A later 1997 IOC (International Olympic Committee) official investigation concluded three of the judges were wined and dined by South Korean officials. Qs Ne, Jones, James Earl 1931 ", He continued, "I would feel bad sitting there comfortable at night knowing shes in that country in prison and I have citizenship in that country and Im not trying to do nothing to help. 30th March 2020, 1:47 pm. Jones has always been Pensacola first. Then in the fourth round, Jones became the first fighter in CompuBox history to go an entire round without being hit by his opponent. Roysamateurcareer was a pretty impressive one to say the least. He even improvises with his technique, launching punches from unlikely angles and surprising opponents with unexpected moves and flurries of blows. Future legend Roy Jones, Jr. at 17-years-old in a Pensacola, Florida gym. Attorney, television host On the 18th November 1994, Roy Jones Jr. faced the #1 ranked pound for pound contender and undefeated IBF super middleweight champion James Lights Out Toney. BRITTNEY GRINER APPEARS IN RUSSIAN COURTROOM, CRIMINAL TRIAL DATE SET, FILE - Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner pauses on the court during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm, Sept. 3, 2019, in Phoenix. The perfect ending in his career could have been after defeating John Ruiz in 2003 for the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title. This is an absolutely marvelous feeling, said Jones, speaking to boxing media members after his selection. There may not be another city of Pensacola's size in America with four former athletes becoming Hall of Famers in three different sports. Vaca was summarily dispatched by KO in round one to reach 16 knockout wins and Jones even extended it to 17 KO wins, before finally being taken the distance for a first time against future world champion Jorge Castro. In June of 1999 Jones became the first undisputed ight heavyweight champ since 1985 (when Michael Spinks relinquished that distinction to fight at the heavyweight level), to unify the belts, Jones easily overwhelmed International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt-holder Reggie Johnson in a unanimous decision, with Johnson bleeding heavily down several times, and in trouble the entire fight. . So I went on a little vacation to Pensacola this weekend. Emmitt Smith (Escambia High, 1987) Enshrined as running back in 2010 into Pro Football Hall of Fame. Date of Birth: January 16, 1969 Place of Birth: Pensacola, Florida Gym(s): Pensacola, Florida. Jones always shouted Pensacola In The House after each of his victorious fights and made sure that several of his world title bouts, including ones on HBO to a world-wide audience, were held in Pensacola. All three judges who had voted against Jones eventually suspended. Lost (by disqualification), then regained, WBC light heavyweight crown in 1997. One of Pensacola's greatest athletes, among the most revered in his sport, Jones, 53, received the highest honor Sunday when he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. He is the only boxer ever to start his career at Junior middleweight yet go on to become a Heavyweight champion of the world. He is very attuned to others anguish; on his web site, he says, What gets [me] down? is.. .watching other people be hurt and mistreated. It is a feeling he has known very well. He also connected with a friend who knows people well-connected in Russian politics. He refused to set up matches against any serious contenders, and stuck instead with second-or third-raters. In a March 1997 fight against Montell Griffin, Jones had to work hard to gain an edge. Id guess 95 percent of people reaching out wanted something from him. I . Attended Pensacola Junior College. But Jones has found no credible, champion-grade warriors to take on. Natlyn and Jones Jr have three sons together, Roy III, DeShaun and DeAndre. Roys retirement did not last too long however with him coming back in an exhibition fight of some style on the 28th November 2020 fight against one Iron Mike Tyson. Father, an exfighter, was Roy Jr. ' s boxing teacher. be ranked among the best that ever fought
His Hall of Fame induction will put Jones on a mantle of greatness with fellow Pensacola athletes running back Emmitt Smith and linebacker Derrick Brooks -- both enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and pitcher Don Sutton, who is enshrined at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, not far from the Boxing Hall of Fame. It enabled him to stage HBO fights in Pensacola and bring other aspiring Pensacola boxers to an prelude undercard in these bouts. The boxer has three dogs along with pet snakes, that fans may have seen from his viral YouTube videos, showcasing his expert snake-handling skills. Away from the ring, Jones could have lived anywhere with his fame. Contemporary Black Biography. His final fight occurred at the Pensacola Bay Center on August 2, 2018 when he defeated Scott Sigman for a cruiserweight title despite breaking his hand. event bout wiki. But part of the reason Jones fights infrequently is because there are no fighters with comparable talent. And despite hanging the gloves up not too long ago, Jones Jr wants in on that ring feeling once again. "Jones, Roy Jr. 1969 I was in pain all day, every day, I was so scared of my father. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Light-Heavyweight Championship of the World and
