Roy Jones

Childhood and youth

Roy Jones Jr. was born on January 16, 1969 in Pensacola (Florida, USA). Roy Jones Sr., the father of the future world champion and a Vietnam War veteran, performed in the professional ring. The man worked as an electrician and a policeman. Jones Sr. ended his sports career due to health problems. In 1976, he lost to Marvin Hagler and for many years was the main sparring partner of Thomas Hearns. Roy built a gym in Pensacola. 5-year-old Jones Jr. became his father's first student. Jones Sr. failed to realize his potential in the professional ring. But he knew how his son could earn money. Boxing classes and the support of his father allowed Jones Jr. to close the issue of providing for his primary needs. Little Roy had no choice. From early childhood, he learned the basics of fist art. The results were not long in coming. His father was strict in terms of discipline. However, the accusations against Jones Sr. in his excessively cruel upbringing have no basis. Due to his demanding approach, Roy Jr. became one of the leaders of the U.S. national team.

Amateur career

Jones has achieved great heights in the amateur ring. He became a medalist of several major tournaments: gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games (1984) twice won the national tournament "Golden Gloves" in two weight categories (1986 and 1987) silver medalist of the Goodwill Games (1986) In 1988, Roy lost to Gerald McClellan in the 1/2 finals of the national tournament "Golden Gloves". Two months later, he was selected for the main start of the quadrennial. The crowning achievement of Jones' amateur career was the Olympic Games in Seoul (1988). At the preliminary stage of the competition, Roy defeated boxers from Malawi, Czechoslovakia, the USSR and Great Britain. In the final, he was opposed by Park Si-hoon, an athlete from Korea. Roy dominated. In the course of the fight, he sent his opponent into a knockdown. According to statistics, Jones landed 86 accurate punches, while the Korean only 32. There was no doubt about the victory of the American except for the judging panel. Three of the five judges cast their votes in favor of Xi Hong. After the fight, Park, with the help of an interpreter, met Roy in the corridor of the Olympic center and admitted defeat. Jones was awarded the Val Barker Cup as the most technical boxer of the tournament. He won the silver medal of the main start of the fourth anniversary in the category up to 71 kilograms. Both athletes were victims of judicial lawlessness. The Korean boxer was worried about what had happened. Judicial fraud and public pressure led to the end of his career. Park Si-hoon was brought up in strict traditions, where the main message is respect for the opponent and modesty. He was not guilty of the judges' decision. The egregious case was the reason for the creation of a new system for determining the winner. After performing at the Olympics, Jones returned to Pensacola. Roy decided not to sign a long-term contract with major promotion companies. The mistake of the father and son led to organizational problems at the beginning of the professional path. On May 6, 1989, Jones made his pro debut. His record in amateurs: 121 wins and 13 losses (2 early).

