Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

and

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

he represented the United States at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, winning the

light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...

silver medal. Jones is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxers of all time,

pound for pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, adjusted to compensate for weight class. As fighters in different weight classes do not compete directly, determining the best fighter pound for ...

, and left his mark in the sport's history when he won the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...

(WBA) heavyweight title in 2003, becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in 106 years. From 1999 to 2002 he held the undisputed championship at light heavyweight. As of February 2018, Jones holds the record for the most wins in unified light heavyweight title bouts in boxing history, with twelve. '' The Ring'' magazine named him the Fighter of the Year in 1994 and the World Boxing Hall of Fame named him the Fighter of the Year in 2003. He is also a three-time winner of the Best Boxer ESPY Award (1996, 2000 and 2003). The

Boxing Writers Association of America Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a ...

named him as the Fighter of the Decade for the 1990s.

Early life

Roy Jones Jr. was born to a family with a boxing tradition. His father, Roy Jones Sr., was a

Vietnam war The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veteran who was awarded a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for valor after he rescued another soldier. Jones Sr. was a

boxer as well.

Amateur career

Jones won the 1984 United States National Junior Olympics in the weight division, the 1986 United States

National Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves of America is an organization that promotes annual competitions of amateur boxing in the United States, in which winners are awarded a belt and a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization currently owns 30 fr ...

in the division, and the 1987 United States National Golden Gloves in the division. As an amateur, he ended his career with a 121–13 record.

Highlights

(139 lbs),

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

, May 9–10, 1986: *1/2: Defeated Derrick Rolon by decision *Finals: Defeated Victor Levine by decision Goodwill Box-offs (156 lbs),

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, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, April 12, 1986: *Defeated Stanley Longstreet

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

(139 lbs),

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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, July 5–20, 1986: *1/4: Defeated Gordon Joyce (Ireland) by unanimous decision, 5–0 *1/2: Lost to Igor Ruzhnikov (Soviet Union) by majority decision, 1–4

(156 lbs),

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, April 17–18, 1987: *1/8: Defeated Anthony Daley *1/4: Defeated George Calderon *1/2: Defeated Donald Giron by decision *Finals: Defeated Ray McElroy by decision Junior World Championships (156 lbs),

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.U.S. National Championships (156 lbs), Olympic Sports Center,

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

, March 29, 1988: *1/8: Lost to Frank Liles by split decision, 2–3

(156 lbs),

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, May 16–20, 1988: *1/4: Defeated Hiskia Swartz by walkover *1/2: Lost to Gerald McClellan by split decision, 2–3 Olympic Trials (156 lbs), Concord Pavilion,

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

, July 5–10, 1988: *1/4: Defeated James Crisp by unanimous decision, 5–0 *1/2: Defeated Ray McElroy by majority decision, 4–1 *Finals: Defeated Frank Liles by split decision, 3–2 Olympic Box-offs (156 lbs),

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, July 16, 1988:

Olympic results

Jones represented the United States at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games in the 156-pound weight class, being the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, where he won the silver medal. * 1/16: Defeated M'tendere Makalamba (Malawi) KO 1 * 1/8: Defeated Michal Franek (Czechoslovakia) by unanimous decision, 5–0 * 1/4: Defeated Yevgeni Zaytsev (Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 5–0 * 1/2: Defeated Richie Woodhall (United Kingdom) by unanimous decision, 5–0 * Finals: Lost to Park Si-Hun (South Korea) by split decision, 2–3 Jones did not lose a single round en route to the final. His quarterfinal match-up with Soviet boxer Yevgeni Zaytsev was the first U.S.–Soviet Olympic bout in 12 years (because each country had boycotted one Summer Olympics during that period). The final was met with controversy when Jones lost a 2–3 decision to South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun despite pummeling Park for three rounds, landing 86 punches to Park's 32. Reportedly, Park himself apologized to Jones afterward and the Italian referee Aldo Leoni, while raising Park's hand, told Jones that he was dumbstruck by the judges' decision, murmuring: "I can't believe they're doing this to you." One judge shortly thereafter admitted the decision was a mistake and all three judges voting against Jones were eventually suspended.

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also know ...

, calling the bout on American television for NBC, reported that two judges from Communist countries,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and the

, scored the bout in favor of Jones, while those from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

favored Park. The fifth judge, from

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, scored the bout as a draw, leaving the outcome to be decided on other criteria. An official IOC investigation ending in 1997 found that, although the offending judges had been wined and dined by South Korean organizers, there was no evidence of corruption in the boxing events in Seoul. Jones was awarded the Val Barker trophy as the best stylistic boxer of the 1988 games, which was only the third and to this day the last time in the competition's history when the award did not go to one of the gold medal winners. The Val Barker trophy is awarded by the AIBA, an organization not directly connected with the Olympic authorities. The incident led Olympic organizers to establish a new scoring system for Olympic boxing. The U.S. Olympic Committee called for an investigation in 1996 after documents belonging to East Germany's Stasi secret police revealed reports of judges being paid to vote for South Korean boxers. East Germany ended the Seoul Olympics in second place on the medal table, ahead of the United States by one gold medal.

Professional career

Early career

On turning professional, he had already sparred with many professional boxers, including NABF Champion Ronnie Essett, IBF Champion Lindell Holmes and

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning quintuple c ...

