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They say that in boxing, the end is never pretty. Save for Rocky Marciano and Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather Jr. (should he choose to stay retired), who both walked away with unblemished records while maintaining their legacy as two of the greatest fighters ever, the old adage almost always rings true.
And sadly, after his unanimous decision loss this weekend to Joe Calzaghe at Madison Square Garden, the end for the 39-year-old Roy Jones, Jr. is now.

Who can forget a 39-year-old Muhammad Ali – the man who could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee while punching and prophesying his way into becoming the world’s most adored athlete – being embarrassed by Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick in his final fights in the early ‘80s? 

Another of the all-time greats, Joe Louis, stepped into the ring at the age of 37 in 1951 to take a savage beating from Marciano. The Brown Bomber was knocked out of the ring in the eighth round of that bout. He walked into retirement with the glimmer of his spectacular achievements dimmed by I.R.S. troubles and his final losses at the hands of Marciano and Ezzard Charles.

On Saturday night, Jones stepped into the ring hoping to rekindle the flame of what was a brilliant body of work during the 1990’s. Back then, Roy was THE fighter of the decade and quite possibly, the greatest pound-for-pound pugilist of all time along with Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson.

His uncanny instincts, speed and strength left many observers in awe. The man was so incredible that he once played in a professional basketball game for the U.S.B.L.’s Jacksonville Barracudas one afternoon before securing a TKO over Eric Lucas later that night.

The lighting quick, fluid country boy from Pensacola, Florida, captured an astounding eight championship belts in four separate weight classes. He’s the only living human to win both the middleweight and heavyweight championships, becoming the first fighter since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 to do so after defeating WBA heavyweight king John Ruiz in 2003.

But his signature fight – the one that should always illuminate the genius of Roy Jones, Jr. – was against James Toney in ‘94. His astonishing, dominant victory over Toney, who was undefeated and considered the pound-for-pound champ at the time, established Jones’ undeniable claim to the crown at the crescendo of the boxing profession.

 The early signs of his decline began to show with his first fight against Antonio Tarver in 2003. Jones won the decision in what many considered the toughest fight of his career, up until that time. Some dismissed his lackluster performance, citing the 25 pounds of muscle he shed after the Ruiz fight in order to get back down to light heavyweight.

But in Jones-Tarver II, which took place in 2004, we learned that the great Roy Jones was great no more. Tarver stretched him out, like Craig did Debo in the movie Friday, in the second round.  Some folks thought their eyes had the capacity to lie, refusing to believe that the incomparable Roy Jones, Jr., the man with hands faster than a New York City subway pickpocket who’d steamrolled his way through four weight classes, could stumble to his feet incoherently while being counted out.

Sixteen months later, the worst fears of his fans were confirmed when he was, again, horrifyingly knocked out by Glen Johnson in the ninth round of their light heavyweight title fight.

He followed that up by losing a grueling, 12-round decision to Tarver in their third match-up.  Refusing to punctuate his glorious career in such disappointing fashion, Jones beat two guys that even most fight fans had never heard of before securing a unanimous decision victory over another way past-his-prime legend, Felix “Tito” Trinidad.  But on Saturday, five years to the day of his last meaningful victory, which came against Tarver, Roy Jones, Jr. was given every bit of incentive to find a new occupation.

 As blood poured from the gruesome cut above his left eye and Joe Calzaghe – an undefeated, Hall of Fame talent in his own right – pummeled him with a barrage of rapid fire combinations, Jones could do little but simply try not to get knocked out.

In the first round, Jones followed a crisp jab with a thudding right hand that left a gash across the bridge of Calzaghe’s nose and sent the accomplished Welshman to the canvas. It seemed that Roy might have been able to turn back the hands of time one more time.

But that hypothesis was quickly refuted as Calzaghe shook off the cobwebs and gave Jones the type of beating that he’d administered to over-matched opponents for years.  According to the ringside judges, Calzaghe won every round but the first. Jones took his beating valiantly, and seemed relatively pleased with his effort. Most fans who’ve been watching him since the Seoul Olympics in ‘88 however, know that that’s simply not the Roy Jones, Jr. that we want to see.

Bloodied, beaten and battered, Jones walked out of the ring seriously considering the prospect of fighting again. And I hope that his friends, family and loved ones are able to convince him to walk away now.

We’ve already seen too much, Roy. You were one of the best to ever lace ‘em up. But the end is here. Just watch the replay of last night’s fight. The end is never pretty.

This story is filed under: Leave Me Alone, I'm Watching the Game!, Sports

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