Roy Jones Jr. calls out Kimbo Slice
With the recent news that big time boxing promoter Gary Shaw and street-fighter turned MMA contestant Kimbo Slice are negotiating a boxing contract, Roy Jones Jr. has called Kimbo out for a challenge.
"Even if the heavyweight division was good right now, he'd still be the guy, because look at what Mike Tyson did [in returning to the ring and winning the title]. He's a guy that's capable of doing that. I mean, Mike Tyson was a powerful puncher, just like Kimbo is. ... I think it won't take him long at all,” Jones said.
Kimbo is well known for his punching power. In six MMA contests, he has four wins, with two defeats. Many analysts had speculated that he would be better suited for boxing, where take downs and ground fighting are precluded from the rules of combat.
Slice recently announced his attention had turned to boxing, saying that he has been thinking about boxing “at night” and that he wants to see what it’s like to “break some ribs” or “break a jaw with one punch.”
Somehow Slice’s version of what it’s like to box sounds a bit fantastic and falsified. Boxing isn’t so much about those things. It’s about putting everything into a high-intensity level training, building endurance, cardio, and learning about the laws that govern the “sweet science.”
Shaw recently spoke about Slice’s potential break into the sport, saying to ESPN recently: “He could easily be at the same level as guys the Klitschkos have been fighting. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe he's coming to boxing too late, but I don't think so. He's not a beaten-up athlete. He's a natural, with that bob and weave like Mike Tyson. […] I've always said he could be a world champion. I believe in that more than ever. This is not the era of Tyson, Holyfield and Lennox Lewis."
Shaw’s admiration was seconded by Jones, who wants a crack at Slice.
“Kimbo's got a lot of heart, he's got a lot talent, and it took a lot for him to get where he got in MMA. I think his main skill is boxing anyway. I think he'll be fine with it.” Jones also said that he thought Slice would need about three or four fights to work up his credentials in the boxing ring, and that at that point he might be ready for Jones.
Seven or eight years ago, it would have been unimaginable to hear Jones say something like this. Then he had blown through the light heavyweight division and was well on his way to winning the WBA heavyweight championship. But in the last few years he’s obviously become a shadow of what he was, being knocked out by guys he would have demolished back in the day.
But today we’ve got a 41-year-old Jones talking about a 36-year-old Slice, who was at one point a much-hyped MMA fighter, but is now all but burnt out. It’s worth reminding that Slice was taken out by a jab against last-minute replacement Seth Petruzelli in October 2008. The 14-second loss exposed him as a fighter with glaring weaknesses, rather than a feared fighting machine. And now people are talking about how devastating he’s going to be in the ring? Jones and Shaw may find their words following dumbly in the wind, if they’re not already.
Why does Jones continue to act like a relevant presence in the heavyweight division? How long can a fighter coast on the fumes of yesteryear? Because Jones is still an incredibly marketable brand in professional boxing, he’s able to get away with these ‘analyses’ and people still pay money to watch him fight. But with seven losses now to his name, if he keeps it up it won’t be long till he has nine or 10, and then what will he be remembered for?
But regardless, Jones would come in as a favourite against a rookie boxer like Slice. Slice also packs the big name that Jones is searching for, because a victory over Slice might be the only high-profile victory Jones can get, even if it's a dubious achievement.
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