. Jones began as a professional on May 6, 1989, knocking out Ricky Randall in two rounds in

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

at the Bayfront Auditorium. For his next fight, he faced the more experienced Stephan Johnson in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

, beating him by a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

in round eight. Jones built a record of 15–0 with 15 knockouts before stepping up in class to meet former World

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

Champion

Jorge Vaca Jorge Vaca (born 14 December 1959) is a Mexican former professional boxer who held the World Welterweight Championship. Professional career Vaca turned pro in 1978 and captured the WBC and Lineal welterweight title by beating Lloyd Honeygha ...

in a Pay Per View fight on January 10, 1992. He knocked Vaca out in round one to reach 16 knockout wins in a row. After one more KO, Jones went the distance for the first time against future world champion Jorge Castro, winning a 10-round decision in front of a

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

national audience.

Middleweight champion

Jones vs. Hopkins

Jones made his first attempt at a world title on May 22, 1993. He beat future Undisputed

champion Bernard Hopkins by unanimous decision in Washington, D.C., to capture the IBF middleweight championship. Jones was ahead on all three judges' scorecards (116-112 three times). Jones landed 206 of 594 punches (35%) and Hopkins connected on 153 of 670 (23%). Jones claimed he had entered the bout with a broken right hand, but still managed to outpoint Hopkins and secure a unanimous decision win. Jones reminded the world of this claim on his hit single "Ya'll Must've Forgot" later in his career. For his next fight, he fought another future world champion, Thulane "Sugar Boy" Malinga, in a non-title affair. Jones beat Malinga by knockout in six rounds. Jones finished the year with another win, beating Fermin Chirino by decision. In 1994, Jones beat Danny "Popeye" Garcia by knockout in six, then retained his IBF title against Thomas Tate in two rounds at

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on May 27.

Super middleweight champion

Jones vs. Toney

On November 18, 1994, Jones was set to face undefeated IBF

Champion

James Toney James Nathaniel Toney (born August 24, 1968) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and lineal ...

, who was ranked highly in the "pound for pound" rankings. Toney was undefeated after 46 bouts and was rated the best in the world at 168 lbs. Billed as "The Uncivil War", Toney vs. Jones was heavily hyped and on PPV. Jones, for the first time in his career, was the underdog. Over the course of the 12-round unanimous decision, Jones demonstrated his greatness. He danced circles around Toney, utilizing his speed and athleticism to dictate the action, and landing quick combinations whenever Toney pressured him. Jones scored a flash knockdown in the third round with a leaping left hook after goading Toney by imitating a fighting cock. Ring magazine called Jones' performance the most dominant of any big fight in 20 years. Jones landed 285 of 614 punches (46%) and Toney connected on 157 of 451 (35%). Jones was ahead on all three judges' scorecards (117–110, 119–108 and 118–109). The fight generated 300,000 pay-per-view buys.

Miscellaneous defenses

In 1995, Jones defended his super middleweight title successfully multiple times. He began the year by knocking out IBF #1 Antoine Byrd in round one. This was the first time a championship fight took place at Pensacola. In a fight billed as The Devil & Mr Jones''', he faced former IBF

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

Champion Vinny Pazienza and defeated him in round six, after knocking down Pazienza three times. In the fourth round, Jones became the first fighter in CompuBox history to go an entire round without being hit by his opponent. Pazienza was credited with throwing five punches and landing zero. Pazienza was guaranteed $1.35 million, while Jones, who worked off percentages of the gate and the pay-per-view revenue, was guaranteed at least $2 million. Jones then beat Tony Thornton in round three by KO three months later. In 1996, Jones maintained his winning ways, defeating Merqui Sosa by knockout in two and future world champion Eric Lucas in round 11. When he boxed Lucas, he became the first athlete to participate in two paid sports events on the same day. He had played a basketball game in the morning and defended his boxing title in Jacksonville, Florida that evening. He also held a press conference in the ring just before his 3rd bout of the year, taking questions from a chair in the middle of the ring and defending his choice of Bryant Brannon as his opponent instead of Frankie Liles, his nemesis from the amateurs. He then defeated Bryant Brannon in a round two TKO.

First reign as light heavyweight champion

Jones vs McCallum

In November 1996 at Ice Palace,

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, Jones defeated 40-year-old former three-weight world champion

Mike McCallum Michael McKenzie McCallum (7 December 1956 – 31 May 2025) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight ...

via a shutout decision (120–107, 3 times) before a crowd of 12,000, to win the vacant Interim WBC

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

title. Jones scored a knockdown just before the bell at the end of round 10. Jones landed 254 of 535 punches (47%) throughout the 12 rounds and McCallum connected on 209 of 651 (32%) Jones was soon upgraded to full champion by the WBC when former titlist Fabrice Tiozzo moved up to cruiserweight. Jones made $2.8 million from the fight and McCallum got $750,000.

Jones vs. Griffin

In 1997 Jones had his first professional loss, a disqualification against Montell Griffin (26–0, 18 KOs) at the Taj Majal Hotel & Casino in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. Griffin was trained by the legendary Eddie Futch, who had taught him how to take advantage of Jones technical mistakes and lack of basic boxing fundamentals. Griffin jumped out to an early lead on Jones but by round 9 Jones was ahead on the scorecards by a point and had Griffin on the canvas early in round nine. But as Griffin took a knee on the canvas to avoid further punishment, Jones hit him twice. Subsequently, Jones was disqualified and lost his title. At the time of disqualification, Jones was ahead on two of the judges' scorecards (75–76, 77–75, 76–75).

Second reign as light heavyweight champion

Jones vs. Griffin II

Jones sought an immediate rematch five months later at Foxwoods Resort,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, US, and regained the World Light Heavyweight title easily, knocking Griffin down within the first 20 seconds of the fight, then ending the fight by knocking Griffin out 2 minutes and 31 seconds in with a leaping left hand shot. The fight took place in a bingo hall before a sellout crowd of 4,500. Both Jones and Griffin earned a $1.5 million purse.

