Last night the legendary Roy Jones Jr faced off against another future hall of fame fighter, Bernard Hopkins. Both men are way past their primes, and the match between them was 15 years too late. With that said, it was still interesting to see two legends face off against one another in the ring.
The fight turned out to be a dirty fight, with Hopkins falling to the floor three times due to questionable fouls. Perhaps Hopkins has a career in acting after his boxing career is over? In fact, it was Hopkins that threw the first intentional low blow. He waited in typical B Hop fashion for referee Tony Weeks to get into a position where he could not see it. Hopkins started with the dirty tactics and got a taste of his own medicine last night.
I did not pay the $50.00 dollars to watch this fight. Instead, I decided to pay 7 dollars and I watched it at my local movie theater. Roy Jones Jr has a huge fan following here in Mississippi, so I was not surprised to see that most of the people were there for Roy. Jones has fought in Mississippi several times both as a young amateur, and as a professional. Most recently, Jones put on what will probably be his last display of greatness against Jeff Lacy, in Biloxi, MS.
When you look at what Manny Pacquiao is doing in boxing, it’s a mirror image of what Roy Jones Jr has already done. Both men climbed up in weight and captured world titles in multiple divisions. Both men are first ballot hall of fame inductees. Both men have done big things by giving back to their communities, and both men are class acts.
While I was in California covering Manny Pacquiao’s training camp. I had Roy Jones Jr on my cell phone, and handed it to Manny Pacquiao. A great moment to witness two legends having a respectable conversation like that. Once Manny got on the phone with him, the entire table fell silent. Manny Pacquiao and Roy Jones Jr, two legends wishing each other luck, as both had fights coming up. Unfortunately, the sport of boxing will be losing both men in the near future. Father Time has caught up to Roy, and Manny is chasing his political career.
This writer finds it pretty pathetic how some writers feel compelled to only write negative things about Roy Jones Jr, what the man has done for the sport is amazing. The same can be said for Pacquiao.
Hopefully Roy will go forward now and pursue his career outside of the ring. He did a great job when he was working for HBO. He also owns Square Ring Promotions, so look for him to continue promoting fights as well.
Pacquiao still has three more years in him, this according to Freddie Roach. Time will tell us how many more times Pacquiao will get into the ring.
I believe that Father Time has sent a message to Roy last night, hopefully he listens.
