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COLORADO SPRINGS, Lap. (September 6, 2018) – Living legend Roy Jones, Jr., universally recognized as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all-time, leads a celebrated quintet of Class of 2018 inductees into the USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame.
Den andre årlige mottakelsen i USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame, holdt i forbindelse med 2018 USA boksing Elite og Ungdoms nasjonale mesterskap og Junior og Prep Open, Desember 2-8, will be held Dec. 7, på Radisson Hotel (215 S. Temple St.) in Salk Lake City, Utah.
I tillegg til Jones, Class of 2018 also includes two U.S. Olympic gold medalists and world (profesjonell) mestere, Andre Ward og Claressa Shields, as well as former USA Boxing National Director of Coaching Emanuel Steward and veteran USA Boxing official Tom Cleary. The latter two will be posthumously inducted.
The charter class inducted last year included Muhammad Ali og Evander Holyfield, as well as veteran coaches Roosevelt Sanders og Tom Coulter.
“I am honored to be selected for induction into the USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame,” Jones commented, “especially as a member of this great class with my fellow inductees.
“Amateur boxing gave me the chance to learn life skills as well as face every other possible scenario inside of the ring.”
Jones, ironisk nok, got into boxing at the age of 11 because of Ali. “I saw Ali vs. (Joe) Frazierand just felt as though Ali and I had the same mental concept on life,” Jones explained.
Jones went on to become one of the best amateur boxers in the world, compiling a reported 121-13 rekord, including gold medal performances at the 1984 National Junior Olympics and 1986 & 1987 National Golden Gloves Tournaments.
På 1988 OL i Seoul, Sør-Korea, Jones reached the championship final of the light middleweight division against Park Si-Hun, of South Korea. Jones suffered arguably the worst decision in boxing history, losing 3-2, despite outpunching his opponent, 86 til 32 landed punches, and he was forced to settle for a silver medal. Even his opponent admitted that Jones won their fight, leading the AIBA to later suspend the three judges who selected the hometown fighter as the winner.
How disgraceful was this decision? Jones was selected as the Val Barker Trophy winner as the best boxer of the 1988 Olympics and, due to controversy, the scoring system for Olympic boxing was changed, replacing the 20-point must system with electronic scoring.
“I was angered,” Jones admitted, “yet promoted to prove that I was the best fighter there, and in the world, at that time.”
Jones made his professional debut May 6, 1989, at home in Pensacola, Florida, in a scheduled eight-round bout, in which RJJ stopped Ricky Randall i den andre runden. His long, glorious journey has produced a remarkable 66-9 (47 KOs) pro record, highlighted by nine major world titles in four different weight classes.
I 2003, Jones defeated John Ruiz by way of a 12-round unanimous decision to become the first former world middleweight champion to become world heavyweight title holder in more than a century.
The possessor of exceptional hand and foot speed, atle, movement and reflexes, Jones went undefeated through his first 34 pro kamper, 22-3 (14) i verdens tittelkamper. Against former, present or future world champions, Jones was 19-9 (8 KOs) and included among his victims were greats such as Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, Mike McCallum,Vinnie Pazienza, Virgil Hill, Antonio Tarver og Felix Trinidad.
I dag, the 49-year-old Jones, technically speaking, is still an active fighter. He also has two promotional companies and gyms, located in Pensacola and Las Vegas, trains several pro boxers and serves as a color commentator for HBO Boxing. He recently opened gyms in South Africa.
For the past two years, Jones has hosted the “Future Stars of Boxing Tournament” i Las Vegas, showcasing some of the best amateur boxers in the world.
“Hosting the tournament in Las Vegas gives me the opportunity to give back to amateur boxing,” Jones explained. “It’s a great experience for the boxers and it reminds them that who they may have or still look up to, are watching them as well.”
Roy Jones, Jr. with one of the many amateur boxers who participated in this year’s “Future Stars of Boxing” tournament in Las Vegas (photo courtesy of RJJ Boxing Promotions)
“When USA Boxing alumni discuss their favorite fighters,” sa Chris Cugliari, Executive Director for USA Boxing Alumni Association, “Roy Jones is near the top of everyone’s list. His spectacular talent, dedication to his craft, and infectious personality make him a no-brainer to headline this year’s Hall of Fame class. He continues to give back to amateur boxing and support the next generation. Roy deserves to be celebrated for all he has accomplished, and we look forward to honoring him in December.”
Laget for å forkjempe en livslang, gjensidig fordelaktige forhold mellom USA Boxing og dets alumni, –boksere, tjenestemenn, trenere og boksefans — the Alumni Association connects generations of champions, inspirerende og gi tilbake til USA Boxings fremtidige boksemestere, inn og ut av ringen.
USA Boxing Alumni Association er åpent for alle som elsker boksing og ønsker å holde kontakten med amatørboksing. Medlemmer får tilgang til et bredt utvalg av spesielle arrangementer som Alumniforeningen arrangerer, inkludert mottakelsen i USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame.
For å bli medlem av Alumniforeningen, bare registrere deg på alumni@usaboxing.org for en $40.00 medlemskontingent per år. Nye medlemmer får en t-skjorte, nøkkelring og e-lommebok.
Quotes of Note from other World Champions
George Foreman: “(Jones) hits like a heavyweight and moved like a lightweight.”
Montell Griffin: “Floyd (Mayweather, Jr.) was no comparison as far as speed. Roy was much faster.”
Mike McCallum: “(Jones is) the greatest fighter of all time.”
If he ever hangs-up his gloves for good, Roy Jones, Jr. will be a first ballot inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. There may never be another boxer quite like RJJ.
INFORMASJON:
Twitter: @USABoxing, USABoxingAlumni
Instagram: @USABoxing
Facebook: /USABoxing
OM USA-BOKSING: The mission of USA Boxing shall be to enable United States’ athletes and coaches to achieve sustained competitive excellence, utvikle karakter, støtte boksesporten, og fremme og utvikle boksing i olympisk stil i USA. Ansvaret til USA Boxing er ikke bare å produsere OL-gull, but also oversee and govern every aspect of amateur boxing in the United States.
