Record: 44-1 36 KO’s

At first glance, you would not suspect Roy Jones, Jr. to be the superb melding of talent, personality, and charisma that he is. The quiet, even pensive individual, is a world-renowned boxing superstar…professional basketball player…musical producer and performer…entertainer…actor…and all-around nice guy. Cited as the best ‘Pound for Pound’ fighter in the world, Jones is the undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion of the World. Additionally, Jones has recently been awarded the Lifetime Achievement award by the WBC.

Born on January 16, 1969, Jones has long made his home in Pensacola, Florida when he started boxing at the age of ten. Weighing a mere 69 pounds, Jones beat a 85-pound, 14 year-old in a youth boxing event at Pensacola Beach. That was just the beginning. Jones went on to have a great amateur career, winning the U.S. Junior Olympics in 1984; the 1986 National Golden Gloves at 139 pounds; and, after moving up two weight divisions, won the National Golden Gloves again in 1987 at 156 pounds.

However, his dream of winning a Gold Medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul went unrealized. Deemed one of the worst boxing decisions in Olympic history, Jones’ South Korean opponent was awarded the Gold, and Jones the Silver when corrupt judges scored the fight against Jones, 3-2. In an ironic, yet feeble attempt to correct the scoring fiasco, Jones was awarded the Val Barker trophy as the “Outstanding Boxer” of the 1988 Olympic Games. This was a bittersweet moment for both Jones and America.

The adversity of the Olympics only seemed to make Jones stronger. Armed with natural talent and unbridled dedication, the stage was set for the evolution of the best pound for pound boxer in the world, Roy Jones Jr.

In 1992, Jones scored first-round knockouts over former world champion Jorge Vaca and former United States Boxing Association champion Art Serwano; captured every round in a unanimous decision over the world Boxing Council’s Jorge Castro and dismantled previously undefeated Glen Thomas with an eighth-round TKO.

Jones’ first world title came in 1993. On May 22, Jones defeated Bernard Hopkins and captured the vacant International Boxing Federation Middleweight crown by a unanimous verdict.

A KO victory over top contender Thomas Tate in 1994 paved the way for Jones’ meeting with then-IBF Super Middleweight champion James “Light Out” Toney in November 1994. Undefeated in 46 outings, Toney was heralded as the best fighter in the world and for the first time in his career Jones was listed as a decisive underdog. Once again, Jones rose to the occasion, turning adversity into opportunity. Jones won a convincing unanimous decision and secured his second world championship.

The following two years would serve to further season Jones. In 1995, Jones scored three wins against three fighters, none of whom would see the beginning of the seventh round. In 1996, three more victims met the wrath of Jones and another world title was secured. In January, Jones finished off-granite chinned Merqui Sosa with a second round TKO. Six months later he won his third world championship after a hard-fought 12 round victory over legendary Mike McCallum.

On March 21, in Atlantic City, NJ, Jones experienced the second controversial setback of his career and what he would later call “his biggest disappointment” since the Olympic Games scoring injustice. Jones’ plan was to wear down his tenacious, powerful challenger, Montell Griffin. Following his plan to the letter, Roy began to surge as Griffin tired. The referee was badly out of position and hesitated to intercede. Jones landed two blows that toppled Griffin head first to the canvas. When the referee finally stepped in, he stopped the fight and awarded it to Griffin by disqualification.

Jones maintains that he did not lose the fight against Griffin and vowed to reclaim the WBC Light Heavyweight championship belt. Jones wasted no time in keeping this promise. He regained the WBC title in their rematch in August of 1997 with a count-out at 2:31 of the first round.

1998 brought Jones to Biloxi, MS where he knocked out former WBA champion Virgil Hill in a 12-round non-title bout; to New York where he defended the WBC title and won the WBA title with a 12-round unanimous decision against WBA Champion Lou Del Valle; and to Connecticut where he TKO’d former WBO middleweight world champion Otis Grant.

Blurring combinations, dazzling jabs and fancy footwork continue to entertain the fans while demolishing his opponents. And Roy has continued to do it, his way. Currently Jones is self-managed and self-promoted, providing yet another dimension to this consummate professional boxer. But many of Jones’ talents lie outside the ring.

Jones spends much of his free time speaking to America’s youth on the value of education and the perils of drugs. Jones’ closest friends sum him up as “ten thousand time more of a human being than he is a boxer”. Knowing Jones’ current world record status, that is saying a lot.

Without a doubt, Jones is absolutely unstoppable, no matter what the venue. He sets his sights…steels his mind…and goes forward. This combination of character and compassion has given us a true champion in the ring…and in life.