Jones/Manfredo bout in motion for January on Showtime
According to ESPN.com, former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr. has decided that his next bout will be against Peter “Pride of Providence� Manfredo, who so handily destroyed hometown rival Joey Spina Saturday night, and whose Contender pedigree appeals to Jones and the marketing objectives of his eternal farewell tour to boxing.
Although nothing is yet in writing, the fight could take place as early as January 20 and Showtime, with an eye on the bottom line, rather than on boxing’s longevity/integrity, has expressed interest in broadcasting the bout.
The Pensacola New Journal reports that the fight card is being pitched “as a sort of champions vs. contenders show with Jones-Manfredo as the headliner with a co-feature pitting former two-time junior middleweight champ Fernando Vargas vs. Sergio Mora,� aka The Latin Snake, “the winner of the first season of The Contender.�
Jim Thomas, Jones’ personal advisor, reported that should Jones beat Manfredo, he would seek would a showdown with light heavyweight titleholder Clinton Woods.
At least RJJ isn’t fighting a four-round exhibition with headgear against a former sparring partner in Youngstown, Ohio – not yet, anyway – but a retread by any other name is still a retread, even without a decorative Maori tattoo covering half his face.
Manfredo looked impressive against Spina……but he was fighting stinkin’ Joey Spina. Someone tell Spina it’s not against the rules to slip a right hand occasionally.
I still like Jones against Manfredo. I think the fact that Roy is calling him out should serve notice to everyone that Roy knows he can beat this guy.
Fernando Vargas is mentally shot. The “Latin Snake” will win every single round.
I don’t really understand where Jones is heading right now, but he’s not the same fighter as 4-5 years ago and he’ll turn 38 before this fight….
I don’t think Roy wants to end his career simply with another belt, beating Woods again.
Seems like time has run out for him to face any legacy type fighter !
jones called out glen johnson, and antonio tarver the third time… good thing he won those fights, right? Roy will have his moments, but Manfredo is certainly no Prince Badi Ajamu. The sad thing is that the reason i started boxing was because of roy jones, but sadly i have to say i honestly think that Manfredo has the skills to beat him.
and by the way, who wants to see a totally shot fernando vargas, go up against sergio “the latin FAKE” mora, who clearly lost to manfredo in their 100 percent fixed rematch? at least jones is coming off a win, vargas is coming off a lackluster “comeback” win and back to back losses. Mora, man up and either fight someone worthy, or give manfredo a third fight in providence… put up or shut up
RJJ is well past his sell by date and it shows,,,calling out a ‘Contender’ fighter,cmon lets be real Manfredo is ok but nothing special if it werent for the reality show he wouldnt be known,the same goes for Mora and Gomez.
Realistically speaking, Manfredo is a little boy compared to Jones. Even though RJ is shot, one shot might do Manfredo a coma for a month
That card is a joke. I want to see both Contender fighters rumble with top ranked guys who are real contenders. Jones is shot and now has more glass in his jaw then a chandelier and Vargas should brought out to pasture already. Enough is enough.
Roy Jones Jr. in his prime would destroy Manfredo. Roy as he is now I believe will still win. As for Vargas-Mora, who cares?
It’s funny every one always makes it look like Peter is the under dog of almost every fight when reporters bring up his records and his oponents like they are better i can’t say anything about roy calling him out but Peter is good so lets see it i am sure Peter will give him a run for his money and will probably shut him up too.
Roy Jones may not be the same guy who crushed Glen Kelley with his hands behind his back, but he’s also not the same guy who got knocked out by Johnson. When you think about it, Roy’s hardly taken any punishment in his career. He’s just aged, past 35=slower reflexes=he’s not going to beat other world champs with ease the way he use to. So c’mon, a guy who was an olympic finalist and legendary champ versus a decent club fighter who cashed in on a reality series? If Roy had it in him to beat Ajamu, he will use Manfredo for target practice.
First of all even though Roy Jones is slower then he use to be he is still faster then most light heavyweights and he is definetely faster then peter manfredo. But, come on RJ just retire you have nothing else to prove at light heavyweight.
And don’t count out Fernando Vargas yet. I know he lost his last two fights. But Vargas is still in his twenties and he is a warrior. I personally think he will beat Mora. Mora still hasn’t really fought anyone that good yet except Manfredo and Vargas is alot stronger and bigger then Manfredo. Plus Mora doesn’t have enough power to knock out Vargas like De La Hoya and Trinidad did when they beat him. I mean look at Mora’s record he only has 4 knockouts in 19 professional fights. Anyone with a knockout rate that low can’t have much punching power. And Mora was knocked down in his last fight so Vargas definitely has a chance to knock him out.
This card is NOT a joke. It’s Roy friggin’ Jones for Chrissakes. Manfredo has a little bit of marketability coming off and impressive win against a much bigger opponent and he knocked the guy silly……….after being hurt by a nice left hook at the end of round one. Roy should win this fight, then face Woods to see who gets a crack at the realy big fish …….CALZAGHE!!!! I’ll be watching.
Oh yeah, superman’s nuts if he thinks for a nanosecond that Manfredo has a chance in hell against RJJ.
