Roy Jones Outclasses Badi in Boise
By Robert Ecksel July 30th, 2006Roy Jones Jr. is back from the dead for now
Former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr. returned from the dead Saturday night to easily decision Prince Badi Ajamu in Boise over 12 one-sided rounds. For his efforts, Jones acquired the low rent NABO light heavyweight title while restoring some luster to his tarnished reputation.
The decision was unanimous with all three judges scoring the fight 119-106 for Jones.
According to AP, the clearly pleased with himself Jones said, “The champ is on the way back, baby. Don’t pay attention to what people say. I’m close. In two or three months, I’ll be all the way back.”
After a 10 month hiatus, after dominating Prince Badi, Jones proved something to the disbelievers at the same time as he proved something to himself. “I wanted to see if my reflexes were still there. I wanted to see if I could put my hands down and not get caught, do all the things people say I shouldn’t do. Do the things I used to do. After tonight,â€? he said, “I realize I can do anything I want to.”
Badi took the fight to Jones at the opening bell, but that lasted all of a round before the superior fighter took control of the fight.
“He came out early and tried to catch me,â€? said Jones, “just like Tarver did. And I took his best stuff.”
Although this was a fight Jones was supposed to win, Roy believes he’s ready for bigger and better things than fights with Badi in Boise in the future.
“It all depends if they make it worth my while. If I wanted to, I could go out right now and feel good, go out my way.” Jones would like to fight undefeated Welsh superstar Joe Calzaghe or, failing that, Bernard “The Executionerâ€? Hopkins, but, razzed Roy, “Bernard said he doesn’t want to fight anymore.â€?
With the big win Saturday night, it looks like the saga of Roy Jones Jr. continues…
July 30th, 2006 at 2:43 am
BRING ON THE B-HOP vs. JONES JR. FIGHT THAT THE ENTIRE WORLD WANTS TO SEE!
I don’t care how old they are, any self-respecting boxing fan wants to see who wins this match-up. Two proven champions with similar fight careers at fairly similar ages….who really was better…?
Forget that bout they had early in their careers, lets see this matchup NOW.
July 30th, 2006 at 3:48 am
Long Live the King!
July 30th, 2006 at 8:15 am
jonathan you are right lets see who really has still got it hopkins or jones the showdown lets see if roy can pull it out again or if hopkins can get the revenge that he has craved for so many years. i think hopkins would come out of retirement for this plus the figures will be in the 10s of millions.
July 30th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
Roy really beat him down and we all no he didint mind getting a nice tune up over 12 rounds. Johnson,Tarver, and Hopkins I hope we get see them all get dealt with Calzaghe would also be great to see for any one of those names
July 30th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
BHOP knows he can’t beat RJJ. I remember watching Mike Tyson getting his hat handed to him by Lennox Lewis and Roy was asked to comment on Hopkins. Jones offered Bernard his buggest purse ever (at the time)and said that if he didn’t take it he was a punk. “The Executioner” refused, choosing to beat up Oscar, Felix, and some other little guys for less money! Speed kills and that’s what gives Mr. Philly the most trouble. As seen last night, Roy’s still pretty fast! Bernard, you are one of the greatest fighters of all time. No one holds the Taylor losses against you, you fought valiantly and came up just short against a younger, faster, stronger foe. But Roy is the reason you are not the GREATEST middleweight/ light-heavyweight of your era. He easily defeated you when you were both on the rise, broken hand notwithstanding. You need to fight him again to cement your legacy. Tarver was nobody to us. This is the match-up we’ve been dying to see for years. Pleeeeeaaaase!!
July 30th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
Okay I don’t really know why but I would kinda like to see Jones vs. Hopkins or Jones vs. Tarver or Jones vs. Calzaghe. Let’s see if he is really back. The only thing I think he lost was his confidence anyway.
July 30th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
A Jones/Hopkins fight is too soon. Hopkins wouldn’t come out of retirement just because Jones won this fight. Jones needs to beat another fighter, a little more worthy and then he can really call some more serious people out…like Hopkins or Calz. Don’t get me wrong, I am from and live in Pensacola and I believe that the King is back, baby! Roy Jones is a great fighter and proved to all of us that he still has 90% of his old performance. He’s great and I welcome as many more fights from him. I strongly believe that he is on his way back to the top!
July 30th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
i doubt it will happen. it was gonna happen but they couldnt agree on money and all that, so b-hop took on tarver. i remember reading that they were gonna fight in may (this past may).
hopkins would beat jones hands down if they faught now.
if the money is right, which we know it will…….. lets do it!!!!!
