After his shocking knockout loss to Antonio Tarver on May 15, 2004, Roy Jones returned to the ring four months later. His opponent was IBF champ Glen Johnson, and the bout on HBO was held at the Fedex Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. Jones was a 7-1 favorite, I for one figured he would come back from his loss with a vengeance, and prove the punch from Tarver was a lucky fluke.
As I watched the fight on September 25, it was obvious from the opening bell that it was not the same Roy Jones. He was apprehensive, laid on the ropes, and let Johnson attack him. After about four rounds of this, I was wondering why he even showed up. He rarely threw a punch, and lost every single round of the fight. Finally in the ninth, a straight hand knocked Roy down, and out on his back. He laid still as if his by a gunshot, and was motionless for fifteen minutes, before he was taken to a local hospital for observation. It was obvious to me that he was shot as a fighter, and should retire. The only way to describe the way he fought was cowardly. It was an embarrassing display from a fighter I once considered the “Best I ever saw!”
Many in the boxing world called for Roy to retire as well. After two devasting knockouts, what was left to prove? However, as it is for most boxers, it’s hard to go out with a loss, and that is one thing I can appreciate. A year later, Roy signed to fight Tarver for the third time, and it was another fight that should have never taken place at all.
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