By Kasim Aslam: At his peak he was a force to be reckoned with, defeating Bernard Hopkins in May 1993, named fighter of the decade in 1990’s by boxing writers association of America and won the WBA heavyweight title in 2003. However, in recent years Jones has been on a decline that has seen him continually postpone retirement plans.

Roy Jones Jr’s latest victory against Max Alexander was a one sided affair in that lasted the full 10 rounds. With Jones winning by UD it is clear that the 42 year old from Pensacola, Florida has some fuel left in the tank but the post match interview would have raised many eyebrows across the boxing world.

Jones, in his post fight interview stated “I’m feeling wonderful. I want a cruiserweight title, the world title, this is just a start. I’m not through yet.” His decision to continue may have some fans confused as to how Jones can realistically carry on challenging for honours at such an age and at such a decline in his career. Jones’ brutal knockout against Dennis Lebedev was a stark reminder of the almost impossible task of climbing back to the top. Yet he feels as though he has the capability to mix it up with the best to win a cruiserweight title. Jones has won 2 out of his last 5 fights and with age looks slow and sluggish. His boxing ability is diminishing along with his increasing age therefore to state that he is just starting may come as a shock to many associated with the boxing world.

Earlier this year rumours had circulated stating that Roy Jones Jr. was suffering from a form of brain damage. These rumours have neither been confirmed nor refuted by Jones or his camp but it is a reminder of the difficulties boxers face when confronted with the realities of retirement. The most prominent example of this was the plan to postpone retirement by the great Muhammad Ali, who took an incredible amount of punishment against Larry Holmes in his second to last fight in 1980. This, along with his other fights culminated together to give Ali the dreadful Parkinson decease. It seems that a boxer’s biggest and most testing opponent is himself when it comes to retirement.

When should a boxer retire? And what should a boxer do after retirement? These questions can only be answered by the boxers themselves. Some cannot deal with the realism of retirement and instead prolong their boxing career making them prone to serious and permanent injuries. The difficulty in accepting retirement has become ever clearer with personal lives surfacing of Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya, who both have admitted suffering from drugs, alcohol and suicide. This is the unfortunate reality that is hidden in the glamour of main event boxing and something which Roy Jones Jr. would have to think carefully to avoid.

However, Roy Jones Jr. may take the path of legendary heavyweight George Foreman and WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Who, at the age of over 40 were able to capture their respective titles with class, dominance and heart. If Jones would want to replicate the success achieved by the two boxing icons he would have to put in work and effort more than ever. However, the ‘majority decision’ by boxing fans seems to be that Jones Jr. should seriously contemplate retirement before permanent illnesses are imbedded in his body. He gave us action, ferocity and entertainment for decades. A future hall of famer and a pound for pound great whatever Roy Jones Jr. decides will still make him a boxing legend.