July 30th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
Charlie, I like your commentary, although I usually don’t agree with it, and this is no exception!! RJJ only lost his confidence, not his ability. He also wasn’t training properly. Armed with that knowledge and provided he resumes the training regimen that he began with(minus SR., whom he just can’t stand), Roy would make easy work of BHOP, TARVER, JOHNSON, and dare I say, even CALZAGHE!! Remember, you saw it here first.
July 30th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
DONT BE FOOLED,,JONES BEAT A GUY WHO DIDNT WANT TO FIGHT AFTER 3 RDS. WHEN PUSHED TO THE ROPES WHICH WAS OFTEN,HE STOOD STRAIGHT UP INSTEAD OF LEANING BACK AND STAYING THEIR OR BENDING DOWN AND INTO HIS OPPONENT OFF THE ROPES. HE WILL GET CLOBBERED AGAIN IF HE DONT CHANGE THESE THINGS.HE WONT HAVE THAT REF TO BREAK HIM UP EVERY TIME HES INSIDE OF AN OPPONENT. ROY WASNTTHE SAME GUY ,HE FOUGHT A GUY THAT LET HIM DO WHAT HE WANTED WITHOUT ANY PAYBACK.YOU DONT THINK THAT THESE OTHER GUYS SEE THAT ? I WANTED SO MUCH TO SEE THE OLD ROY BUT HEY, WHEN YOU GET OLDER ,YOU HAVE TO TRAIN HARDER AND CHANGE SOME THINGS .HE ISNT DOING EITHER.CALZAHGI WILL KO HIM.
July 30th, 2006 at 5:36 pm
couple of things about roy: i keep getting surprised over the comments about roy. i’m very surprised the steroid issue with roy keeps getting left out of the story. roy and sugar shane got off the roids when the BALCO story hit the media. shane proceeded to lose the next five or so fights, roy barely beat tarver the first time (but he did win the fight) and you know what happened next with the rematch and the johnson fight. the third tarver fight was a joke and tarver proved how good he his by losing to a middleweight. he’s garbage. roy had flurries and looked like the old roy in tarver 3 but refused to do it over the course of the whole fight for whatever reason. only roy knows. last night he certainly looked like the old roy (as did shane two weeks ago looking like the old shane, albeit at the expense of a totally washed up fighter) but he had an enormous amount of help from the ref and roy knew it smilin when the totally unknown ref from friggin idaho broke the clinches before they became clinches. we’ll see what happens next but roy giving himself a C? yeah, and the ref got an A. maybe he’s restructured himself after the juice got out of his system or maybe some other thing helped him last night. who knows. roy was the best fighter i had ever seen, including mohammed, but the steroid story and roy put a huge question mark on the validity of his career.
July 30th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
Roy did what he could get away with last night. Didn’t you hear him say he was 3 months away? The man’s been fighting for damn near 30 years, so we have to give some credit for knowing what he’s talking about!! It’s so easy to stand outside the ropes and talk about what we woulda done if it had been us. Oh, yeah, I think those body shots had a little something to do with Prince not wanting to fight after 3 rounds! Calzaghe is a BOXER, not a puncher, which is right up RJJ’s alley. Even at 37, Jr.’s WAY FASTER than Joe. Like I said , IF HE TRAINS PROPERLY, Roy Jones, Jr. is still VERY DIFFICULT to beat!
July 31st, 2006 at 8:15 am
DIGGY;I disagree with your observation about that last try to make the fight against Roy and Bernard happen. Roy was scared,so he kept upping his percent of the purse knowing Bernard wouldn’t go for such a lopsided percent. Know that Bernard retired and don’t need Roy Jones, Roy Jones want to call him out. Bernard would have KNOCKED HIM OUT then and if Bernard wanted, he would KNOCK HIM OUT NOW!!! Roy just want a payday…
July 31st, 2006 at 8:25 am
Bernard would destroy RJJ at this point. B Hop was still pretty green when he fought Roy the 1st time. Roy would drop his hands, make faces, and then take a straight right to the nose from X. I’m a fan of both guys but I think Roy has lost his edge.
July 31st, 2006 at 9:55 am
Didn’t see the PPV bout. Roy winning number 50 is what people like Vinnie Paz fought for. Even losing boxer Bronco McKart said he is two wins from 50. Must be a goal for some boxers. I believe Joe Giardello retired with 99 wins. Marciano with 49. Roy has four European boxers holding the four major titles. That alone would be worth promoting. Only if he is back as he says he is should he take any of those four on without at least one more fight.
