By Don Caputo

Roy Jones was king of the world. With the exquisiteness of a Picasso brushstroke, the Pensacola, Florida native illustrated against the comparatively hulking John Ruiz that the cosmic gap between brilliance and mediocrity cannot be bridged by a meagre 30-pound weight difference.

The first former Middleweight champion to claim a portion of the Heavyweight crown since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897, Jones was hailed by plaudits as the second coming of Sugar Ray Robinson and at the very mention of his name, one could sense the unmistakable aura of greatness that enshrouded him – the like of which perhaps not seen since Muhammad Ali upset George Foreman in Zaire three decades ago. His place in the sport’s expansive history, alongside such immortal figures as Henry Armstrong and Roberto Duran, was set in stone.

Or so we thought….

It is a sad fact, but we will probably never know the truth behind Jones’ shocking and sudden demise. Many of us are still reeling from the brutal losses he suffered in back-to-back title fights last year, and are asking ourselves how a fighter regarded as the best in the world could fall victim to not one, but two devastating knockout defeats in such a short space of time?

The unexpected and staggeringly abrupt nature of his plummet from grace almost defies logic, and lets us know that no man is invincible. After being labelled as such for most of his illustrious career, Jones has had that fallacy well and truly knocked out of him and now finds himself in the

precarious position of being a mere mortal again.

Now, at the age of thirty-five and as a ‘mere mortal,’ Jones is readying himself for a return to the ring against the man who inflicted his first knockout loss, current Light-Heavyweight boss and fellow Floridian Antonio ‘Magic Man’ Tarver. Showing the heart and doggedness of a true champion, he will tangle with the ‘Magic Man’ one last time on October 1 for the IBO strap that Tarver proudly holds and more importantly the top spot in The  Ring Magazines 175-pound rankings – the only title in boxing that’s still  worth a damn.

For Jones though, the driving force behind this comeback is not the thought of claiming another gold-encrusted championship belt to add to his already vast collection. No, the former pound-for-pound king has far more at stake.

When he struggled with Tarver in their first meeting back in 2003, it was met with a shrug of the shoulders and dismissed as a rare bad day at the office due the obvious fact that making weight had left him severely weakened on the night.

It was a plausible excuse and one that was readily accepted by the media and public, given that only a few months earlier he was a solid 200-pounds of bone and muscle having just made history in the Heavyweight division. Losing the weight had clearly been an arduous task, and it was surmised with quite a bit of confidence that his lacklustre and very un-Jones like performance against Tarver was a one off aberration.

What was overlooked at the time, however, is that Tarver – a tall, defensive minded southpaw with crushing power in his left hand – was possibly the best opponent he had faced since dominating an ill prepared James Toney in 1994. It did not occur to the majority of us that maybe, just maybe, Tarver had the style to beat the great Roy Jones Jr.

Jones, opting not to heed the calls of substantially more lucrative matches at Heavyweight, agreed to give Tarver a second bite at the apple the following May. It was about respect, not money. He desperately wanted to reaffirm his status as the world’s best and prove his superiority over someone who he felt was not in his league. On his worst night, he was able to dig deep and better this man. ‘How on earth then,’ he must have rationalised, ‘can I possibly lose when I’m properly prepared and firing on all cylinders?’ Antonio Tarver answered the question for all of us in the second round of their rematch with a picture perfect, counter left hook.

Jones was down, and out.

The result sent shockwaves through the sporting world and for days, even weeks after his head bounced violently off the canvas, boxing fans around the globe found themselves in a state of complete and utter disbelief. Other fighters got knocked out, not Roy Jones. That’s what we were all thinking, right up until the surreal moment referee Jay Nady waved off the fight.

His legacy took a major hit that night, but it was reduced to tatters just a few months later when Glencoffe ‘The Road Warrior’ Johnson (a supposed journeyman with nine losses) dominated and stopped him for the second consecutive time. Jones’ performance was a strange mix of trepidation and ndifference, as he allowed Johnson to work him over against the ropes for round after round before finally being paralyzed and dropped for the count by a strong right hand and glancing left hook in the ninth round.

It was supposed to be a routine warm-up for a third fight with Tarver, but the Jones we knew never showed up. Whereas once upon a time he would have ravenously devoured a face first, balls-to-the-wall aggressor such as Johnson, against him he resembled a gunslinger with no bullets and absolutely no clue how to keep his man at bay.

Gone was his dazzling footwork. Gone was his inimitable speed and accuracy. All that was left was a transparent bravado, which he used to try and trick us into believing that he had everything under control. In reality though, he was fighting for his life the moment the opening bell sounded. His legs, perhaps betraying their age, just couldn’t carry him out of trouble the way they once did so effortlessly and Johnson took full advantage.

To put it as nicely and delicately as possible, he looked shot. Not only was he gun shy, his reflexes looked noticeably diminished and his movement was almost nonexistent.

It was time to call it quits, and immediately after the humiliating loss Jones duly obliged. Although he never made an official announcement, the book looked all but closed on his boxing career and outwardly he appeared happy enough with his new job as a HBO analyst. But the competitive fire in Roy Jones has, evidently, not yet been quelled as he still believes that he has what it takes to be the best and will set out to prove it against Tarver when they meet for the third and final time in a bout billed as ‘No Excuses.’

For years, we demanded far more from ‘Reluctant Roy’ than he was delivering. Rather than habitually seeking out the fights that would have truly challenged him, Jones instead earned a reputation for playing it safe (or smart, depending on who you ask) since he only appeared willing to take risks when it was expedient for him to do so.

Well, those days have passed and in this final chapter of his chequered story, it is all or nothing time. Jones doesn’t agree that he got old overnight, only that he lost his desire for the sport and now he’s got it back. I suppose the question is can he really turn back the clock?

Stranger things have happened.