By Patrick McHugh: Roy Jones Jr. will be continuing his long 27-year pro career tonight in his fight against cruiserweight Rodney Moore at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida. Like in his last fight against Vyron Phillips, who was making his pro debut, the 47-year-old Jones (63-9, 46 KOs) has what looks to be a sure thing win against his journeyman opponent Moore (17-11-2, 7 KOs).
Jones doesn’t plan on retiring after the fight with the 40-year-old Moore unless he tastes defeat. He doesn’t want to retire just yet. Jones’ love for the sport is too strong for him to walk away from boxing just yet.
It’s unclear how much money Jones is making from his mismatches against hopelessly over-matched fighters like Moore and Phillips, but it must be enough for him to want to continue his career.
The odds of Jones losing to Moore are quite low to say the least. While Moore does appear to have some pop in his punches, he’s lost his last nine fights dating back to 2003. That’s not good. Moore has also not won a fight since 2002. That’s not a typo. Moore hasn’t won a fight in 14 years since his 2nd round knockout victory over Donnell Wiggins in July 2002. Moore appeared to be a decent fighter 14 years ago, but things have turned sour for him since 2003. Moore didn’t fight in 2004, and from 2006 to 2012. There was a long gap of inactivity for Moore during his career. That’s not good.
“If it doesn’t come out the way I want it to be, of course it will be my last,” Jones said to his hometown Pensacola News Journal. “I can’t see that happening. I can’t see myself not handling my business. Don’t get me wrong, the guy does have a good left hook. And when you are older it’s not as easy to take those licks as when you were younger. At the same you have to be smart enough to avoid the licks and maybe get the licks in first. I don’t think this guy should beat me.”
Jones was knocked out by former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli last December in Moscow, Russia. Jones had recently gained dual citizenship in Russia and he wanted to fight in front his Russian fans. The problem is he didn’t have the punching power, chin, size or the reflexes to deal with Maccarinelli’s huge shots.
Maccarinelli is vulnerable fighter against punchers, but if he’s still very powerful and dangerous for anyone else. Jones found out the hard way that he does not have the tools to beat guys like Maccarinelli at this point in his career. If the fight had taken place years ago, Jones might have beaten him. That’s still not a given though because a big puncher like Maccarinelli would have always been a problem for Jones no matter what point of his career.