This week?s 101st edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview Roy Jones Junior (54-7, 40 KOs), who has held titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions. Jones lost a unanimous decision in his most recent effort against long time rival Bernard Hopkins in April. Jones spoke about his career, and also discussed the possibility of making a return to heavyweight in hopes of landing fights against Tomasz Adamek and/or David Haye. Here is a complete transcript of that interview:
GEOFFREY CIANI: Now you?ve commentated a lot of great fights over the years. What were some of your most memorable moments for fights that you got to call?
ROY JONES JR: On of them was Barrera and Kennedy McKinney. That?s one I?ll never forget. It was a great fight and it was a terrific fight. That probably sticks out best in my mind out of any of the rest of them.
CIANI: Manny Pacquiao recently had a fight against Antonio Margarito. I?m curious, what are your thoughts on Manny Pacquiao as a fighter? What were your thoughts on his performance?
JONES: Pacquiao is pound for pound the best fighter in the world, and he put on a magnificent performance?magnificent. I mean I gave up 27 pounds and beat John Ruiz, but I?m a bigger guy, too. For him to give up the kind of weight like he did to this kid Margarito and beat him like he did, it was absolutely magnificent.
CIANI: You said that Pacquiao is the pound for pound king right now, and that?s a distinction you once held. Right now there are a lot of fans torn between whether it?s Pacquiao or Mayweather, and I?m wondering do you think fans will finally get to see that fight in 2011?
JONES: Yeah I think they will and I hope they do, but right now Pacquiao has it and Floyd?s going to have to take it from Pacquiao.
CIANI: Do you regret that at the time you reigned amongst the top in the sport that you never had a rival like that who was also at the top pound for pound at the time?
JONES: Well you can?t regret it. If I had that, I wouldn?t have made history or put myself in the history books as becoming only the second man to win the middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight title. Therefore, it probably was best that I didn?t have a rival because if I did I would have been stuck battling my rival and I never would have thought about going up and fighting for the heavyweight title. So God knew me better than I knew myself. If I had a rival, I would have never left the division. I would have stayed and battled with my rival because that?s just what I am.
