Calzaghe wants Roy Jones Jr., Be careful what you
ask for.
By Mike Casse=
ll
The Philadelp=
hia
Boxing Report 4/28//08
PHILADELPHIA
– Ov=
er the
past few years, I have had the opportunity to speak in depth with Roy Jones=
Jr.
about who he was, who he is, where he is going. His mind seems clear of all=
the
clutter that is usually accompanied with boxing superstardom. As he rose
through the ranks of the middleweight division, he amazed the boxing public
with that rare brand of pugilism not seen since the likes of Muhammad Ali a=
nd
Sugar Ray Robinson. He was on top on the world, alone. There was no present=
day
comparison. Somewhere between playing semi-pro basketball before championsh=
ip
fights and producing his own entrance music, he lost the things that defined
his very existence in the game of boxing. He lost the will to win. It just =
didn’t
seem to matter. After totally destroying the Light Heavyweight division, he
moved up and beat Heavyweight John Ruiz easily to win the WBA Heavyweight t=
itle.
That win embarrassed Ruiz and the division, but it also further alienated J=
ones
Jr. from everything that made him a champion, and it was his eventual down
fall. In January Jones told me.
“I knew going up in weight like
that could give me a loss or two when I went back to the Light Heavyweight =
division.
I needed the challenge, there was nothing there. I had to create it.”=
Maybe
he was right, because since suffering two devastating knockouts and his
distance loss to Antonio Tarver, he has begun to look more and more like th=
e Jones
of old. He knew he had to fight “names” not fights to get back =
to
the place he so blatantly took for granted just a few years ago. He offered=
to
fight Hopkins; he even made an offer to former WBC Heavyweight Champion Oleg
Maskaev last year. He eventually took a fight with legend Felix Trinidad, a=
nd
very easily sent him back into retirement. He went from being the invisible=
man,
to being everywhere. He knows Calzaghe is a name, nwow=
a very big name after beating Hopkins, and this fight could put him in a po=
sition
to make more money than he has seen in years. I have a feeling this fight is
less about fame and money, and more about redemption and vindication for Jo=
nes.
In
January, Jones went after Calzaghe and found a cease and desist order filed=
against
him by Hopkins people. They cited that Jones was hurting their negotiations=
. So
this is not a fight that found him. This is something he was going after fo=
r 5
months. When Jones looks at
Calzaghe, he envisions a big opportunity. He likes that he stands straight =
up,
he likes that he leaves himself open, and he also enjoys the fact that he is
being called one of the greatest fighters of all time. But the one thing he
likes more than anything is that he went from nobody watching, to everyone =
in
the world watching, and that is exactly what he wanted. It may sound funny,=
but
Jones didn’t see Glen Johnson or Antonio Tarver as a challenge. They =
were
seen as fighters he was supposed to beat. Calzaghe is the kind of fighter, =
with
the kind of fame that can bring out the best in Jones. Calzaghe has recently
stated;
"Roy Jones is mak=
ing
himself seen and heard. I've spoken to him, he's
totally different from Bernard Hopkins. He is a nice guy, full of respect a=
nd
that will be a massive fight and what a way to finish off your career again=
st
the former middleweight, super-middleweight, light-heavy and heavyweight
champion of the world. That would be an amazing way to finish off”
It
would also be a really bad way to go out, if Jones wins. I do not like the =
way
these styles match up of Calzaghe. Jones is not the same guy he was in 1999=
, be
is still faster than Bernard Hopkins, and it seemed as if Hopkins right hand
was pretty fast against Calzaghe. If Jones looks anything like he did again=
st
Trinidad last year, he could be sitting on top of the world by the end of t=
he
year. He could then find vindication against Antonio Tarver who holds two b=
elts
and is screaming for recognition louder than ever before. Or maybe a super-=
fight
with Kelly Pavlik would be a proper end to his hall of fame career. Time wi=
ll
tell, but one thing that should worry anyone he fights, is that he is more
dedicated than ever before, and believe it or not, he is very hungry. That =
is
something Calzaghe should be very aware of. His fight with Hopkins awoke a
sleeping giant, now with the world watching, he must follow through. As Joe
Calzaghe barely slipped by Bernard Hopkins, there was Jones on HBO TV, just
letting his presence known, and smiling ear to ear. Almost as if he had this
very moment set up all along. Another challenge; not quite eating the canar=
y,
but cornering the British bird, and licking his chops.
Mike Cassell is a member of the Boxing Writers associat=
ion
of