Heavyweight ambitions

Jones was linked to his WBC mandatory Michael Nunn after regaining the title, however in November he opted to vacate his belt in order to move up to heavyweight with a $6,000,000 deal to face former undisputed champion

Buster Douglas James "Buster" Douglas (born April 7, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1981 and 1999. He reigned as undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1990 after knocking out Mike Tyson. He also defeated other heavyweigh ...

on the table. Ultimately however Jones's father convinced him to stay at light heavyweight, telling him he was "risking his life" by fighting Douglas. Instead Jones signed to fight former light heavyweight champion Virgil Hill at a 177 1/2 lb catchweight. He would also be named the WBC's light heavyweight "champion in recess". Jones would become the first man to knockout Hill, stopping him in the 4th round with a huge right hand to the body that broke one of Hill's ribs.

Third reign as light heavyweight champion

Jones would next sign to challenge WBA light heavyweight champion

Lou Del Valle Louis Del Valle (born July 13, 1968, in Long Island City, New York) is an American boxing, boxer and the former World Boxing Association, WBA light heavyweight title holder. He is currently the boxing trainer of former super middleweight champion ...

. Del Valle, a former sparring partner to Jones, had won the WBA belt in September 1997 (which had been vacated by Lineal champion Dariusz Michalczewski in July) by stopping Eddy Smulders of the Netherlands in the eighth round. Despite its billing as a unification bout, Jones was not recognized as the full WBC champion, that being Graciano Rocchigiani Jones would win against Del Valle, by a decision in 12 on July 18, to became a three time champion. Jones had to climb off the canvas for the first time in his career, as he was dropped in round eight, but continued to outbox Del Valle throughout the rest of the fight and gained a unanimous decision. By October the WBC had demoted its light heavyweight champion Rocchigiani to an "interim champion" after inexplicably claiming its references in promotions and contracts to the Rocchigiani-Nunn fight as a championship bout, and to Rocchigiani as the champion in its rankings, had been "typographical errors". As a consequence Jones was elevated by the WBC to their full champion, making him a unified light heavyweight champion.

Unified light heavyweight champion

Jones would next make a defense against Otis Grant. He retained the crown by knocking Grant out in ten rounds. Jones began 1999 by knocking out the WBC number one ranked contender at the time, Rick Frazier a 39 year old

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police officer promoted by Don King.

Undisputed light heavyweight champion

On June 5 of that year, Jones beat IBF champion Reggie Johnson by a lopsided 12-round decision to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion, as well as the first to unify the WBA, WBC and IBF titles at that weight since

Michael Spinks Michael Spinks (born July 22, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal ...

in 1983. Jones dropped Johnson in the first round and hard in the third round but backed off and allowed Reggie to finish the fight. A match with Graciano Rocchigiani was scheduled for November 1999 after Rocchigiani filed a lawsuit against Jones' promotional companies M&M Sports and Square Ring Promotions Inc due to Jones' reluctance to box Rocchigiani. However, the match was canceled by Jones' promoter Murad Muhammad after Rocchigiani missed a press conference. After initially threatening to strip Jones of his title if he didn't arrange another match with Rocchigiani, the WBC stripped Rocchigiani outright. In November he would also be awarded the vacant IBO belt. The year 2000 began with Jones easily beating the hard-punching David Telesco via a 12-round decision on January 15 at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

to retain his titles, which was also the first fight hosted at the venue. Jones reportedly fractured his wrist a few weeks before the bout and fought almost exclusively one-handed. He also entered the ring to a live performance of " Da Rockwilder" by rappers

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

and Redman. His next fight was also a first-time boxing event for a venue, as he traveled to

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

and retained his title with an 11-round technical knockout over Richard Hall at the Conseco Fieldhouse. Jones ended 2000 with a 10-round stoppage of undefeated Eric Harding in New Orleans. In 2001, Jones released '' Round One: The Album'', a rap CD. That year he retained the title against Derrick Harmon by a knockout in ten and against future world champion Julio César González of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

by a 12-round unanimous decision before a crowd of 20,409. The three judges scored it (119–106, 118–107, 119–106) all for Jones. Jones knocked Gonzalez down in rounds one, five and twelve and earned a $1.5 million purse. Jones landed 192 of 375 punches (51%) whilst Gonzalez connected on a very low 91 of 609 (15%). Jones was awarded the World Boxing Federation's light heavyweight title on in November 2001. In 2002, Jones retained his title by knocking out Australian boxer Glen Kelly in seven rounds. Jones put both hands behind his back. As Kelly moved in behind a jab, Jones went over the jab with a right to the head. Kelly went down and was counted out. Jones landed 124 of 249 punches (50%) and Kelly connected on 42 of 171 (25%). Before this bout, Jones was awarded ''The Ring'' Championship belt. Jones then defeated future world champion, WBC No. 1 Clinton Woods by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

before a crowd of 16,229. He performed a song from his CD during his ring entrance. The bout was stopped in round 6 after Woods' corner threw in the towel. Jones landed 140 of 300 punches (47%) and Woods connected on 39 of 166 (23%).

Heavyweight champion

Jones vs. Ruiz

On March 1, 2003, at the

Thomas & Mack Center The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference. History The facility first ...

in Las Vegas, Jones defeated John Ruiz, the man who defeated an aging

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion in the cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight division ...