July 31st, 2006 at 4:26 pm
M Debya M, Roy offered Bernard bad percentages at first, but then came with a flat fee offer in the MILLIONS (BHOP only made $100k in the Trinidad fight), which was as I said the largest purse he’d ever seen at the time! Even so, if I beat you and take your title, then go on and beat James Toney, Montell Griffin, Virgil Hill, and everyone else remotely resembling a contender, you should take whatever I give you. That’s what he did with Oscar and Felix. If Bernard coulda knocked this guy out, he woulda. He’s not known for KO’s, and knows that Roy has the one thing that gives him problems, SPEED. Jones also has one-punch knockout power in BOTH HANDS. RJJ also knows that HE is the black mark on Hopkins career, the one guy that he decisively lost to(Jermain Taylor had trouble with him, Roy didn’t) and that he did it with ONE FRIGGIN HAND! BHOP needs to beat Roy if he can, then go out in style. He says he can do it, he’d be the favorite, Roy’s on the decline, EASY MONEY, right? The boxing world has a right to know. Is Bernard Hopkins really the greatest middle/light-heavyweight of our era? Fight Roy Jones, Jr. and we’ll see!
August 1st, 2006 at 4:54 pm
Damn, i am so sick and tired of all these Rjj fan calling saturdays fight ROY’s come back.Roy shouldn’t have received a majority decision for his win, his whole TEAM deserved that title… for searching and finding, far and wide for the perfect foe.Can you believe Badi got his ass whoop by an aging Otis grant few years back? Otis also lost a clear majority decision to jones, but had to move up in weight to fight jones(grant is a natural middleweight 160lbs).Badi was a terrible match-up and it bored me to death. But i was pleased to hear good ol Roy hasnt learned his lesson cause he’s apparently ready to fight better opposition.Great, lets get it on, i want to find out who will be the next boxer to knock him and his ego out cold.And DIGGY, i agree with you about TARVER losing to Jones…not because i think Roy is good enough to beat Tarver, i just think Tarver is dumb enough to lose to Jones.Calzague, on the other hand would destroy Jones.How will Jones handle Calzague’s constant pressure, how will he fair with the volume of punches being thrown at him from a southpaw angle.Jones still and always will fight with his left hand to his side which spells bad news agaisnt an experience southpaw who will surely exploit that.Jones still has the hand speed but his legs are not in sync with his punches, he is no longer able to get in and out of range without getting tagged. So DIGGY, you clearly lack knowledge in the sport and should avoid these topics.Styles makes fights and the quality of a boxer is defined through the level of opposition he faces.EX:Jones jr vs Badi (D-) ; Calzague vs lacy(B+)….Nuff said!
August 1st, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Fortunes rise and falll so quickly in boxing- Shane is back, Oscar is back, Roy is back, Bernard is back. Let’s get some of these bouts under way with these other people out there, so we the boxing fans can get some answers. Boxing is only dead at heavyweight, all the other divisions are just fine.
August 1st, 2006 at 8:34 pm
I think those comments by Roy Jones saying that Bernard dont want none of him will eventually piss Bernard Hopkins off!! Hopkins already said he is bored at home but homestly i think Roy would beat him cause RJJ is to fast for Bernard. Only reason why people say RJJ dont have it no more cause Tarver knocked him out. Its jus one fighter RJJ cant beat and thats Tarver. Against Glen Johnson, Roy Jones wat jus out of shape and was still winning rounds but got knocked out. Roy would of won if he was in shape. HE was n a movie and had an Album coming out. So RJJ is focused now and can beat any fighter now but Tarver. Calzaghe he can beat and Bernard and maybe Glen. Roy always loses to ppl who is bigger or taller. Give him someone his size. Roy will beat him. Roys got his confidence back now. I think the best possible fight that will happen is a Jones-Calzaghe, than a Jones-Hopkins, than a Jones-Johnson and a Jones-Woods
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:32 am
John Ruiz?
Maybe, like how Ali and Frazier were both on the down slope, but still produced a remarkable effort, these two, (RJ, Jr. and BHop) can do likewise. Very marketable.
