By: Jim Amato

OK…You’re Roy Jones Jr. and you got your butt whipped by Antonio
Tarver again. You managed to go the distance but in doing so you sacrificed any chance you had of winning. Tarver is just a tough nut for you to crack. He’s a tall, rangy southpaw with good power but you already knew that. You remembered the shot he caught you with in the second fight. You were not going to get hit with that shot again. No way that was going to happen. So you decided to fight a safety first fight. This was a fight Roy Jones could have won…should have won. Tarver is a very, very good fighter but if Roy would have gambled a bit. If he would have jumped into the foray with both hands blazing. Who knows what would have happened.

It’s too late to turn back now but Roy still fighting. Roy lost three straight fights.Then he scored an unimpressive decision in his lone comeback fight. Someone mentioned a rematch with Glencoffe Johnson. Bad move…Roy would need speed to deal with the pressure that Johnson would put on him. At this stage of his career Roy just does not have the tools to hold off Johnson. That match would probably be a repeat of their first fight.

To me if Roy is hell bent on continuing he should seek a match with I.B.F. titleholder Clinton Woods.This is a natural. A prime time Roy stopped Woods a few years back. Now that Woods is champion I would think that he would like to avenge that loss. He’d also pick up a hefty chunk of change. Woods is a very improved fighter as he showed in his victory over rugged Julio Gonzalez. I guess Roy has now settled on Ohio’s Anthony Hanshaw as his next opponent. Hanshaw is far from a push over but a win by Roy would show he has a little left in the tank.

Personally I would like to see Roy retire. He has nothing left to prove but with each loss he is tarnishing his legacy. Roy will be in the Boxing Hall Of Fame. Probably a first ballot inductee. Still as the losses mount up fans will wonder if he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Billy Conn, Bob Foster, Michael Spinks, etc…

Roy was the best light heavyweight of his time and I’ll always feel he could have handled Tarver and Johnson when he was at the top of his game. I say that with no disrespect toward Antonio or Glen.

I’ve never been a big Jones fan but I have to respect what he has
accomplished in his career. It is such a sd thing to watch a once great
fighter hanging on, seeking his past glory. I just hope Roy does not hang on too long.