Whew! Man damn what a week!
Listen, instead of me blowing wind over how glad I am that the weekend is finally here & let the drinkin begin & it's yet another WDRBR...let me just get right to the point: Roy Jones Jr.
When I think about Jones I often dwell on many things...the past, the present, and sadly...no future.
For years the middleweight & light heavyweight (more of the latter) landscape was dominated relentlessly by the one true king...Roy Jones Jr. Like him or not, he did rule & he was worthy of the crown that he wore. Many fans & writers scrutinized Jones for years for not fighting abroad and supposedly dodging the premere threats to his throne. I suppose it's all in how you look at it. Either way Jones has been one of the greatest fighters of our young years of boxing.
Roy Jones Jr. is such a tuff call....he has been for the past decade for most boxing fans...but now so more than ever.
His skills are...or were marvelous. His speed is...or was unmatchable. His power is...or was unbelieveable...just as amazing as Jones was...his fall was so shocking, so devastating, that the boxing world has chosen to write him off...even many of his fans have saddled up & rode off into the sunset in hopes that their hero will follow.
Not so.
Sadly, Roy now toils on the brink of obscurity. Everyone involved in boxing around the globe has come to the one conclussion that Roy can not...it's time to retire. His warrioresque image and mentality has left him...and so it seems, has his confidence, speed, power, reflexes, and drive. All that remains now is the shell & ego of the great RJ.
Whether or not your'e an old school boxing fan or a recent upstart...it's easy to compare Roy's current path to fighters of days gone by such as Ali, Duran, Foreman, & Louis...all of whom should have gotten out 3-5 fights prior to their last humiliating defeat at the hands of a lesser opponent.
The writing has been on the wall for some time now...but apparently Roy has become incapable of reading the bold print.
In the past Jones had always been noted as a smart fighter. He had marketed himself & promoted himself to almost legendary status. Not only a boxer...but a superb athelete...a role model. He was a fighter that would, by his own admission, get out while the getting out was good. What ever happened to that mentality...one will never know.
Oddly enough...Jones was even quoted as making statements in reference to a fellow fallen fighter (Gerald McClellan) and how his friend's life was ruined, cut short if you will, due to staying in the ring for one round too many. A single round can cost a lifetime for any fighter, but for an unconditioned or unmotivated one...it could become fatal. Again, what ever happened to that mentality...one will never know.
Jones has suffered three loses back to back in the last two and a half year, this is yet another globally known fact, and yet he continues to press onward for the sake of his own greatness.
The once magnificent king has gone from selling out HBO Mega PPV shows in Vegas to struggling to fill miniature casinoes and auditoriums from Florida, Memphis, & Oregon. Now he's getting less than half of his previous payday's & begging to be noticed in amaturely promoted events where ever he can find anyone enthusiastic enough to touch him with a ten foot pole.
Today...from the last numbers, "the regal one" will be lucky if he sells out the tiny Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho.
Ironically, the vanquished King Roy will be fighting the Prince Badi Ajamu (25 wins with 14 ko's, 2 losses, & 1 draw) of Camden, New Jersey. Ajamu was once a sparring partner for the great and retired Bernard Hopkins and was the main sparring choice for Tarver.
Now being labled as a fitting opponent for the current incarnation of the once great Roy Jones jr., doesn't seem that far of a stretch for the media. For us in the know...or those of us that think we know... the common wave length of thought, is that the Prince is thought will turn out to be no great threat...but then again, mind you...neither was Gentleman Glen until he knocked Roy's mind, heart, & soul clean out of his physical frame back at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN in 2004.
As has been the case throughout his entire career...Roy has shocked & surprised his fans & his detractors...one way or the other. The question is...will he shock & surprise us this time by winning the fight like the old Roy or will we be shocked again as he resorts to yet another one of his hobbies...checking the lighting systems of boxing auditoriums around the world.
Being a RJJ fan...I'm hoping Roy wins...but I don't think that he will. Which finally brings me to...