, for the WBA

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

title in front of 15,300 fans. Jones officially weighed in at and Ruiz at . Jones became the first former middleweight title holder to win a Heavyweight title in 106 years. Jones also became the first fighter to start his career as a

and win a heavyweight title, and the second reigning

champion after

in 1985 to move up in weight and claim a major

championship in his first fight in the division. Jones was guaranteed $10 million against 60% of the profits. Ruiz had no guarantee. He received 40% of the profits, which he had to share with promoter Don King. Jones won on all three scorecards (116–112, 118–110 & 117–111). According to Mark Taffet, HBO's senior vice president of sports operations and pay-per-view, the fight generated 602,000 pay-per-view buys.

Return to light heavyweight

Jones vs. Tarver

Jones chose to return to the light heavyweight division and on November 8, 2003, he defeated Antonio Tarver to retain the IBO and ''The Ring'' Light Heavyweight Championships, win Tarver's WBC title, and win the vacant WBA (Unified) title. Jones appeared a lot weaker after coming back down to the light heavyweight division, losing the muscle he gained for the heavyweight fight seemed to have taken a toll on his aging body and his cat-like reflexes appeared diminished. Jones won by majority decision, the judges giving him 117–111, 116–112 and 114–114.

Fall from grace

Jones vs. Tarver II

On May 15, 2004, Jones faced Tarver in a rematch. Jones was heavily favored to win, but Tarver knocked him down at 1:31 of the second round. Jones had won the first round (Tarver only landed two punches in the first round), but in the second, as Jones tried a combination, he was caught by a big counter left hook from Tarver. Jones got on his feet by the count, but for the first time in his career was ruled unable to continue by referee Jay Nady.

Jones vs. Johnson

On September 25, 2004, Jones attempted to win the IBF light heavyweight title from Glen Johnson in a match in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson knocked out Jones 49 seconds into the ninth round. Jones lay on the canvas for three minutes after being counted out. Johnson was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the knockout (77–75, 77–75, 78–74) and had landed 118 punches to Jones's 75. Jones used the ring's canvas that night as a billboard for his upcoming rap CD, which came out November 1.

Jones vs. Tarver III

After almost a year away from the ring, focusing on training and working as an analyst for HBO Boxing, Jones scheduled a third fight with Antonio Tarver, on October 1, 2005, a sellout crowd of 20,895 at the St. Pete Times Forum in

, which aired on HBO PPV. For only the second time in his career, Jones was considered an underdog going into the fight. Tarver won by unanimous decision (117–111, 116–112, 116–112) and had Jones out on his feet in the 11th round. Tarver landed 158 of 620 punches (25%) and Jones connected on 85 of 320 (27%). Despite being clearly behind from early in the contest, there was little urgency in either Jones' corner or his performance as he seemed content to make it to the end of the fight following his back-to-back knockout losses. In the post-fight interview with ESPN's Brian Kenny, Jones said that he would like to fight again. He would welcome a fourth bout with Tarver or another duel with Johnson. The fighters earned in excess of $4 million apiece plus a share of pay-per-view revenues, with the fight generating 440,000 pay-per-view buys.

Fallout with HBO

After the loss in the third Tarver bout, Jones resumed his duties as a commentator for ''

HBO World Championship Boxing ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' (in later years stylized in its title card as ''HBO Boxing – World Championship'') is an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973, with a fight that ...

'', calling the

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...

– Sharmba Mitchell fight on November 19, 2005, and the

Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed champion in the middleweight division, having defeated Bernard Hopkins in 2005, and in doing s ...

– Bernard Hopkins rematch on December 3, 2005. His return to the network was short-lived, as Jones was let go from his ringside analyst role in January 2006. HBO cited his reported lack of commitment to attending the network's production meetings. Jones returned as a guest analyst for several bouts in 2010, and HBO brought him back the next year as their analyst for Boxing After Dark.

Comeback trail

Back to winning ways

Jones took on Prince Badi Ajamu (25–2–1, 14 KOs) on July 29, 2006, at the

Qwest Arena Idaho Central Arena (originally Bank of America Centre, formerly Qwest Arena and CenturyLink Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Its seating capacity is 5,002 for ice hockey, 5,300 for basketball ...

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. Jones defeated Ajamu by a unanimous decision (119–106, 3 times), winning the WBO NABO light heavyweight title. Ajamu won the first round on all three official scorecards, however it was the only round he won. Ajamu also lost two points for repeated low blows in round seven and one more in round eight. Next up for Jones was the undefeated 29-year-old Anthony Hanshaw (24–0–1, 14 KOs), on July 14, 2007, at the

Mississippi Coast Coliseum Mississippi Coast Coliseum is an 11,500-seat reserved seating, 15,000 festival seating, multi-purpose arena in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was built in 1977. It hosted the World Championship Wrestling, WCW Beach Blast in 1993 and the Sun Belt Confere ...

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

. Hanshaw was ranked 11th by the IBF at super middleweight. Hanshaw was knocked down in the 11th round. Jones won the bout by unanimous decision (114–113, 117–110, 118–109) to claim the vacant International Boxing Council light heavyweight title.

Jones vs. Trinidad

On January 19, 2008, Jones faced former three-weight world champion Félix Trinidad at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York City. Trinidad had also won the WBA Middleweight Title by defeating then Champion William Joppy. The bout was fought at a catchweight of 170 lbs. Jones had a noticeable size and speed advantage, and in round seven, a short right hand to the temple dropped Trinidad to his knees. Jones fired a combination in the tenth round to send Trinidad down once more. Jones won the fight by scores of 117–109 and 116–110 (twice). This was the first time a former heavyweight champion returned to fight successfully at 170 lbs. The fight generated 500,000 pay-per-view buys and $25 million in domestic television revenue. This was also the last fight of Trinidad's career.

Jones vs. Calzaghe

After

Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified and lineal titles at super-middleweight, and ...

