It happens like that. I'm a warrior, and I'm going to fight. It happens to the best of us."

Jones returned to the ring on September 25, 2004 and challenged Glen Johnson for the IBF light heavyweight title in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson kept Jones on the ropes for most of the fight and brutally knocked him out in the ninth round. Jones was down for several minutes.

Many felt that Jones should retire after the back-to-back knockout losses, but he continued to fight. After defeating John Ruiz to win a world heavyweight title, arguably the high point of his career, Jones would go 8-7 in his next 15 fights.

Life Outside of Boxing

Jones has many interest outside of boxing, such as basketball, fishing, hunting, music, and raising his beloved fighting cocks.

Jones raps, and several of is own recordings, including The Album: Round One, have been distributed under his own "Body Heat Entertainment" label. He also manages several talented groups.

Jones also acts. He has had parts in The Sentinel, Living Single, Watcher, In Living Color, Married With Children, Dateline, Arliss, The Wayans Brothers and such films as The Devil's Advocate, New Jersey Turnpikes, and the final two films of The Matrix trilogy, recently completed in Australia. Jones also appears on the new video game based on The Matrix. Jones also had his own video game Knock Out Kings, from EA Sports.

With all of that, Jones, a proud father of three sons, still finds the time to devote many hours speaking to America's youth on the value of education and the perils of drugs. He has also been an advocate of boxing reform and has testified at U.S. Senate hearings on behalf of his fellow boxers.

"When you have been blessed as I have been," said Jones, "you have to give something back. If some day I find that I have turned around the life of some troubled young man or woman, I will accept that as an award as great as any I have ever received."