Pundits keep saying the same things. “Nobody cares anymore.” “This fight is ridiculous and irrelevant.” “It should have happened 10 years ago.”
Well, for a fight that “nobody cares” about, it certainly is generating a lot of publicity.
For the most part, critics say that Hopkins is a very young 45 while Jones is a very old 41.
The “Jones is washed up” club is expecting Hopkins to give Jones the beating of his life. All because he lost to Danny Green?
If you compare the records of Hopkins and Jones, you won’t find much difference. Hopkins has a record of 50-5-1, with 32 KOs. Jones’s record stands at 54-6, with 40 KOs.
True, Roy Jones Jr. did lose by first round TKO against Australian IBO champ, Danny Green. In an exclusive interview with 8CountNews.com executive, Brad Cooney, Jones said that Green used illegal handwraps.
8CN ? “When you fought Danny Green it appeared as if he hit you right behind the ear. Was that why it was so difficult for you to recover from that shot?”
RJJ ? “Yeah, he caught me perfectly right behind the ear. The whole thing with that fight was the hand wraps. They let the guy have 5 layers of hand wraps, illegally. You can’t use that much in a boxing match and he knows it. There were a lot of things that he did that was illegal with his hand wraps. If he’s going to use a cast, then let me use one too. I don’t mind a cast, but let me have one too.”
When two boxers step into the ring, everything matters. Conditioning, mental preparation, styles, and even fight gear can contribute to a W or an L.
The underdog can have an exceptionally good night, while the favorite has an unusually bad night and you can have a Buster Douglas – Mike Tyson scenario. The history of the sport shows us that loaded gloves / illegal handwraps can have catastrophic effects.
When asked about his interest in the fight, John Granados of Rogers, Arkansas said: I’m going to watch. I think Hopkins’ size and speed will send Jones into an overdue retirement.”
Maybe, but this writer believes that critics are too quick to dismiss Roy Jones Jr. Remember that he looked great in his previous fight against Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, and it is entirely possible that he could look great against “The Executioner”.
As Boxing Examiner, Michael Marley pointed out here, “Both men have given plenty to boxing so maybe we all owe them one more night at the circus.”
The Hopkins vs. Jones II match isn’t irrelevant to the legions of fans that still follow these men, and although Hopkins is considered the heavy favorite, don’t underestimate the talents of Mr. Roy Jones Jr.
This isn’t a prediction. I’m just sayin’…