's split from promoter Frank Warren, it was officially announced that Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Calzaghe had reached an agreement to fight for '' The Ring'' Light Heavyweight Championship in New York City at Madison Square Garden on September 20, 2008, on HBO PPV. However, Calzaghe claimed injury to his right hand in training, so the fight had to be postponed a couple of weeks, with November 8 being set as the new date. In the first round, Jones caught Calzaghe with an uppercut and knocked him down, as well as cutting the Welshman on the bridge of the nose. However, Jones failed to capitalize on the knock down. In the 2nd round Calzaghe began to control the action and dominated Jones throughout the remainder of the fight. As the fight progressed Jones absorbed more and more punishment and suffered a cut over his left eye. Jones' corner, who had never seen Roy cut before, didn't know how to properly handle the situation and blood covered the left side of his face. Ultimately, Jones lost by unanimous decision, winning only one round (10–8 in the first) on the 3 official judges' cards. There was a crowd of 14,152. The fight generated 225,000 pay-per-view buys. It was reported that Calzaghe was paid $10 million from the fight. The fight aired in the UK on

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Iris ...

after 4:30 am local time, peaking at 500,000 viewers.

Jones vs. Sheika

It was announced that Jones would next fight Omar Sheika (27–8, 18 KOs) on March 21, 2009, at the Civic Center, Pensacola, Florida. Jones defeated Sheika via fifth-round

to claim the vacant WBO NABO

title. The fight was the main event of a pay-per-view titled "''March Badness''", which included both boxing and mixed martial arts matches. Sheika had previously defeated Glen Johnson, who had knocked out Jones in 2004 and came into this fight having lost six of his last ten bouts. It was only his second fight since September 2005. Jones came in ranked as the #6 light heavyweight in the world by ''The Ring''''.''

Jones vs. Lacy

On August 15, 2009, Jones beat former super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy (25–2, 17 KOs) in 10 rounds after Lacy's corner stopped the fight. The fight, billed as "''Hook City''", going off the boxers' nicknames of '''Captain Hook''' and Left Hook''', took place at the Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi. Lacy had never been knocked out or stopped before. Lacy had tried to pin Jones on the ropes throughout the fight, but Jones was unaffected by the tactic and seemed more worried about playing to the crowd than about Lacy's punches. There was a discussion in Lacy's corner after the ninth round about stopping it, but Lacy, convinced his team to give him another round. Jones landed 249 of 500 punches (50%) while Lacy connected on 104 of 429 (24%). Jones was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of stoppage (99–91, 100–89, 98–92).

Consecutive defeats

Jones vs. Green

In December 2009, Roy Jones was set to face Australian boxer Danny Green in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. In the weeks leading up to this fight, there were reports in the newspapers indicating difficulties getting Roy's sparring partners into Australia. Then on December 2, 2009, following an extensive pre-fight delay due to hand wrap protests, Danny Green defeated Jones via first-round TKO. Jones was initially gracious in his humbling defeat, stating that "We don't make excuses, it was a great performance by Danny." However, less than a month later, Jones would launch a formal complaint, accusing Green of using illegal hand wraps and demanding his loss be overturned, though the decision was upheld. Though Jones' rematch with Hopkins looked to be in trouble following Jones' loss, the two sides would officially come to an agreement in February 2010 for an April 3 bout.

Jones vs. Hopkins II

Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins (50–5–1, 32 KOs) met in a rematch bout, on April 3, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, 17 years after their first fight. Jones entered with a record of 5–5 in his previous ten bouts dating back to May 2004 whilst Hopkins came in 4–1 since June 2006. After going the distance, Hopkins was awarded with a unanimous decision (118–109, 117–110 twice). Hopkins landed 184 of 526 punches (35%), while Jones connected on 82 of 274 (30%). Hopkins collapsed to his knees in his dressing room, drained from a brutal fight and exhausted by the end of his 17-year wait for revenge against Jones. The fight generated 150,000 pay-per-view buys.

Jones vs. Lebedev

In February 2011, Vladimir Hryunov confirmed that negotiations were taking place for Denis Lebedev (21–1, 16 KOs) to fight Jones in Moscow. Lebedev had just come off a controversial split decision loss to

Marco Huck Muamer Hukić (born 11 November 1984), best known as Marco Huck, is a Bosniaks in Germany, Bosniak German professional boxer.. Retrieved 2015-12-01. He held the World Boxing Organization, WBO cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight title from 2009 ...

. At the time, Lebedev was ranked #4 at cruiserweight by ''The Ring''. On 24 March, a deal had been agreed which would see Jones earn a $500,000 purse. The fight, a 10-round bout, which was billed as the "Battle of Two Empires" was announced to take place on May 22 at Dynamo Palace of Sports in Krylatskoye. 2,000 tickets were reportedly sold on the day of release. The promoters expected a sellout. Lebedev knocked Jones out with 2 seconds left in their 10-round bout. After round 9, the scorecards read (87–84, 85–86, 90–81). The controversy arose when Lebedev punched Jones, when it was, to some, clear that Jones was not responsive and was out on his feet. The final punch put Jones out cold on the canvas and he did not regain his senses for more than 5 minutes amid active medical help. After the bout, Lebedev said that he had nothing to be sorry about. Referee Steve Smoger was also accused of incompetence because he did not stop the fight even though Jones could no longer defend himself which led to Jones taking unnecessary damage. In a statement following the fight, Smoger said, "I didn't stop the fight because there were only a matter of seconds remaining in the fight and it seemed that Roy was pretending, trying to trick his opponent. He did this repeatedly in the fight. So I thought Jones was doing the same thing here, trying to deceive Lebedev in the final seconds of the fight in order to lure Denis in to land a big punch hich Jones managed to do in the previous round" Jones, when asked about his feelings on the punch responded, "I forgive him".