Roy Jones is still going to win this fight against Manfredo even though he is slower than 4-5 years ago.Roy has no problem beating up guys his size or smaller,and Manfredo lacks that “big fight’ experiance.Look for Roy to win in his normal impressive fashion.
If Jones and Vargas lose these fights, and I think Vargas will, any commission that will allow another fight with them or promoter that promotes them should be put in jail for defrauding the public. And if the public buys into it after that they should be put in jail too.
It’s time for Roy Jones to think about another line of work. When you call out Peter Manfredo at 38 yrs. old you might have absorbed your share of punches. I don’t even want to see Roy end his career getting wacked out by Peter.
Mark my words… Jones will get crushed, and I for one don’t want to see it. Please retire Roy.
JONES WILL WIN AND WILL ONCE AGAIN BECOME THE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!
Is this what Roy has amounted to? Damn….what a couple years too long in the sport could do to somebody! Roy should turn to coachin man, aint no way he’s gonna touch the P4P rankings again…..Go out with some pride Roy! It’s like when your in high school tryin to fight with a junior high kid….it just aint right and if u get whupped then what? Then your the laughing stock around town! Much respect Roy but u need to beat a real champion if u ever want your credit back…..
Yea, a lame match for a guy who’s one of the 20 best to ever step in a ring, but a smart business move on Jones part, since he wants to keep boxing and get well paid for it. It’s a safe fight for Jones that will allow him to look good—it’s hard to imagine him calling out Manfredo if Jones wasn’t sure he had a great chance of handling him. Manfredo is a blown-up super middle weight, he won’t have the size or power to overwhelm Jones like Tarver and Johnson did, and he’ll get drilled trying to out-box Jones on the outside. And Manfredo’s already got three losses on his record, its not like a blow to his career as long as Jones doesn’t immediately knock him out.
Peter Manfredo will get hit by Roy Jones Jr. but the speed that carried Jones isn’t there any more. His speed was his power. Manfredo will knock out Roy.
Sergio Mora and Fernando Vargas have sparred each other many times. If Fernando’s back is ok it will be a good fight. If not, Mora will have an easy night.
First of all, roy jones jr. is washed up. Peter is getting better with every fight. My prediction is a sixth round knockout for Manfredo jr.
Mike…..and for anyone else who thinks this…..THERE IS NO WAY MANFREDO WILL KO JONES PERIOD!!! For one….he doesn’t possess the power to do so. He does not punch harder than Glen Johnson or Tarver…just look at the records. Further more, Jones can take a pretty good punch. He’s only lost to people who have a helluva punch (Tarver’s being a lucky one with his eyes closed dead on Jones’s chin and Johnson’s high on the top back part of the head)….which despite Manfredo’s victory over Spina…..doesn’t possess. I will admit, Jones has gotten slower, but he is still faster than Manfredo. So before you say Jones is washed up….think about what washed up means. Washed up is Evander Holyfield. I think we would all agree on that. Jones lost 2 fights in a row…..one after LOSING OVER 25 Pounds of MUSCLE to fight someone he really didn’t care to fight again (Tarver) and a guy he totally didn’t train for and underestimated (Johnson). Now if you are a true boxing fan you could name a number of boxers that had those same two symptoms and lost their fights. But are they washed up too??? I don’t think so!
peter manfredo continues to get better and roy continues to get older manfredo wil win this fight, and as far as mora vargas i could care less why cant sergio fight someone half way descent instead of pussy footing his way to wins.
peter is a great technical fighter hes a decpetively strong punch and a solid chin, but Roy Jones is Roy Jones and i think hes training to be back to where he was obviously he cannot be as dominate as before but you dont just lose it. Im not sure whose gonna win the fight i hope peter cause im a big fan but id have to say its gonna be close.
First of all, if anyone out there thinks this will be a easy fight for Jones, think again. Peter and Jones are great fighters, with Jones being a great fighter 4 or 5 years ago and Peter becoming as great as Jones use to be. I’m not taking anything away from Jones, but Peter is younger, faster, and has the skill to beat him, along with the KO power to do so. Face it, Jones is approaching 38 years old. He can not afford to train as hard the he use to without his body being affected. Jones is one of the greatest, but Peter is proving that he will be a great himself. You can’t compare Mora or Spina to Jones. Peter has clearly proven that he did not struggle beating the two, because everyone knows that Peter beat Mora, but that has nothing to do with the Jones fight. With or without the Contender, Manfredo was going to be at this level. He is a solid fighter with amazing skills. Roy Jones is Roy Jones, but Peter “The Pride of Providence” Manfredo, is looking better and better each time he gets in there and his camp would not take this fight if they thought he couldn’t handel it. Just the fact that Peter has the shot at being in the ring with Jones is worth more than any payday. Just think of what Peter will learn from this fight and how much better he will be. Its a win win for Peter and if he KO’s Jones, which just might happen, I hope everyone gives Manfredo the respect he has earned. Jones good luck and may the best man win. Peter, Providence got your back win or lose “bro” !!!!!!!
