HE CAME into the ring wearing a crown and proceeded to preen and prance around the ring like royalty?alternatively posing and picking his shots. He also seemed on the verge of stopping Trinidad in the late rounds, but appeared to hold back and elected to coast along in the final minutes.
I did not get the knockout that I predicted would come in the tenth, but on that round, he had Tito down the second time. Still, Roy Jones Jr. refused to go for the kill and contented himself with teeing of on Tito.
KAYOPHOBIC. The impression that I got from Jones? performance was that he knew all along that there was no way he could lose. This does not seem surprising as throughout his career Jones was perceived to have carefully pre-selected his opponents and never bothered to unnecessarily expose himself to danger.
Even his foray into the heavyweight ranks was deemed to be a carefully calculated experiment?coming against a plodding heavyweight who couldn?t really punch.
The Trinidad fight was no exception. Tito had been inactive for 2 1/2 years, and was the naturally smaller man coming in. It was the first time for him to fight at 170 pounds, and Jones knew coming in to the fight that he would be stronger and faster.
But he intentionally held back on several occasions, and seemed content in allowing Trinidad to come forward and try his luck.
I think Jones has become kayophobic and has been spooked by his knockout losses to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson. So much so that his greatest fear seems to be walking into a fight-ending counter.
Not that it?s something new for reluctant Roy, but to me that?s the mark of a ruined fighter. Physically, he might have retained some of the speed and power he had in his prime, but psychologically, he?s not the same fighter.
He knows he is going to get hurt if a good one lands, and so he will avoid it at all cost. His ?kayo in fo? ? prediction was nothing more than an inane, impotent promise.
PROGNOSIS. Where does he go from here? Jones is probably still good enough to beat some of the top 10 light heavyweights in the world but his age hinders another long drawn out championship run. He just doesn?t have time to work his way up the ladder for a title shot.
He should realize that he has held almost every belt there is to be won from middleweight to heavyweight and at this point in his career, who really cares if he wins another meaningless alphabet belt?
It?s best for him to secure what?s left of his legacy and hope that history may look at him more kindly. He can do this by beating the fighters that the fans want him to face. Redemption awaits Roy Jones Jr.
OPPONENTS. Beating Bernard Hopkins (again) would be a good start. The executioner has been pining for a rematch for almost a decade now, and currently ranks among the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Sure, it would be a battle for the aged, and not anymore a battle for the ages, but hey, it?s still Roy Jones Jr. vs. Bernard Hopkins. I still would rather watch these two than some unknown 20-year-olds battling for some meaningless alphabet belt.
Joe Calzaghe is another probability. If he beats Hopkins in April, then redemption assumes a different face. This undefeated Welshman was one of those jilted Roy Jones Jr.-challengers a decade ago, but Calzaghe will probably still relish a challenge from Jones and jump at the opportunity to beat another American boxing legend.
A rematch with Glen Johnson down the road is imperative. Jones himself has stated he would probably never live down the fact that he lost to Johnson and so he has unfinished business with the ?Road Warrior?.
Jones already attempted to erase his only other kayo loss to Antonio Tarver and failed, but at least he has attained some measure of closure there. That?s not the case with Johnson whose spectacular kayo of Jones was the upset of the year in 2004.
THE LAST ROUND. It?s on Last Rounder Roel Tariman, who loves to pound the mitts at the ALA boxing club at BTC. Cheers!
