Roy Jones Jr. is stretched out in a chair a few feet from the ring at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., where in a few minutes, his old nemesis, Bernard Hopkins, will compete in a light heavyweight title unification bout with Sergey Kovalev.
Jones is excited, and is making his points animatedly.
He relays that he recently met cruiserweight champion Marco Huck at the WBO convention in Las Vegas and talked with Huck about fighting for his belt.
Jones speaks fast when he’s excited, and he’s going 75 in a 35 at this stage.
He’s training Jessie Vargas, the WBA super lightweight champion, at his new gym in Henderson, Nev., just outside of Las Vegas. Vargas will defend his belt against former lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco on Nov. 22 at Cotai Arena in Macau.
Vargas, 25, has had a slew of high-profile trainers, beginning with Robert Alcazar and following with Roger Mayweather and Ismael Salas. Salas took a job training fighters in England, though, and Vargas didn’t want to leave his home in Las Vegas, so he hired Jones.
Jones, of course, is one of the greatest fighters of all-time. In his prime, he was virtually untouchable.
He was an unorthodox boxer, but his physical skills were so superior that he was able to dominate despite his lack of classic fundamentals.
That’s a common take on Jones. But when it’s suggested to him that it might be difficult for him to show someone to fight like he did because few men in the history of the sport were as gifted as he was, Jones suddenly becomes animated.
“No, no, no,” Jones says, wagging a finger. He straightens up in his seat and turns to his right, locking eyes with his inquisitor.
He gives a look that says, “This is important and make sure you get it,” and begins to speak as he taps himself on the side of the head.
“It’s what I have up here,” Jones said. “I hear all of that [expletive] about physical talents. I have this great knowledge. Nobody knows this game like I do because nobody has this knowledge I have accumulated. I’m giving Jessie this knowledge I have gained and that’s what is making him better.”
Vargas is 25-0 with nine knockouts and is one of the sweetest young men one could ever hope to meet.
As far as champions go, however, he is largely faceless. There are dozens upon dozens of world champions in boxing ? regular champions, super champions, recess champions, interim champions ? so it requires a lot more than simply a title belt to get recognition.
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Jessie Vargas, left, and Roy Jones Jr. work together in Las Vegas. (Special to Yahoo Sports) Vargas is as earnest as they come and desperately wants to become a star. If Manny Pacquiao beats Chris Algieri when they fight on the same card in which Vargas defends against DeMarco, Vargas may become Pacquiao?s next challenger.
Vargas has heard the chatter and is pushing himself to the limit in order to be as prepared as possible for DeMarco.
“I’ve heard it’s a possibility and so the best way I can make it happen is to go out there and look really good in this fight and make people want to see me fight Manny,” Vargas said.
Vargas said he doesn’t like to switch trainers, and only circumstances have dictated his changes.
Vargas graduated high school in Las Vegas and wasn’t eager to leave his hometown, particularly since it is so steeped in boxing tradition. But he wasn’t sure what he was going to do for a trainer because of Salas’ move when he met Jones at a fundraiser at Jones’ gym.
Jones, who is an expert analyst on HBO’s World Championship Boxing series, called Vargas’ fight in August against Anton Novikov. Vargas won a wide decision, but never had Novikov in trouble.
It was a fight that Vargas could have finished, Jones suspected. When they saw each other at the fundraiser, Jones offered to give him a few tips. Vargas took him up on the offer and was so impressed by the tutorial, he asked Jones to train him.
Jones quickly agreed.
“Roy has been around the championship level for so long and he knows what it takes,” Vargas said. “And when you have a guy like him, who can not only tell you the right way to do something, but then step in there and do it himself and show you, it makes a big difference.”
Jones was dubbed “Captain Hook” during his prime years because of the power in his left hook, and he’s worked with Vargas to fix his footwork so Vargas throws his hook with more authority.
Jones said he saw a talented but raw young fighter who wasn’t improving the way he thought he should.
“I saw him fight the Russian guy [Khabib Allakhverdiev] and he won, but he didn’t look like he had improved all that much from when I’d seen him before,” Jones said. “And then I saw him when he fought the other Russian guy [Novikov] and he won, but I still didn’t see him doing what he could. I didn’t see the improvement I wanted. And I knew I could help him.”
So the two men met, each needing something from the other. Vargas is a world champion and Jones doesn’t have another champion in his stable. Making a noticeable difference in Vargas’ performance would solidify Jones’ reputation as a trainer.
“Roy just gives you a different outlook on the whole game,” Vargas said. “From the moment you step inside that ring, he has a different way that he wants me to look at it and control it. He wants me to be two, three, four steps ahead before moves are even made, either on my behalf or my opponent’s.
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Jessie Vargas, landing against Khabib Allakhverdiev, is 25-0 with nine knockouts. (Getty Images) “Roy explains things so well, and he is so good about controlling what goes on. Thankfully, I’m a good listener and I’m a guy who speaks his mind. So we talk and come to an agreement, and it’s working so well for me.”
Vargas, who said he learned the value of hard work from Floyd Mayweather Jr. from the time he spent under the Mayweather Promotions banner, is eager to show off his Jones-taught skills.
It could, he knows, lead to a Pacquiao bout. But he has even bigger plans.
“I always want to be improving and taking steps forward because I want to be the absolute best fighter in the world,” Vargas said.
The pound-for-pound best is a mythical title that Jones once held, almost by acclamation. Now, he’s working to build Vargas and it’s got him invigorated.
“This kid has got a lot of ability that the world hasn’t seen yet,” Jones said. “He’s listening and he’s working hard and believe me, we’re going to bring it all out of him. Just you watch.”
