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| Photo: thesweetscience.com |
By Peter Silkov
In a curious match this Saturday, Roy Jones Jr. (62-8) takes on Wales’s Enzo Maccarinelli, (40-7) at the TVB Centre Moscow. At one time, Jones Jr. was seen as the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world, but that was more than a decade ago, and now as he approaches his 47th birthday, many of Roy Jones Jr.’s former skills are simply a memory. Indeed, over the past decade, many people have called on Jones Jr. to retire, amid fears for his safety and health. There was a point, when he suffered knockout defeats to Danny Green and Denis Lebedev, that Jone Jr. looked in real danger of getting hurt. Since then, the former multiple world champion has been careful who he has faced in the ring, fighting mainly mediocre opposition, and putting together a run of 8 fights.
On Saturday, Jones takes on Enzo Maccarinelli, a former WBO World Cruiserweight champion, who at 35, is himself quite some way from his peak. Ironically, Maccarinelli himself was also subject to calls for him to retire a few years back when he suffered a string of inside the distance defeats. Like Jones Jr., Maccarinelli salvaged his career with a run of victories, even moving down to light-heavyweight and winning the Commonwealth title, before challenging unsuccessfully in April 2014 for Juergen Braehmer’s WBA Interim light-heavyweight title, where he was stopped in the 5th round with a swollen shut eye.
Even in his reduced state, Jones Jr. still looked to have too many skills and guile remaining for Maccarinelli to deal with, especially seeing as he is himself some way past his best. However, Maccarinelli has a punchers chance, he is known as a big puncher, and this gives the fight its intrigue. Jones Jr. has been shown to be vulnerable to a decent punch in recent times, and should Maccarinelli land cleanly with his right hand, an upset of sorts may occur. Unfortunately for Roy Jones Jr. at 47 years of age, almost anything can happen to you in a boxing ring, and there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ fight.
On Saturday, Jones takes on Enzo Maccarinelli, a former WBO World Cruiserweight champion, who at 35, is himself quite some way from his peak. Ironically, Maccarinelli himself was also subject to calls for him to retire a few years back when he suffered a string of inside the distance defeats. Like Jones Jr., Maccarinelli salvaged his career with a run of victories, even moving down to light-heavyweight and winning the Commonwealth title, before challenging unsuccessfully in April 2014 for Juergen Braehmer’s WBA Interim light-heavyweight title, where he was stopped in the 5th round with a swollen shut eye.
Even in his reduced state, Jones Jr. still looked to have too many skills and guile remaining for Maccarinelli to deal with, especially seeing as he is himself some way past his best. However, Maccarinelli has a punchers chance, he is known as a big puncher, and this gives the fight its intrigue. Jones Jr. has been shown to be vulnerable to a decent punch in recent times, and should Maccarinelli land cleanly with his right hand, an upset of sorts may occur. Unfortunately for Roy Jones Jr. at 47 years of age, almost anything can happen to you in a boxing ring, and there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ fight.
Copyright © 2015 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes towww.theboxingglove.com
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