AS PREVIOUSLY STATED IN OTHER BLOGS, I TRULY WILL FEEL SORRY FOR MANFREDO WEN ROY BEATS THE STUFFING OUT OF HIM. MANFREDO HAS NEVER FACED THAT CALIBER OF SKILL OR SPEED EVER. BUT WATEVER MAKES ROY FEEL GOOD- IM DOWN WITH THAT. I JUST WANT TO SEE ROY FIGHT HOKINS, BEAT HIM, AND THEN RETIRE. OH YEAH, AND AS FAR AS THE LATIN SNAKE FIGHTING VARGAS- ALL MORA HAS TO DO IS WATCH THE DE LA HOYA AND MOSLEY FIGHTS, IMITATE THAT, AND THE FIGHT’S IN THE BAG. VARGAS IS A WORN OUT, PLAYED OUT, BOXER WHO HAS NOTHIN LEFT TO PUT OUT. HOMEBOYS FACE LOOKED LIKE THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME WHEN SUGAR SHANE WAS DONE WITH IT. VARGAS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think peter can definately go the distance with Jones.. Peter can take a punch and he’s priety fast.. not as fast as jones use to be, but probably as fast as jones has been fighting lately. I’d say peter wins a 12 round UD… OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW
PMJ WILL FALL TO RJJ IN 6 ROUNDS, PMJ IS NOTHING MORE THAN A PRETENDER. HIS STANCE IS SHAKY, HIS TIMING ON HIS UPPERCUT IS TERRIBLE, & HE LEAVES HIMSELF TO OPEN AT TIMES. SPINA WAS TOO EASY FOR MANFREDO BUT JONES WILL DESTROY PETER. MIKEM UR A DAMN FOOL, UR JUST A GROUPIE FROM HIS FANCLUB.
WORDS IN BOXING DONT MEAN SHIT, JUST CAUSE SOMEONE SAYS “HE’S READY” DOESNT MEAN HE’S GOING TO WIN. ITS PUT DEM UP OR SHUT IT UP, NO WIMPY EXCUSES FOR THINKING HES GOING TO WIN. “OH FREDDIE SAID THIS BLAH BLAH BLAH” PMJ IS NOT READY FOR A LEGEND PERIOD.
Roy is still the man and he will secure the legacy as one of the very best. During the comeback he’ll havethe possibilty of fights like Johnson 2,Tarver 4,Calzaghe,maybe Hopkins and a bunch of other great match ups I would call those legacy fights
Peter Man needs to fight The Man Mundine. I kno most of u haven’t heard of him but he is an Aboriginal Australian and is killing it in Super Middleweight. He is trained by the well respected Roy Jones Senior and whilst in America stays and trains with Roy jone jnr. He as asked to fight Mikkel Kessler but Kessler doesn’t want to fight. He offerd Kessler 2.5million to fight, Kessler knocked it back to fight Beyer for half that, So beware of the name Mundine, he’ll b big in states very shortly.
PMJr will KO RJJ Freddie has transformed peter into a much better fighter he has better defence and has developed a better punch too he is picking shots more and now attacks when he knows the opponent is shaky RJJ will regret asking for this fight he should have retired 3 years ago with his legacy intact.
I believe that Roy can do anything he put his mind and fist to-cuz he’s bad like that….also if this get to him…I know people he know in MISSISSIPPI- IF QUESTIONING HOW BIG A FAN I AM EMAIL ME—JUST MOVED TO FLORIDA -#1 CHRISTMAS WISH-ROY’S AUTOGRAPH & OF COURSE ROY JONES…
I belive in Manfredo.. I know that RJJ has a very big history, but dot’n forget that he is down now! Peter will show us top boxing school. Poland is with you boy
. Rozpierdol tej czarnej szmacie ryja!
You people that think that Pretender can hang with RJJ you’re on crack. Manfredo didn’t even win the Pretender how in the hell is he going to beat Jones?? The loss to Tarver was by way of lucky eyes closed punch and the loss to Johnson was by way of punch to the back of the head. Manfredo doesn’t have NEAR the power to knock out me let alone Jones. Manfredo has a name because of a stupid chump show on t.v not because of talent. Mora and Vargas even out like Vargas is Mora isn’t that good. Who has he fought?? NOBODY!!! Mora won’t know how to handle Vargas. Vargas hasn’t lost to just nobodys, some of the creme of the crop in boxing. Gimme a break just because the Latin Fake wins a dump reality show now he’s a big time badass boxer?? Learn some boxing before you make ignorant remarks like Manfredo is goin to even beat Jones let alone knock him out. Manfedo couldn’t knock out my 2 year old son. Read a sports section sometime you might learn something.
yo cut the bullshitt ppl. we all know that manfredo has got skills and has the brain and heart ov a champ but so does rrj and 4 dat reason i think u need to stop bullshittin and waite untill the match is over and done with then give ur opinions.
Are you serious? Roy would kill Manfredo. Manfredo is becoming are great fighter. Manfredo has a huge heart, but he has never faced a real champ like RJJ. All I say is RJJ is back and ready for ANYONE who challeges him.