Cruiserweight

Jones vs. Alexander

Jones won a 10-round unanimous decision against Max Alexander on December 10, 2011, in Atlanta, snapping a three-match losing streak, and winning the Universal Boxing Organisation (UBO) Intercontinental cruiserweight championship. The three judges scored the bout all in Jones' favour (100–90, 100–90 & 99–91). Jones rarely pressed over the first seven rounds but put together several combinations in the eighth and 10th rounds to beat Alexander. After the fight, Jones said, "I'm feeling wonderful. I want a cruiserweight title, the world title", said Jones, who weighed in at 189 pounds. "This is just a start. I'm not through yet." The fight was aired live on Internet PPV channel

Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to the IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest office ...

for $9.99.

Jones vs. Głażewski

Jones was due to fight Polish boxer Dawid Kostecki (39–1, 25 KOs) in a ten-round bout at Atlas Arena, Poland on June 30. Days before the fight, Kostecki was arrested on June 19 in order to begin serving a -year prison sentence for a prior conviction of running a prostitution ring. Jones negotiated his deal with 12 Knockout Promotions, the fight's promoter, he was assured that Kostecki would not start serving his sentence until after the fight. 12 Knockout Promotions tried to secure a temporary release for Kostecki but were unsuccessful. Paweł Głażewski (17–0, 4 KOs), who was on standby all week, stepped in as a replacement. Jones defeated Głażewski by split decision (96–93, 94–95 & 96–94). There was some controversy from the decision. Many believed due to Jones being lined up to challenge then-WBC cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Włodarczyk, he was given the decision.

Jones vs. Benmakhlouf

On December 21, 2013, Jones defeated Zine Eddine Benmakhlouf (17–3–1, 8 KOs) by unanimous decision for the vacant WBU cruiserweight title at the Dynamo Palace of Sports in Krylatskoye in Moscow, Russia. The fight was billed as a "''Winner Takes All''" match, with the winner receiving the entire purse. Benmakhlouf took a knee after Jones wobbled him with a left hook early in the third round. The judges scored the bout 120–108, 119–109 and 118–111.

Miscellaneous fights

Jones, fighting at the Ķīpsala International Exhibition Centre in Latvia, defeated Courtney Fry (18–5–0) via RTD in the 5th round on July 26, 2014. Jones was ahead on all three judges scorecards by the end of the fourth round, (50–44, 50–44 & 50–45). On September 26, 2014, Jones defeated Hany Atiyo via 1st-round KO after 75 seconds. This fight took place in front of a sold-out crowd at The Basket Hall in Krasnodar, Russia. This was a second straight stoppage and fifth consecutive victory for Jones. Jones' next bout, for the first time 4 years, took place in USA at the Cabarrus Arena in

Concord, North Carolina Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 105,240 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Concord is the second-most populous city in the Cha ...

, and ultimately saw him defeat Willy Williams via 2nd-round TKO. Near the end of the same month on March 28, Jones was again back in the ring, this time against Paul Vasquez (10–6–1, 3 KOs), defeating him via 1st-round TKO for the WBU (German Version) cruiserweight title at the Pensacola Bay Center in Florida. On August 16, 2015, Jones scored his 62nd professional victory and 45th knockout win by defeating Eric Watkins via 6th-round KO.

Jones vs. Maccarinelli

On October 28, 2015, it was announced that Jones would be fighting former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli, 35, who had a career record of 40 wins and 7 losses, for the WBA 'super' world cruiserweight title. However, this was a 'false rumour'. It was however announced that they would fight on December 12, 2015, in a non-title cruiserweight battle. This was Jones' first fight since being granted Russian citizenship and he was going into it with eight straight victories, with the last four inside the distance. The fight took place at the VTB Ice Palace in Moscow. After an evenly matched 3 rounds, the 4th round started more in Maccarinelli's favour. Halfway through the round, Maccarinelli dropped Jones with an uppercut. Jones beat the count and carried on for 10–12 seconds more with his gloves to his face, eating several more uppercuts. Against the ropes, he then absorbed a huge right hook which caused him to stiffen and fall face down on the canvas. Referee Ingo Barrabas waved off the fight in what was Jones' 9th career defeat, the 5th by KO.

Jones vs. Phillips

On March 20, 2016, Jones fought in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, at the Celebrity Theatre against 33-year-old

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

fighter Vyron Phillips, who had won the right to fight him after having been selected through a vote on Facebook. Phillips, who fought in his first boxing match, was 5–3 in MMA bouts and 6–1 as an amateur boxer. Phillips would have received $100,000 if he had knocked Jones out, but was knocked down in the second round by Jones. The referee then stopped the fight.

Jones vs. Moore

Square Ring Promotions announced on July 29, Jones would return to his hometown, Pensacola Bay Center in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, on August 13 against journeyman "Rockin'" Rodney Moore (17–11–2, 7 KOs) in a cruiserweight bout. The fight headlined the "Island Fights 38" card, an ongoing series that combines boxing matches and

bouts on the same show. Jones last fought in Pensacola in March 2015, when he knocked out Paul Vasquez in the first round. Moore did not fight between 2005 and 2012 and has lost nine consecutive fights, although only one of them came by knockout. That was a second-round stoppage to top cruiserweight contender Murat Gassiev 13 months ago. On fight night, in front of more than 5,000 fans in attendance, in a slow-paced affair, Jones won a one-sided 10 round unanimous decision with shutout scores of 100–90 on all three cards. It was noted that Jones incurred a tear in his right biceps in round five and fought the rest of the bout one handed and admitted after the bout the healing time required for his torn right biceps probably meant the end of his long career. In October, Jones stated his intentions to continue fighting on and not retiring from the sport.

