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Boxing

Jones is facing a tall task

Moving up to win a heavyweight title won't be easy, but Roy Jones

Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 1, 2003

LAS VEGAS -- Bob Foster says he knows what it is like to be in Roy Jones' shoes.

Tonight, Jones will face John Ruiz in an attempt to follow Michael Spinks and become the second light-heavyweight champion to win a heavyweight title.

In 1970, Foster, on his way to a Hall of Fame career, tried to make the leap in weight after ruling the 175-pound division. Joe Frazier was his opponent, and the fight ended in the second round.

"Frazier caught me with a left hook, and I didn't feel a thing," Foster said. "I didn't even know where I was for a day and a half."

Foster, who will be at ringside tonight, said he didn't realize how dazed he was after the knockout until trainer Billy Edwards observed him putting his shoes back on.

"What are you doing?" Edwards asked.

"Getting ready to fight," replied Foster.

To which Edwards, according to Foster, said, "The fight's over, son."

It was a jolting experience that satisfied Foster's curiosity about fighting boxing's big boys. Foster weighed 188, Frazier 209.

"Getting hit by a heavyweight is a whole lot different," he said, and his opinion was reaffirmed two years later when he was stopped in eight rounds by Muhammad Ali. "You know you've been hit. Other guys didn't budge me."

So, what does Foster expect from Jones, generally regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter?

"I have to go with the big man, even though I'd like to see Roy do it," said Foster, now 64 and living in Albuquerque, N.M., as a retired sheriff.

Many think Jones can do it. At 34, the Pensacola native is 47-1 with 38 knockouts and a 2-1 favorite at most Nevada sports books.

Ruiz, the WBA champion from Chelsea, Mass., is three years younger, three inches taller at 6-foot-2 and is 38-4-1 with 27 KOs.

At Thursday's weigh-in, during which Jones trainer Alton Merkerson got the best of a bloody punchout with Ruiz manager Stoney Stone, Ruiz weighed 226 pounds and Jones 193. Stone was taken to a hospital and later released.

Ruiz weighed 233 for his most recent title defense last summer. Jones is 16 pounds above his previous high, but lighter than the 205 pounds Spinks was when he made history in 1985 in the first of two controversial decisions over previously unbeaten Larry Holmes, who weighed 223.

Until Spinks dethroned Holmes, 12 former or reigning light-heavyweight champions were unsuccessful challenging for heavyweight crowns. The biggest weight gap was Primo Carnera, at 270, winning a decision over 184-pound Tommy Loughran in 1934.

Should Jones, who has won titles in three divisions, beat Ruiz, he will share another milestone in boxing history by becoming the second fighter to rise from middleweight champion to heavyweight champion. Bob Fitzsimmons first achieved the feat in 1897, when he weight 167 pounds and went directly from middleweight to heavyweight king with a 14th-round KO of the 183-pound Jim Corbett.

Mackie Shilstone is a personal trainer for top athletes in several sports, but says he was "put on the map" by preparing Spinks to beat Holmes. He also has spent six weeks working with Jones.

"Michael won because he didn't let Holmes get set, had quicker hands and threw a lot of jabs ... and I believe history repeats itself," Shilstone said.

Foster isn't so sure. To him, seeing is believing, Jones' speed notwithstanding.

TYSON WARNS LEWIS: Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis won't fight right away. When they do, Tyson doesn't want Don King in the way.

Tyson issued a statement warning Lewis to stay away from King if he wants another bout with the former heavyweight champion.

"Lennox and I don't need Don King to conduct our business," Tyson said.

Tyson has said he won't fight in any King promotion while he is suing the promoter in New York, claiming King stole more than $100-million from him in purses after his release from prison in 1995.

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