Indeed, Roy would quickly amass a 15-0 record with 15 knockouts before moving up in class to take on former world welterweight champion Jorge Vaca in a Pay Per View fight on the 10th January 1992. People from all walks of life have journeyed this land he calls home, including aspiring boxers, athletes, troubled youth and father-son duos. Area's greatest athletes not just encompassed by Top 50, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. ROY JONES JR hasn't fought for over two years but he returns to the ring on November 28 when he faces Mike Tyson. As Kevin Monaghan, NBCs boxing correspondent at the games, said inUSA Today, It was an absolute joke. PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) Pensacola's Roy Jones Jr. will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame later this week in upstate New York. he said of Griner's situation. A decorated Vietnam veteran, ex-club fighter, and retired aircraft engineer who had taken up hog farming, Roy Sr. was hard on his son from early on, taunting the child, sparring with him, enraging Roy Jr., yelling at him, and beating the child, often for 20 minutes at a time. Just as my father was not for everybody, nor am I for everybody and Roy is most definitely not for everybody, so this makes for a perfect union.. His opponent that day, Canadas Eric Lucas, was widely considered easy pickings for Jones, so a fatiguing basketball game was one way to even the field a little.Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service quoted Jones as saying, a little defensively perhaps, At least this gives the guy a chance. Clearly, basketball is far more than a casual hobby to Jones. Griner, an Olympic gold medalist, had been playing overseas during the league's offseason to make money. Roy Lavesta Jones Junior, a former American professional boxer, ring technician and absolute legend of the sport holds one particularly unique career achievement. His mother, Carol, was warm and easygoing, whereas his father, Roy Sr., was much like a Marine drill sergeant with respect to his son. Son of Roy Sr. and Carol Jones. Roy Sr. claimed he was just trying to carefully cultivate his sons career and his character. Jones built a record of 15-0 with 15 knockouts before stepping up in class to meet former world welterweight champion Jorge Vaca in a Pay Per View fight on January 10, 1992. Such a disgrace was the incident considered, that it led the Olympic organisers to establish a new scoring system for Olympic boxing. The phenomenal Olympic boxer was rapidly falling into obscurity. Composer. Jones hopes to help WNBA star Brittney Griner who is detained in Russia. Jones rose from humble beginnings in Pensacola into a Golden Gloves youth champion, then became the worlds choice in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, after being denied the 156-pound gold medal in a widely-panned, judges decision against a South Korean fighter. Going into the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul, Korea, Jones had amassed an extraordinary record of 106-4. WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 27, 2022. He did it his way. He brought many of boxing's greatest names to Pensacola, including Muhammad Ali, either for a non-fight event or watch him from ringside. In between, in 2001 Jones would announce his presence in the music industry by releasing Round One: The Album, a rap CD. It's thought the pair had a private ceremony, likely in Florida, where they tied the knot. From the way he trains and teaches you to replicate footwork, speed and precision power, theres no one like it. ." Pensacola W-KO. In 2019, Natlyn launched her own boxing gym, She Warrior, in 2019, with the aim to empower women's sport. Captured WBA light heavyweight crown in 1998; defended it in January 1999. Inside the spectacular home, Jones Jr. has three bedrooms including his master suite, four bathrooms and such a big kitchen that he has fitted two kitchen islands in there. Finally, in November 1994, Jones got his chance for a truly sensational match, against JamesLights Out Toney. Roy . Then, as he steadily bloodied and rocked Pacienza at will, Jones all but pleaded with the ref to halt the fight. Jones described his childhood inSports Illustrated: After a while I didnt care about gettin hurt or dyin anymore. VIDEOS: In This Corner, Hosted by Smitty: Episode 10, Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr., Pre-Show: Triller Presents Tyson vs Jones Jr., Frontline Battle with Tyson and Jones Jr.: Episode 13, FITE In Focus: Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. No one had gone from junior middleweight Olympian to pro heavyweight champion. New York Times, August 3, 1997, magazine, p. 23. The early days of Jones professional