Jones vs. Gunn

On December 2, 2016, David Feldman Promotions confirmed a fight between Jones and undefeated bare-knuckle fighter and former world title challenger Bobby Gunn would be announced for February 17, 2017, for the vacant World Boxing Foundation Cruiserweight championship at a press conference on December 6 at the Chase Center in Delaware. At the time of announcement, Gunn was a former IBA cruiserweight champion and bare-knuckle heavyweight champion, with a record of 72–0 with 72 knockouts. The fight was made official at the press conference on December 7. Jones spoke of his long-awaited desire to fight Gunn, "I always do things that people don't expect me to do. I promised Bobby a long time ago that I would give him the opportunity, and I am a man of my word. Come February 17th, I am going to shock the world again." At the official weigh-in Jones came in 199 pounds and Gunn weighed in lighter at 197.4 pounds. In a slow-paced fight, Jones stopped Gunn in the beginning of the 8th round, before Gunn had even left his corner, to win the vacant World Boxing Foundation cruiserweight title. Gunn injured his nose and was out boxed by Jones throughout seven rounds. In the post fight, Jones and Gunn both embraced. Jones spoke about his desire to continue his boxing career further, "Anything is possible, I'm not going to make an immediate decision. Why would I stop when I looked that good though?... I want a shot at a cruiserweight title ... I do intend on fighting and we'll see what happens in the future. I looked good." Jones later told On The Ropes Boxing Radio, "Yeah I think it's my last year in boxing, and I tell people all the time." Hinting he may retire at the end of 2017. On December 3, 2017, after

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win quadruple champion, world titles in fo ...

's farewell fight re-iterated his desire to continue boxing.

Retirement

Jones vs. Sigmon

On December 30, 2017, Jones announced that he would return to the Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida to headline the Island Fights 46 on February 8, 2018. Jones had previously headlined Island Fights, which is a show that included both boxing and MMA bouts. Speaking of the event, Jones said, "My last day at the Bay. It's my last one for the bayfront ... Civic Center, Pensacola, Bayfront Arena, whatever you want to call it. So if you want to come to see my last day in Pensacola, be there February 8. That's my last one there." He stated it would be his final fight. Jones announced Scott Sigmon (30–11–1, 16 KOs) as his opponent for the 10 round bout. Jones ended his boxing career defeating Sigmon via a one-sided 10 round unanimous decision, also winning the vacant

World Boxing Union The World Boxing Union (WBU) was a boxing sanctioning body. The original WBU was founded in January 1995 by IBF European representative, boxing journalist, actor and former holder of the title of Britain's heaviest man, Jon W. Robinson. It san ...

cruiserweight title in the process. All three judges scored the fight 98–92 in favour of Jones. Jones started off the better boxer landed upper cuts and hooks and remained in control throughout the fight. Jones landed an uppercut in round 5 which knocked Sigmon's mouthpiece out. In round 6, Sigmon began throwing more punches, although they were weak combinations easily blocked by Jones. Jones was also able to counter most of the shots Sigmon threw. After the fight, Jones stated he had fought with a bicep injury. He also called for a boxing match against 42-year-old former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. In the post-fight interview, he said, "I knew Scott was tough, I knew Scott was game and I knew Scott would keep coming. However, I don't make excuses, but last week I tore my biceps in my left arm again and I refused to pull out. Other than that ight chapter closed." Jones retired after 75 professional fights over 29 years; 66 wins, 47 coming inside the distance and 9 losses.

Return

Jones vs. Pettis

On February 6, 2023, it was announced that Jones would take on former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis on April 1. The bout took place in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, the hometown of Pettis. Pettis defeated Jones Jr. via majority decision after 8 rounds.

Exhibition bout

It was announced in July 2020 that Jones had signed a contract to face former undisputed heavyweight champion,

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

, in an eight-round exhibition fight. The bout—officially sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC)—was initially scheduled to take place on September 12 at the

Dignity Health Sports Park Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...

Carson, California Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...

, however, the date was pushed back to November 28 in order to maximize revenue for the event. The fight lasted the full 8 rounds, and was declared a draw. Jones was later sued by his Marketing Manager, Mercedes Ganon, for breach of contract and failure to pay her a 10% commission for the fight that she negotiated, according to legal documents.

Personal life

Jones was born in

. His mother, Carol, was warm and easy-going, whereas his father, Roy Sr., was much like a Marine Drill Instructor with respect to his son. A decorated Vietnam veteran, ex-club fighter and retired aircraft engineer who had taken up hog farming, Roy Sr. was harsh on his son from early on, taunting the child, "sparring" with him, enraging him, yelling at him and abusing him, often for 20 minutes at a time. Roy Jr. lived in constant fear of his father's verbal and physical violence against him. Jones described his childhood in ''Sports Illustrated'': "After a while I didn't care about gettin' hurt or dyin' anymore. I was in pain all day, every day, I was so scared of my father. He'd pull up in his truck and start lookin' for something I'd done wrong. There was no escape, no excuse, no way out of nothin'. ... Getting' hurt or dyin' might've been better than the life I was livin'. ... Used to think about killin' myself anyway." Roy Sr. ran his own boxing gym, to which he devoted all his available time and financial resources. He offered direction to numerous youths and steered many of them away from trouble. Roy Sr. did everything possible to expand the program and help more kids. But toward his own son he was merciless, driving Roy Jr. to the brink of exhaustion, screaming at him in front of all the other fighters and assaulting him." Using his birds as an image for his own predicament, Jones said in the same ''Sports Illustrated'' piece: "I spent all my life in my dad's cage. I could never be 100 percent of who I am until I left it. But because of him, nothing bothers me. I'll never face anything stronger and harder than what I already have." On August 19, 2015, Roy Jones Jr. met with

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, to ask for Russian citizenship. Jones stated that he often visited Russia for business activity, and a passport would avoid inconvenient rides. Jones was granted Russian citizenship on September 12. He was banned from entering

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

after arriving to Russian-occupied

from Russia. Jones and his wife have three children. Their eldest son, Roy III, played basketball at Findlay Prep in

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...