Professional boxing

Jones Sr. did not have much experience in the field of work as a manager. He learned along the way. For 4 years, his son has been advancing to the top of the ratings of the middle division. In 1993, Jones Jr. fired his father as his manager. According to the boxer himself, his father killed his beloved dog, which led to the breakup of their relationship. Jones' head coach was replaced by Elton Merkerson. James Toney, the IBF middleweight title holder, decided to leave the belt and moved up to the second middleweight. The vacant title was played between the first and second numbers of the rating of the International Boxing Federation: Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones. On May 22, 1993, Roy defeated Bernard by unanimous decision and became the new IBF world champion. He defended against Thomas Tate and decided to move to the second middle division. 17 years later, Hopkins and Jones once again "crossed gloves" in the square ring. The executioner managed to take revenge from a principled opponent. On November 18, 1994, Jones won the main victory in his career. He defeated James Toney, the current IBF world champion in the second middle division. Roy defended the IBF title 5 times. At the same time, Jones did not fight against mandatory contenders: Antoine Bird Vinnie Patient Tony Thornton Eric Lucas Bryant Brannon In 1995, a unification rematch between Jones and Gerald McClellan was planned. To achieve his goals, Gerald needed to defeat Nigel Benn, the current WBC title holder. On May 22, 1995, Benn knocked out McClellan in the 10th round. After the fight, Gerald partially lost his sight and hearing. Jones' ex-rival was confined to a wheelchair. The long-awaited rematch did not take place. Roy's managers were unwilling to negotiate with Nigel Benn. They also ignored the person of Chris Eubank Sr., the WBO world champion, and also refused the offer of Steve Collins' representatives. Jones was forced to leave the IBF title vacant due to his unwillingness to conduct a mandatory defense against Charles Brewer. The ex-champion decided to move to the light heavyweight division. Roy's team avoided collaborations with other champions despite the absence of obstacles in the negotiation process. On November 22, 1996, Jones defeated 40-year-old Mike McCallum and became the owner of the vacant WBC light heavyweight title. The WBC title became vacant after Fabrice Tiozzo, its former owner, moved to the first heavyweight. On March 21, 1997, Roy lost to Montell Griffin due to disqualification in the 9th round. The champion struck at the opponent standing on his knee. Jones knocked out Griffin in the 1st round of an immediate rematch. Roy scored an important victory over Virgil Hill and united the titles in a fight with Lou Del Valle, the owner of the WBA belt. In the 8th round, Jones was knocked down for the first time in his career. He got up and won the fight by unanimous decision. The champion added the IBF title to his collection thanks to his victory over Reggie Johnson. After 7 consecutive defenses of the three main belts of the light heavyweight division, Roy decided to conquer the royal weight. His team rejected the offer of representatives of Dariusz Michalczewski, the WBO title holder and lineal world champion in the light heavyweight division. On March 1, 2003, Roy defeated John Ruiz, the reigning WBA World heavyweight champion, and became the new title holder. Jones was stripped of his title due to the refusal to conduct a mandatory defense against Vitali Klitschko. He returned to the light heavyweight division. During Jones' absence, the vacant WBC and IBF titles passed into the hands of Antonio Tarver. On November 8, 2003, Jones defeated Tarver by majority decision. The verdict of the judges caused a great resonance in the boxing community. Representatives of the World Boxing Council appointed an immediate rematch. 15 Maya 2004 Goda Antonio nokautiroval Roya Vo 2 rounde.Following a crushing defeat and the loss of the championship titles, Jones was knocked out by Glen Johnson, the owner of the IBF belt. The second early defeat marked the beginning of the end of the Roy Jones era. He lost to Tarver in their third fight. Three fiascos in a row led to a pause in performances. The ex-champion focused on working as a commentator. In 2006, after 11 months in his new position, Jones was fired from his post as a TV journalist due to low ratings. Roy came back with three wins. His success in the fight with Felix Trinidad stood apart. On November 8, 2008, Joe Calzaghe defeated Jones by unanimous decision. After the crushing defeat in the fight with the Italian dragon, Roy never returned to the championship level. He repeated the mistake of many "colleagues in the shop" who stayed too long in the ring after the onset of a decline in physical conditions. Jones fought until 2018 and finished with a record of 66 wins, 49 knockouts and 9 defeats.

Life after boxing

In parallel with his performances in the ring, Jones developed in the media direction. He has recorded several music albums in the field of rap. The ex-champion has played several cameo roles in motion pictures. In 2012, Roy found himself in a difficult financial situation due to tax problems. In 2018, Jones Sr. was forced to sell a large plot of land in order to cover his son's tax expenses. Jones Jr. does not keep in touch with his parents. Roy is officially married to Kathleen Jones.

On August 19, 2015, Roy met with Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, on the territory of Crimea (Sevastopol). The ex-champion made a request to obtain Russian citizenship. On September 12, 2015, Vladimir Putin approved Jones' request. Thus, the boxer supported the Russian Federation in its criminal actions on the annexation of Crimea. For this reason, he was banned from entering the territory of Ukraine, where Russian troops are conducting military operations against civilians and violating European laws by killing citizens of another country.