COURAGE UNDER FIRE By Aladdin Freeman

I don't know what many of you who watched the fight this past weekend between Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver thought, what I do know is the highlights that were sent down via a feed didn't do Roy Jones justice. Yes, Antonio Tarver did have some big exchanges and yes he did push Roy Jones harder than he's ever been pushed in a prizefight. I had it closer than most probably with a score of 7 rounds to 5 in favor of Roy Jones and wouldn't kick up much of a fuss if it was 6-5-1 even but that doesn't even start to tell the real story behind the fight.

Roy Jones who's 34 years old, wanted to fight Antonio Tarver so badly that he came down from about 200 pounds to fight at 175. Tarver who has called out Jones on numerous occasions wouldn't have dared to move up in weight to fight a "fresh" Roy Jones so he smartly stayed put at 175 pounds until Jones Jr. came down in weight.

There are a handful of fighters that I can remember that cut that amount of weight that Roy did and then were able to suck it up and fight through the fatigue that he had to on Saturday night. Fighters who didn't such as James Toney vs. Roy Jones, Corrales vs. Mayweather Jr. are much easier to find.

Boxing is a demanding sport; it's like running a marathon while getting hit and unlike football and many other sports, you don't get many breaks or substitutes. Add to that fact all the steroid and substances talk and you know Roy Jones suffered a lot to get to 175 pounds. Jones did make weight but it clearly took a toll on him. This is an athlete that once played in a basketball game on the day of a fight, who raps and likes to put on a show before his fights. It was easy to see Roy Jones Jr. was drained because in this fight he walked straight to the ring, no rapping, no dancing just a pose to the fans and that was it. Roy knew he needed all the energy that he had for the fight. How many times have you seen Roy lay on the ropes in much the same fashion he did Saturday night but he would always land a huge body shot to hurt the opponent and make him reluctant to press Jones again. Saturday night you can count on one hand the number of times Jones did that when he went to the ropes, he was going to the ropes to get a rest and that's it.

Give and take credit away from Antonio Tarver, it seemed like after the 1st two rounds he let Roy Jones dictate the tempo of the fight for the next 6 or so rounds. The only time he ever seemed to make Roy Jones pay was when Roy went to the ropes during that stretch. I gave Tarver rounds 1, 2, 8 (because Jones gave it way to get some energy back), 10 and 12. Tarver shouldn't complain, he simply just didn't do enough to win. It seemed like Tarver was totally lost when the fight was in the middle of the ring and that best thing he could do was play around with Jones until Jones got tired and went to the ropes. Picture a "fresh" Jones, the guy that never gets tired and this fight wouldn't have lasted very long. Tarver could have been a little bit busier in the middle rounds he probably would have been able to pull out the decision but it just seemed like he was trying to land that big left hand and you can't do that with Roy Jones, fresh or not.

Roy Jones Jr. goes to 49-1 with 38 KO and gets backs some of the belts he vacated when he left the division but he's probably headed back to heavy or at least cruiser weight. There is one thing that Roy Jones Jr. should take from the fight, instead of fighting Mike Tyson, which would be a huge mistake he should fight James Toney. Roy Jones did deal with tremendous fatigue and was great in the face of adversity but he'd be put in those situations again if he fought a charging bull like Mike Tyson who'd really only need to get him up on the ropes one time before the fight gets stopped. If Roy Jones thinks he's been hit hard by Ruiz and Tarver he hasn't seen anything yet. Just like when people prepare for Jones Jr., in that it's hard to find any sparring partner that will give a look for what you will face in the ring as far as speed and movement, there isn't another fighter in the world that will prepare you for Mike Tyson's punching power.

Roy Jones has seen better nights as light heavyweight but he is now showing his heart, a quality that many in the past had question and I'm sure that at 190 or heavyweight he'll reign supreme as well. Antonio Tarver who now goes 21-2 with 17 KO's probably will pick up where he left off and be the man at Light heavyweight. I still don't know if all the fuss over these two fighters has settled but bet your money if they do fight again it will be at a catch weight of about 190 pounds.

Please send all questions or comments to: Aladdin Freeman

11-10-03