After winning the heavyweight championship from John Ruiz on March 1, 2003, Roy enjoyed the victory, and contemplated his future. A boyhood nemesis named Antonio Tarver hounded Jones for years, and Roy finally agreed to fight him on November 8th at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I vividly recall the advertisement for the bout on Directv, and I made no plans to pay for the event. I figured I would watch the replay on HBO the next week, so what did I care.
The fight itself was no doubt the toughest of Roy’s career. Tarver was left-handed, and taller than Jones, and used those attributes to his advantage. He was aggressive, and kept Roy on the ropes for long periods of time during the first half of the bout, but the champion went into his reserve, and started to take over. I was impressed that when tested for the first time, Jones delivered, won the last three rounds big, and sealed the victory. I ignored Tarver’s whines, and knew the judges had gotten the decision correct.
In his post fight interview with Larry Merchant, Jones said “It was extremely difficult to lose 25 pounds of muscle to get down to light heavyweight again, and it sapped my energy. It took all my willpower and strength to pull this one out. If I don’t get a fight with Mike Tyson at heavyweight in my next fight, I’m done.”
I think he was sincere with his words, but months of listening to Tarver bitch and complain got under Roy’s skin. He agreed to a rematch in May, and it’s a fight I wish never took place.
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