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ROY JONES CLOSES THE SHOW AT LIGHT HEAVY

By Danny Serratelli

Muhammad Ali once said, "I never said I was the smartest...I said I was the greatest." On the other hand Roy Jones has been quoted as saying "I may not be the toughest motherf*****, but, I am the smartest." Although Jones may have never have been the places in the ring that Ali has, Jones showed us something last night that we had not seen before. Jones sucked it up when he apparently wasn't at his best, and found a way to win the fight, and win it convincingly, much as Ali did on nights when he didn't bring his A-game freakish speed and skill into the ring.

I don't know what Antonio Tarver was thinking, but this fight was not in his backyard and was not being scored by his neighbor, his best friend and his cousin, even though if you only heard Jerry Roth's 114-114 score you may have thought it was. The fight was an entertaining one, but when you come to fight "the man," as Tarver called him, you have to win the fight. I had it 116-113, closer than the other two judges (117-112 & 116-112), but still a fairly convincing win.

Early on Roy didn't seem like himself as he entered the ring. His body looked different, he did not look as strong as usual. He often comes out rapping and dancing, but he came out very calm and apparently focused. You can sense early on that something would be different for Roy on this night, and Tarver made sure of it in the first two rounds. Roy's evil alter ego "RJ" that he claimed would fight Tarver did not show up, and it was Roy who had to close the show. On occasions when Roy tried to rest on the ropes, Tarver took advantage and jumped on him. Now this happens in many of Roy's fights, however it is usually more of a trap than a rest. Usually Roy is better than the average fight fan can see on the ropes, he will appear to be getting flurried, but will pick off and roll with all the shots and then counter with authority. I thought Roy noticed early on what the situation was and proceeded to do excellent body work for the entire fight, to try to slow Tarver down late, possibly because he anticipated that he may fade late.

After the first two rounds, which were relatively good ones for Tarver, Roy seemed to take control of the fight, with ring generalship and intelligence. Tarver had the expression of a beaten fighter midway through the fight, when Buddy McGirt scolded him in the corner that he was giving Roy too much respect. To Tarver's credit, he answered and took a few rounds to put himself back in the fight. However Roy responded in turn listening to his coach Alton Merkerson and obviously sensing that he may need the last couple rounds, used what he had left to take them... brains and balls.

George Foreman compared Roy to Sugar Ray Robinson when he fought Joey Maxim and couldn't finish the fight due to the heat. Now that may have been an exaggeration, but it was a point well taken. Jones is not only superior in skill to most of his opponents, but he is also a consummate professional who is always well conditioned. For example, when Roy fought James Toney, a fight that at the time I thought Toney was too tough to lose, we all know what happened... Roy put on a clinic. After the fight I heard that there was a party and James Toney went to hang out. How did Roy celebrate? After the biggest victory of his life I heard that his celebration was going to pick up a bucket of fried chicken with some friends... And he went for a jog the next day. The point is unlike many other fighters, Roy is not a guy who parties, and blows up between fights. He always appears to be the best conditioned athlete in the ring. That is why it is believable that coming down in the weight may have affected him tremendously.

When Roy Jones fights he is often judged by a different standard, as was the case with many other great champions. Antonio Tarver fought a great fight, probably the most competitive fight that Roy has been in as a professional. Actually Roy's first fight with Montell Griffin and his fight with Eric Harding may have been just as close on the cards, but Tarver appeared to land more often and definitely landed with more authority than either of those two fighters. By the end of the fight, Jones and Tarver obviously earned each other's respect, and Roy said that Tarver, "Gave it a damn good go" and that he was a great light heavyweight champion.

I'll be looking forward to seeing more of Antonio Tarver at light heavyweight and hopefully Roy Jones at heavyweight.

11-08-2003