Sunday, November 09, 2008 Quijano: Will Roy Jones Jr. redefine his legacy? By Jingo Quijano Last Round
The way they gushed over Roy Jones Jr. back in the 90’s you would have thought he was superman or something. Well he was actually, for some time, and he definitely deserved the hyperboles thrown his way during those prime years.
He was so extraordinary, they dubbed him the prototype of the fighter of the future.
He could get away with a lot of things because of his superior hand speed and crippling power in both hands. He could switch from orthodox to southpaw with relative ease.
He didn’t even bother to put his hands up for defensive purposes. Instead, he would hold his hands way down low, clearly to entice or lure his opponent into taking a swipe at his exposed mug.
When an opponent did, Roy Jones would counter the damn fool and look pretty doing it.
He would prance and preen around the ring, toy around with his hapless foe and when he got bored, finish the hostilities with a flourish. He was that good.
KRYPTONITE. But even Superman has a weakness and in Roy Jones Jr.’s case, narcissism proved to be his kryptonite.
After being the only boxer in the last century to have won both the middleweight and heavyweight belts, Roy thought it would be dandy to drop back down to light heavy.
Big mistake. Waiting for him was a hungry rival in Antonio Tarver who was good enough to play the role of a spoiler.
I will always believe that Roy Jones Jr.’s fall from grace was brought about by his propensity to experiment too much and it all caught up with him one fateful night.
Even Roy’s staunchest critics and those who canonized him into all-time-great status are in agreement that he was never the same fighter after the heavyweight experiment.
LOST GLORY. Today, Roy Jones Jr. will be facing undefeated Joe Calzaghe, a fighter who had been calling him out all those years when he was the top predator in the food chain.
But now, the roles have been reversed. Calzaghe easily makes the top three of any pound-for-pound list while Jones is the one hankering for big fights in order to regain his once lofty status.
After three straight losses (two of them by knockout) Jones bounced back with three straight wins, the last two against decent opposition.
Of course, Felix Trinidad deserves more than the decent tag, but he’s three weight divisions removed from his heyday. Anthony Hanshaw is a tough, young fighter and so Jones can validly claim some measure of redemption.
But tonight’s fight will truly determine whether or not Jones still has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
EXPECT THE FIGHT TO BE: A tactical battle. But I have this nagging suspicion that Roy’s style will be difficult for Joe to figure out. The Welshman looks good against the Jeff Lacy types—limited sluggers with average hand speed.
But reluctant Roy will get on his bicycle and backpedal his way around the ring. All the while shaking and baiting and launching sporadic flurries that will pile up the points.
Joe’s ace will be his superior conditioning and he should apply relentless pressure and hopefully find an opening to land some punches on Jones’ fragile chin. But if he fails in that endeavor, expect Roy Jones Jr. to showboat his way to a unanimous decision win.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my SHS-B batchmate Marcelino Co and my companero Atty. Erwin Rommel “Heyboy” Heyrosa who are celebrating their birthdays this week. Cheers! (jingo_quijano@yahoo.com)
