 |
|
|
If you thought Roy Jones Jr.'s knockout loss against Antonio Tarver was bad, it got even worse against IBF Light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson. Johnson landed a huge overhand right that landed behind the ear of Jones, followed up by a left hook to send Jones down in the ninth round. As Jones went down the back of his head slammed against the canvas, and he was unable to make any attempt to beat the count. Just like that Glen Johnson shocked and disrupted the Boxing world.
With that one huge overhand right, Johnson may have cost Bernard Hopkins or Antonio Tarver a huge payday. He may have also ended the career of one of the all time greats. I don't mean to make it sound like Johnson won the fight on one lucky punch. Johnson controlled the fight from start to finish. Every judge had Johnson winning the fight going into the ninth round. 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74 were the scores in favor of Johnson entering the ninth round. The crowd in Memphis seemed to be wondering when was Roy going to do his thing and end this fight. They may have also been wondering whether Johnson was ever going to tire from his relentless attack on Jones.
Johnson must have watched tape of Jones' fights with Antonio Tarver, because like Tarver, Johnson kept constant pressure on Jones, and had him fighting defensively all night. From the start of the opening bell Johnson came out relentlessly, not necessarily landing a whole lot of punches, but staying very busy. He was landing enough to win rounds, and eventually in the ninth round knocked Jones out in devastating fashion. People watching this fight might have thought they were seeing Sugar Ray Leonard against Terry Norris, Joe Louis against Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson versus Lennox Lewis, or even Julio Cesar Chavez versus Oscar de la Hoya. What do these fights have in common with this Jones fight? They all were the devastating ends for great fighters.
After the fight the HBO crew expressed that they thought Jones should retire. Two big knockout losses in a row to a man who once seemed invincible. Sometimes watching Roy fight people would be surprised if he lost a couple of rounds, now he has been knocked out back to back twice. Even his trainer Alton Merkerson said after the fight that Roy gets hit more now than he used to. It was kind of sad to see the end, whether you like Jones or not. A once great champion getting knocked out cold again, but that's Boxing.
Glen Johnson retains his IBF title in most impressive fashion, and after the fight welcomed a fight with anybody. Jones was flat on his back, and woozy for a good five minutes. It was stated after the fight that Jones suffered a concussion. For the second week in a row the ninth round does in a great fighter. Jones will have some thinking to do, but fights with Tarver or Hopkins are probably out of the question, and retirement could be a possibility.
|
|
|
|
© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2004
|
By Tom Dickey (September 26, 2004) 