career were very controversial. That dude is a cool mofo!!! International Boxing Federation1995 Fighter of the Year and 1995 Fighter of Unlimited Potential. These four men all grew up in Pensacola, graduated from local high schools, and provide Pensacola a rare distinction in America sports history as respective Hall of Famers from a community this size. Look at their condition 10 years after theyre done. Sometimes when Jones fights opponents who are far below his caliber, he has to look out for the other mans well-being. That was the end of that controversy. But no one suggests that the 5 11 Jones should switch sports. This is a shame, because Jones potential has hardly been tested; it is quite likely that he would have prevailed over all the other great middle weights. To briefly recap for those unfamiliar, South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun was pounded around the ring for three rounds. Moreover, Jones also became the first ever fighter to start his career as a junior middleweight and win a heavyweight title. This service is provided on talkSPORT Ltd's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Around the seventh round, though, Jones started to prevail. Since the ref did not tell him to halt his attack, Jones hit Griffin with two more punches, the second one hard enough to knock him out. They still have a good relationship, but Al Merkerson was his trainer. Over the course of the 12-round unanimous decision, Jones demonstrated his greatness. On November 18, 1994, he was set to face undefeated IBF super middleweight champion James Toney, #1 ranked pound for pound contender. Roy Jones Jr was not one to take defeats lying down though: Jones would go on to lose to Denis Lebedev in May 2011, before capturing the UBO vacant Intercontinental Cruiserweight title by beating Max Alexander in December of the same year. Eubank will be on hand with Pensacola's Jones (66-7, 49KOs)the 51-year old former four-division championfor a celebrated eight-round exhibition match with fellow retired ring legend, 54 . . It was little surprise therefore in his professional debut on the 6th May 1989 at the Pensacola Bayfront Auditorium he would knock out Ricky Randall in the 2nd round. We Are the World But in denying his son any decision-making capacity, Roy Sr. was stoking the fighters frustration. Sign in or register here to comment BoxingScene Default Private Company His way landed him on boxing's pantheon. Griffin established an early lead but by round 9 Jones was ahead on the cards and dropped Griffin to the canvas. Bill Vilonais a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and current senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. One of Pensacola's greatest athletes, among. Toney was 44-0-2 at the time; Jones was 26-0 in the prime of his career. Jones though would beat former super middleweight champion, Jones rolling back the years in December 2009 to beat, Roy Jones Jr even rekindled his rivalry with. Career; Widely considered best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Jones continued. 09-12-2011, 04:35 PM. In addition, Jones is one boxer who has provided a positive role model for young people. That fight was considered one of Jones all-time greatest bouts. He knocked Vaca out in round one to reach 16 knockout wins in a row. Jones Jr. for the first time in his career was the underdog, but it made little difference quite frankly as Superman boxed rings round Toney (as he would go on to do to many others) and even handed Lights Out a very rare flash knockdown in the 3rd round on route to a 12-round unanimous decision. Natlyn and Jones Jr have three sons together, Roy III, DeShaun and DeAndre. As Ross Greenburg, executive producer of HBO Sports, was quoted in a Sports Illustrated feature, he and the other HBO commentatorswere there for Leonard and Hagler and Hearns and Duran in their prime. On the 22nd May 1993 Jones would beat future undisputed middleweight champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer, Bernard Hopkins by unanimous decision to capture theIBF middleweight championship, with Jones even claiming he entered the bout with a broken right hand. Actor Jones said his contact was able to reach authorities in Russia who expressed willingness to conduct a prisoner swap with the U.S. Jones said the process was slow moving and has since stalled. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Mr. Jones, having a lifelong passion for the sport of boxing, has freely opened his home, which includes a self made boxing gym and barn, to countless citizens in Pensacola and various parts of the world. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. While Jones is certainly a great boxer to watch, his matches are usually too one-sided to make for a good fight. Jones Jr was born on January 16, 1969, making him 51 years old. Jones hopes to help WNBA star Brittney Griner who is detained in Russia. 22 Feb. 2023
Gernot Reinstadler Autopsy Report,
Peter Andrew Baryshnikov,
What Does The Artifact Of The Hunter Do,
Gskyer Telescope App,
Courtney Wagner Obituary,
Articles R