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:58 am
Roney, my knowledge of the sport is very much intact, I beg your pardon! Calzaghe appeared to be the aggressor against Lacy, baecause Jeff continued to press the action even though he was mercililessly countered throughout the fight! Jones is not the same type of fighter, so Calzaghe will suffer a very differenent fate against him. There is probably only one pug at their weight who can out-quick Joey C and that’s Roy Jones, Jr. Even at his advanced age (37) he’s faster than Calzaghe and hits way harder. We don’t even know if Joe can take a punch, because he’s never been hit really! RJJ has no problems landing punches, as we’ve never seen an offensive force like him! Antonio Tarver landed a lucky punch, perod! Don’t judge Roy on that, lest ye be proven wrong in subsequent matchups. I’ll take roy Jones, Jr. against the field any day. Bring on BHOP, Calzaghe, Taylror, Wright, or whoever else you can think of at middle-/light-heavyweight and watch RJJ topple them all! He’s oly at 90%, but that 90 is better than EVERYONE ELSE’S 100! REMEMBER, you saw it here first!!!
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:49 am
BILL MAJOR IS DEFINITLY ON POINT WITH HIS COMMENT, GLAD TO SEE I AINT THE ONLY ONE WHO THOUGHT LAST SATURDAYS’S FIGHT WAS A CIRCUS ACT!
August 2nd, 2006 at 7:35 am
I JUST WANNA SAY DAT I LUV BHOP & RJ, BUT…LET’Z B RESONABLE HERE BHOP IZ 41 & IN TERRIFIC SHAPE RJ GOT KNOCKED OUT 3 TIMEZ BETWEEN AGES 35-37! COME ON! IF THESE 2 GUYZ FIGHT THEN THERE’S NO DOUBT ABOUT WHO WILL WIN, & THE WINNER IZ… BHOP! BHOP! BHOP! BHOP! I’M SORRY RJ I LUV U MAN BUT BHOP WOULD WHOOP UR AZZ ANYDAY ANYTIME!
August 3rd, 2006 at 1:33 am
Roy Jones back? gimme a break. RJ use to be my all time favorite boxer of all time. Now he’s just a pale shadow of himself. I’ve never seen anybody’s cofidence get destroyed that fast in my life. Roy is filled with self-doubt, and rightly so. First he get’s KO’d by what was a lucky punch, but then he comes back to soon and get’s ko’d again by a even lower class opponent. Don’t get me started on his last fight with tarver. ROY JONES JR. FIGHT WITH TARVER WAS ONE OF THE WORST PPV FIGHTS EVER! It was one of the most pathetic things i’ve ever seen. A boxer with the skill to win(roy) but no heart left to use it. It’s laughable to think that because Roy wins a 12 round dec. against a C class opponent that he can still fight world class opponents. anybody in the top 5 will ko him easy, even Bhop, who is barely top 5. He just showed what a paper champion Tarver was. Who’d he beat besides roy? Glen Johnson? an over the hill never was. matter of fact why am i talking about any of these guys? Where’s the blog on Floyd, Jermaine, manny, or any of the middle to feather weights?
August 5th, 2006 at 7:37 am
Are u kidding me, Ive read so much crap in here. ROY JONES JR IS ONE OF THE GREATEST BOXERS OF ALL TIME!!!! He had a close fight with tarver (1) which tarver trained his whole life for, BUT CLEARLY WON THE DECISON. He got knocked out by a lucky punch in (2) and glenn johnson got a scared lost confiedence roy jones and out worked him and knocked his butt out clearly. Which i think is a more honoralbe knock out the tarver. then roy fought tarver a 3rd time only to fight a he could have easliy won but he was scared, might I add roy looked 100% in the third tarver fight. JUST WAS SCARED. and yes this last fight was a set fight for roy, perfect opponent. BUT IF U REMEMBER WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE DONE. THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST FIGHTERS EVER. I dont think he has lost anything. It was all mental, and if he gets his mental right, he will dominat all fighters again. THE ROY BENARD FIGHT, NEEDS TO HAPPEN. And who is to say who will win that. one thing is for sure, ROY OR BENARD WILL NOT DOMINATE. those are two of the greatest boxers of all time. Which would make one of the greatest fights of all time. That fight would bea great fight then any fight in the last 20 years. People can hate roy and say crap, and it was great for them to see him fall. but roy is champ a man and a bad mutha @#%$@#$. Just wait, he is gonna come back, prove it to all, and retire like he wants!
November 18th, 2006 at 4:28 am
I believe in his mind Roy Jones is back, but not in his heart. Roy lost his biggest advantage in boxing, he stop believing in himself. I do not think Bernard Hopkins will come out of retirment, he made a promise to his mother!!!! Roy retire with a belt, go ahead and fight Calzaghe, but you better be in shape and come with game plan, because if he catches you with those powerhouse punches, you will be laying on your back again, again and again.
March 18th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Well the sugar kills the inherent good-for-you ness
But it’s really very, very good with maple syrup or honey 
WBR LeoP