Does Roy Jones Jr. still have it?
He?s a rapper. He?s an actor. He?s a basketball player. And, sometimes, Roy Jones Jr. laces up the gloves.
It?s been a while since Jones was considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Three years, as a matter of fact. Back in 2003, Jones reached the top of the mountain by beating John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title, making Jones the first middleweight champion to claim heavyweight gold since Bob Fitzsimmons knocked out ?Gentleman? Jim Corbett in 1897. But Jones decided to drop the belt and resume fighting as a light heavyweight. That?s when things started to go awry.
Jones took a 48-1 lifetime record into the ring against Antonio Tarver in late 2003, his only loss having come via disqualification against Montell Griffin six years earlier. Jones managed to eke out a majority decision to claim the WBC and IBO titles, but he was clearly not his old self. Tarver destroyed Jones six months later in the rematch via second-round knockout. Losses followed to Glencoffe Johnson and again to Tarver. Jones? in-ring boxing career looked like it had drawn to a close.
Not so fast. Jones is back in action on Saturday, July 29 against Prince Badi Ajamu in a bout for Ajamu?s relatively minor NABO Light Heavyweight title. It?s a big step down in marquee value for Jones; the fight does headline a pay-per-view, but it?s only 25 bucks, and it takes place at the Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho. Ticket sales are said to be going rather slowly at this point. Regardless, Jones needs a victory of some credibility if he wants to revive his career. The betting public seems to think he?ll earn that crucial win; Jones is a ?450 favorite for this matchup. Ajamu is a +300 underdog.
So. Who is Prince Badi Ajamu? Certainly not a tomato can. The New Jersey native has a career record of 25-2-1 with 14 knockouts, and is ranked seventh in the world in the light heavyweight category. At age 34, Ajamu is three years younger than Jones; he?s also an inch taller at 6-feet and has the same reach at 74 inches. But Ajamu really hasn?t fought anyone of note ? unless you include sparring.
?I sparred a lot of guys (including) Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins,? Ajamu said at a press conference in Boise. ?I appreciate it because it showed me that I could definitely compete at this level. (Sparring) is like testing a product in a laboratory. You test it and test it before you take it out and put it against the best in the world.?
Jones tried his best to hype the fight, claiming that Ajamu?s lack of quality opponents is due to their reluctance to get into the ring with the boxing Prince. But Jones doesn?t seem to think Ajamu is at his level. This is the first time he is not training for a match in his native Pensacola; instead, he?s been playing semi-pro basketball with the Brevard Blue Ducks in nearby Melbourne, Fla. ?I incorporate playing basketball into my workouts,? Jones told reporters. ?It?s great cardio for me because I love to play.?
Jones says that his conditioning is now comparable to when he knocked out Clinton Woods in Sept. 2002. It?ll have to be. Jones only arrived in Boise on Tuesday, while Ajamu has been in town since July 7. There is a considerable difference in elevation between Boise and Melbourne ? about half a mile, enough to give handicappers flashbacks to 2001, when Lennox Lewis was knocked out by Hasim Rahman in South Africa. Rahman trained for that bout in the thin air of South Africa; Lewis trained in Las Vegas.
In the end, Jones appears to be treading down the same path that both Tarver and Fernando Vargas did in the run-up to their recent losses. Jones has spent more time on set in recent years than training for fights, appearing in the last two Matrix movies and the somewhat less successful 2004 feature Da Block Party. Between his film work and his other varied interests, Jones was so distracted from boxing that he lost his job as a ringside analyst with HBO back in January. That?s not quite the kind of commitment that makes bettors want to reach for their wallets and eat heavy chalk.
The undercard features a pair of cruiserweight bouts: Kenny Keene vs. Arthur Williams and William Guthrie vs. Luke Munsen. The latter fight is for the vacant IBF International cruiserweight title.
--Perry
BetWWTS
He?s a rapper. He?s an actor. He?s a basketball player. And, sometimes, Roy Jones Jr. laces up the gloves.
It?s been a while since Jones was considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Three years, as a matter of fact. Back in 2003, Jones reached the top of the mountain by beating John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title, making Jones the first middleweight champion to claim heavyweight gold since Bob Fitzsimmons knocked out ?Gentleman? Jim Corbett in 1897. But Jones decided to drop the belt and resume fighting as a light heavyweight. That?s when things started to go awry.
Jones took a 48-1 lifetime record into the ring against Antonio Tarver in late 2003, his only loss having come via disqualification against Montell Griffin six years earlier. Jones managed to eke out a majority decision to claim the WBC and IBO titles, but he was clearly not his old self. Tarver destroyed Jones six months later in the rematch via second-round knockout. Losses followed to Glencoffe Johnson and again to Tarver. Jones? in-ring boxing career looked like it had drawn to a close.
Not so fast. Jones is back in action on Saturday, July 29 against Prince Badi Ajamu in a bout for Ajamu?s relatively minor NABO Light Heavyweight title. It?s a big step down in marquee value for Jones; the fight does headline a pay-per-view, but it?s only 25 bucks, and it takes place at the Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho. Ticket sales are said to be going rather slowly at this point. Regardless, Jones needs a victory of some credibility if he wants to revive his career. The betting public seems to think he?ll earn that crucial win; Jones is a ?450 favorite for this matchup. Ajamu is a +300 underdog.
So. Who is Prince Badi Ajamu? Certainly not a tomato can. The New Jersey native has a career record of 25-2-1 with 14 knockouts, and is ranked seventh in the world in the light heavyweight category. At age 34, Ajamu is three years younger than Jones; he?s also an inch taller at 6-feet and has the same reach at 74 inches. But Ajamu really hasn?t fought anyone of note ? unless you include sparring.
?I sparred a lot of guys (including) Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins,? Ajamu said at a press conference in Boise. ?I appreciate it because it showed me that I could definitely compete at this level. (Sparring) is like testing a product in a laboratory. You test it and test it before you take it out and put it against the best in the world.?
Jones tried his best to hype the fight, claiming that Ajamu?s lack of quality opponents is due to their reluctance to get into the ring with the boxing Prince. But Jones doesn?t seem to think Ajamu is at his level. This is the first time he is not training for a match in his native Pensacola; instead, he?s been playing semi-pro basketball with the Brevard Blue Ducks in nearby Melbourne, Fla. ?I incorporate playing basketball into my workouts,? Jones told reporters. ?It?s great cardio for me because I love to play.?
Jones says that his conditioning is now comparable to when he knocked out Clinton Woods in Sept. 2002. It?ll have to be. Jones only arrived in Boise on Tuesday, while Ajamu has been in town since July 7. There is a considerable difference in elevation between Boise and Melbourne ? about half a mile, enough to give handicappers flashbacks to 2001, when Lennox Lewis was knocked out by Hasim Rahman in South Africa. Rahman trained for that bout in the thin air of South Africa; Lewis trained in Las Vegas.
In the end, Jones appears to be treading down the same path that both Tarver and Fernando Vargas did in the run-up to their recent losses. Jones has spent more time on set in recent years than training for fights, appearing in the last two Matrix movies and the somewhat less successful 2004 feature Da Block Party. Between his film work and his other varied interests, Jones was so distracted from boxing that he lost his job as a ringside analyst with HBO back in January. That?s not quite the kind of commitment that makes bettors want to reach for their wallets and eat heavy chalk.
The undercard features a pair of cruiserweight bouts: Kenny Keene vs. Arthur Williams and William Guthrie vs. Luke Munsen. The latter fight is for the vacant IBF International cruiserweight title.
--Perry
BetWWTS
