The sparse crowd had come to see a freak show. But with the early knockout, the bearded ladies never made it to the stage?
Boxing needs novelty like it needs a hole in the head. Every attempt to make boxing more or other than it is has fallen flat on its face. We?ve seen fat men fight. We?ve seen old men fight. We?ve seen men who have no business fighting fight.
Last night at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, Roy Jones Jr. (62-9, 45 KOs), the 47-year-old future Hall of Famer from Pensacola, Florida, KO?d a 33-year-old fight fan named Vyron Phillips, who has a 5-3 record in MMA and made it into the second round before a counter right hand brought down the curtain.
It was a novelty fight for a man who has become a novelty fighter. Roy is fighting on muscle memory. He is fighting on fumes. He is chasing a dream that can become a nightmare. Roy?s last legitimate fight, against Enzo Maccarinelli in Moscow in December, ended up with Jones lying unconscious on the canvas, dead to the world, and not for the first or last time.
Roy Jones should not be fighting. Whether it?s against amateurs or pros, he should be kept from the ring. He is an old man in a young man?s sport. He relied on speed and reflexes, but now it?s a zero sum game. One of these days he?s going to be seriously hurt and it will come as no surprise. If he continues to fight Vyron Phillips and company Roy will put off the inevitable. But as folly follows folly, his reputation will continue to take it on the chin.
Sunday?s ?fight? was on discount pay-per-view and included MMA and pro wrestling. The sparse crowd had come to see a freak show. But with the early knockout, the bearded ladies never made it to the stage.
Vyron Phillips grew up idolizing Roy Jones. It was a dream come true to share the ring with a living legend.
But even he knows it?s over.
?I?d like to see Roy go away from this,?? said Phillips on URShow.tv after the fight. ?I don?t want to see him get hurt.??
None of us do.