. On June 24, 2024, Jones announced his son Deandre had committed suicide at age 32 two nights prior.

Professional boxing record

Exhibition boxing record

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

* IBF middleweight champion (160 lbs) * IBF super middleweight champion (168 lbs) * WBA (Regular, Unified, and Super) light heavyweight champion (2×) (175 lbs) * WBC light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) (3×) * IBF light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) * WBA heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

''The Ring'' magazine titles

* ''The Ring'' light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)

Interim world titles

* WBC interim light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)

Minor world titles

* IBO light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) * IBA

champion (175 lbs) * IBC light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) * WBF light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) *

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) * WBF (Foundation) cruiserweight champion (200 lbs) * WBU (German) cruiserweight champion (200 lbs) (3×)

Regional/International titles

*WBC Continental Americas

champion (168 lbs) * NABO light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) ( 2×) *UBO Intercontinental cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)

Undisputed titles

* Undisputed light heavyweight champion

Honorary titles

* WBC Emeritus Champion * WBC Frontline Battle champion

Pay-per-view bouts

Music career

Jones started his rap music career in 2001 with his album, titled '' Round One: The Album'' and the debut single, "Y'All Must've Forgot". In 2004, Jones formed a group,

Body Head Bangerz Body Head Bangerz is a hip hop group based in Pensacola, Florida and formed by former heavyweight boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. Originally consisting of Jones, Magic, Choppa, Snappa, and Bone Crusher the current roster includes Jones, SM ...

and released an album. The album, '' Body Head Bangerz: Volume One'', featured B.G., Juvenile,

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the Southern rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work wi ...

UGK UGK (short for Underground Kingz) was an American hip-hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Mitchell "Big Mitch" Queen who would eventually leave the group to pursue a football career and Chad "Pimp C" Butler with Bernard "Bun B" ...

, Petey Pablo,

Lil' Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born 3 March 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. Raised in Houston, Texas, he began his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before signing with the local record label Sucka ...

and Mike Jones among others. In addition, Jones has made multiple songs regarding

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Athletics. Growing up in the panhandle of Florida, Jones has been a long time fan of

.Roy Jones Jr new song about FSU basketball
/ref>

Discography

Album

With Body Head Bangerz

Solo singles

*2001: "Y'all Must've Forgot" *2001: "And Still" *2009: "Battle of the Super Powers" *2019: "Make 'em Remember" (Production Manager/Master Engineer: Grant Wilson Baker)

Featured singles

*2004: "Can't Be Touched"

Filmography

* ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'' (1995) - Himself (Episode: '' #104'') * '' Married... with Children'' (1996) - Customer (Episode: '' Torch Song Duet'') * '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1997) – Himself * '' The Sentinel'' (1998) – Sweet Roy Williams (Episode: " Sweet Science") * '' The Wayans Brothers'' (1999) – Himself (Episode: "

Rope-a-Dope The rope-a-dope is a boxing Boxing#Boxing styles, fighting technique in which one contender leans against the ropes of the boxing ring to draw non-injuring offensive punches in an effort to tire their opponent out and, while they are on the rope ...

") * ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...

'' (2003) – Captain Ballard * ''

Enter the Matrix ''Enter the Matrix'' is a 2003 action-adventure video game developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Infogrames under the Atari brand name. The first game based on ''The Matrix'' film series, its story is concurrent with that of the ...

'' (2003) – Captain Ballard * ''Cordially Invited'' (2007) – Lenny Banks * ''

Little Fockers ''Little Fockers'' (known as ''Meet the Parents: Little Fockers'' in the United Kingdom and Southeast Asia) is a 2010 American romantic comedy film and the third film in the ''Meet the Parents'' film series, serving as a sequel to '' Meet the Pa ...

'' (2010) - Party Parent * '' Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning'' (2012) – Mess Hall Unisol * '' Grudge Match'' (2013) – Himself * ''Inside Mayweather vs. Pacquiao'' (2015) - Himself (''Epilogue'' episode, cameo) * '' Southpaw'' (2015) – Himself * ''

Creed II ''Creed II'' is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Creed'' (2015), a follow-up to '' Rocky IV'' (1985), and the eighth installment in t ...

'' (2018) – Himself

Notes

References

https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1035578/?ref_=m_ttfcd_cl56

External links

* *
Roy-Jones.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Roy Jr. 1969 births Living people African-American boxers Boxers from Florida American sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in boxing Olympic boxers for the United States Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Pensacola, Florida African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Rappers from Florida International Boxing Federation champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions African-American male actors American male boxers World heavyweight boxing champions Naturalized citizens of Russia Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in boxing The Ring (magazine) champions World middleweight boxing champions World super-middleweight boxing champions World light-heavyweight boxing champions National Golden Gloves champions Light-welterweight boxers Russian male boxers Russian people of African-American descent 21st-century American rappers American boxing commentators Goodwill Games medalists in boxing Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen People with multiple citizenship International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees