03-19-2003, 03:11 PM
Article on Yahoo sports today:
Jones hopes to fight again by summer
By HAL BOCK, AP Sports Writer
March 18, 2003
NEW YORK (AP) -- Now that Roy Jones Jr. owns a heavyweight championship, he might go back to his boxing roots in a lighter division.
Then again, he might not.
Two weeks after claiming the WBA championship, Jones is considering his options. They include the usual heavyweight suspects -- Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis -- and maybe even middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins.
``I don't know what I'll do next,'' he said on Tuesday. ``It's TBA -- to be announced. There are a lot of variables. Whatever's best, I'll take.''
He even tossed Hopkins' name into the mix. ``I'd fight him at 175 pounds.''
That's the light heavyweight class, a division Jones left behind when he moved up to challenge WBA champ John Ruiz.
Jones became the first man in over 100 years to make the climb from middleweight champion to the heavyweight title when he defeated Ruiz. At each stop along the way, he found critics, and it was no different when he beat Ruiz.
``They said he wasn't a credible champion,'' Jones said. ``How much more credible can you get? Holyfield beat Tyson twice. This guy beat Holyfield twice. Lennox Lewis has been knocked out twice, both times as champion. What makes him more credible than Ruiz?''
``He's nobody? I don't buy that.''
Jones was asked to rank the top three current heavyweights. He made himself No. 1, Holyfield No. 2 and Lewis No. 3. Missing from the list was Tyson. That's not to say Jones dismisses the ex-champ.
``Tyson is a dangerous guy,'' he said. ``If the money goes way up there, maybe the danger goes down and I'll get to see Mike.
``The biggest money fight would be Mike Tyson. But there's too much risk. At $100 million, it might be worth the risk. One punch could be fatal to me. But it could be an opportunity to make a lot of money. If the opportunity is there, maybe I'll do it.''
Then again ...
If Jones sounds undecided about his future, that's because he is.
``There's no telling where I might be in two months,'' he said.
Jones is intrigued by Tyson because he is the division's wild card. Holyfield interests him, too, and is probably the most likely fight. He dismissed IBF champion Chris Byrd because he believes that fight would be boring for fans with both boxers waiting for the other to make a move.
``Tyson makes guys bigger paydays than they could ever make with anybody else,'' Jones said. ``Tyson's a draw, just like Roy Jones Jr. is a draw. Tyson's not even a champion, but he brings more than the so-called champions. They're not who people are breaking down doors to see.
``Tyson's just different. There's no telling what he might do.''
The victory over Ruiz left Jones bubbling with confidence.
``I don't think any heavyweight right now can beat me,'' he said. ``I'm the most dominant champion in the land.''
The 34-year-old Jones said he would fight for another year or two and hoped to be back in the ring by summer. He said he thought Holyfield would be his next opponent.
``I don't know that for sure,'' he said, ``but that's what I would bet right now.''
Jones hopes to fight again by summer
By HAL BOCK, AP Sports Writer
March 18, 2003
NEW YORK (AP) -- Now that Roy Jones Jr. owns a heavyweight championship, he might go back to his boxing roots in a lighter division.
Then again, he might not.
Two weeks after claiming the WBA championship, Jones is considering his options. They include the usual heavyweight suspects -- Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis -- and maybe even middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins.
``I don't know what I'll do next,'' he said on Tuesday. ``It's TBA -- to be announced. There are a lot of variables. Whatever's best, I'll take.''
He even tossed Hopkins' name into the mix. ``I'd fight him at 175 pounds.''
That's the light heavyweight class, a division Jones left behind when he moved up to challenge WBA champ John Ruiz.
Jones became the first man in over 100 years to make the climb from middleweight champion to the heavyweight title when he defeated Ruiz. At each stop along the way, he found critics, and it was no different when he beat Ruiz.
``They said he wasn't a credible champion,'' Jones said. ``How much more credible can you get? Holyfield beat Tyson twice. This guy beat Holyfield twice. Lennox Lewis has been knocked out twice, both times as champion. What makes him more credible than Ruiz?''
``He's nobody? I don't buy that.''
Jones was asked to rank the top three current heavyweights. He made himself No. 1, Holyfield No. 2 and Lewis No. 3. Missing from the list was Tyson. That's not to say Jones dismisses the ex-champ.
``Tyson is a dangerous guy,'' he said. ``If the money goes way up there, maybe the danger goes down and I'll get to see Mike.
``The biggest money fight would be Mike Tyson. But there's too much risk. At $100 million, it might be worth the risk. One punch could be fatal to me. But it could be an opportunity to make a lot of money. If the opportunity is there, maybe I'll do it.''
Then again ...
If Jones sounds undecided about his future, that's because he is.
``There's no telling where I might be in two months,'' he said.
Jones is intrigued by Tyson because he is the division's wild card. Holyfield interests him, too, and is probably the most likely fight. He dismissed IBF champion Chris Byrd because he believes that fight would be boring for fans with both boxers waiting for the other to make a move.
``Tyson makes guys bigger paydays than they could ever make with anybody else,'' Jones said. ``Tyson's a draw, just like Roy Jones Jr. is a draw. Tyson's not even a champion, but he brings more than the so-called champions. They're not who people are breaking down doors to see.
``Tyson's just different. There's no telling what he might do.''
The victory over Ruiz left Jones bubbling with confidence.
``I don't think any heavyweight right now can beat me,'' he said. ``I'm the most dominant champion in the land.''
The 34-year-old Jones said he would fight for another year or two and hoped to be back in the ring by summer. He said he thought Holyfield would be his next opponent.
``I don't know that for sure,'' he said, ``but that's what I would bet right now.''
There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.
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