By Lucian Parfitt

Legendary Trainer Cus D’Amato once said;  “a great old fighter who appears to be shot can pull together one great effort." This sort of optimistic philosophy may have caused more pain than good over the years in the hurt business, but there are also many great stories that have been fuelled by the belief that “I can be great once more”.

An old Muhammad Ali outfoxed Leon Spinks, an old George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer and a perceived to be shot, Evander Holyfield, out manned Mike Tyson. Even Archie Moore spent most of his championship days knocking out men half his age. But one only has to look at Evander Holyfield’s ongoing struggles to realise this kind of belief is also dangerous.

Roy Jones has stated before his October 1 showdown with light heavyweight kingpin Antonio Tarver, that “this is all or nothing”, this is supposed to be his one last “great effort”.

But, in boxing fighters rarely ride into the sunset and many critics are suggesting Jones’ health is at risk after seeing him starched in his last two fights. The sight of Glen Johnson pummelling Jones out of his consciousness must make Jones’ supporters at least a little twitchy from visioning Tarver’s big left hand cocked and ready to fire.

However, there is still a seed of doubt in my mind about how much the great man has left. Antonio Tarver directed his explosive straight left onto Jones’ chin in their second fight while his eyes were jammed shut, more so, while Jones seemed to be in control.

Also, after the Johnson fight there have been rumours of him training only eight solid days. Johnson should have been tailor-made for Jones, and maybe Jones took that opinion too far.

 

WBC president Jose Sulaiman is recommending Jones to have a brain scan this week, a compassionate appeal I’m sure, however questionable the timing (how long ago was the Johnson fight?!).  All this worry from experts and Sulaiman seems to stem, simply from the shock of seeing Jones get hit, a phenomena that was usually restricted to the extent of being barely noticeable.

 I don’t remember too many calls for Arturo Gatti or Diego Corrales to have neurological scans after beatings. Perhaps we think taking punches is simply what they do, something that’s never been Jones’ style.

There can be no excuses from Jones this time around though, employing his father to help with training shows he really means it this time or some may perceive it as a sign of desperation.

 This reunification of father and son has been put together in order to bring back the ‘old Roy’. What’s worrying for Jones’ fans is most great comebacks from old fighters have been due to a change in style in order to compensate their slowing reflexes. Jones’ style is so unorthodox; he needed outrageous physical gifts to pull it off. The question now is can Jones whip his body into the sort of shape that allows him to perform.

I have no doubt that Jones Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver is a legitimate fight (as ticket sales have supported). If you watch the last two fights between them and discount one blind left hook, one could think Jones was the better fighter, and with his record he deserves a chance to prove it.

I have often wondered whether Jones’ last “great effort” may have already occurred, against Tarver in their first fight, finally his turn do what most fighters do for a living, grind out the win. Sulaiman and company should let Jones have his chance at redemption as he’s never been a man to take risks. Maybe, just maybe, Jones knows what he’s doing.