The Wackster's Factors of the Fight!
Factors for & against Jones.
#1: The great Roy Jones Jr. It has been common place for RJJ fans to believe that Roy is/was so great that if only a fraction of RJ shows up...it's all over. That has been proven not to be the case.
#2: All or Nothing. I think that tag line of this fight is something about all or nothing. My problem is...what if the ALL that Roy has left is NOTHING? People have argued that he won the first Tarver fight & that he was doing great against Tarver in the second one...but come on...he got KTFO almost immediately. IWO, the telling tale is the 3rd fight with Tarver. Jones was not putting forth the effort...& if he was...Tarver stiffled whatever Jones brought. I Badji was Tarver & Hopkins spar boy...& he held his own...like I heard that he did...look for Roy to lose...again. But if Roy does win...then so what? Who is Badji & what has he done other than spar with some good fighters?
#3: Motivation. Could a win from Jones revitalize his career...or has the great RJ left the boxing world for good? If he does win...what then...Jones is past his age & his reflexes...well...we all saw how slow & ineffective he was against Johnson.
#4: Training & Debtdication. One has to wonder about Roy and his current training regiment. Sure...it was fine for Jones to play the role of a rapper, basketballer, rooster fighter, actor, & most recently fisherman (hey...a man's gotta have his hobbies)...now that this is the last ditch effort...wouldn't it be a bit wise to concentrate on being Roy Jones jr the magnificent world beater of old instead of exercising fun time as a rapper, basketballer, cock fighter, actor, & fisherman?
Come on Roy...as your fans...& fellow boxing enthusiasts...I think that we all deserve a little better...but...once again...wer'e still here...hoping above hope as fans. As the opposite...well...I can only imagine that your'e hoping to see Roy make his quotta counting bulbs once agian.
#5: The Legacy. I know what your'e saying...Roy's legacy is cemented in stone...but if that's the case...why is Jones fighting again...because of his E-G-O! Oscar was supposedly retired after getting knocked out...but then out he comes & destroys Mayorga. Hopkins lost to Taylor twice & out he comes & destroys Tarver. Jones aint gonna go out like a panooch...or so he is probably thinking. A win again Prince Badi Ajamu let's Jones go out a winner & also the NABO's Light Heavyweight champion. I know what your'e all thinking...but you gotta think like a fighter with a huge ego...no matter how weak that NABO title sounds it brings back the vaunted Jones credibility & in his eyes...probably revives his career.
Factors for & against Prince Badi Ajamu:
You know what...this might seem unfair...but I just don't see to many factors to discuss here...PBA will either have what it takes or he won't...but in all reality...we all know that it's basically just the opposite.
Jones will either have enough left in the tank...or he won't.
Whenever Ajamu has risen to the occassion against a so-so opponent...he's lost. Rico Hoye & Otis Grant both beat the kid to the punch...so technically...this is all on Jones.
Even if the kid comes out with a career defining performance...he will have done so against a fighter that has fallen by the wayside everytime that he has climbed through the ropes over the last two or three years.
The main factor in Ajamu's favor is the fact that he is three years younger than Roy & he's an inch or so taller than Roy. They have basically the same 74 inches of reach...but if Ajamu can use his age, speed, & stamina against Roy...he's finally found a factor.
No matter how much the media pumps the idea into our heads that he's been a great sparring partner for Tarver, Hopkins, & more...well...that pulls about as much weight as Jones pressing records, putting worms on a hook, or bouncing a basketball between a buncha Blue Ducks.
Honestly...I can't believe that I'm paying for this shat...so if you aren't...then the Drunken Round by Round is just the place for you to be this Saturday night July the 29th, 2006.
So...as always...I say to you again...my fellow forum goers...grab your remote & your poison of choice.
Pick a spot & settle in on the couch or in front of your monitors & let's get down to biz with yet another installment of Wacko's Drunken Round by Round!
Cheers & koneecheewah bitches. Wacko loves you all!
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