BIG Fight Tonight Inside!

[wayne1218]

Guy's i have had a couple people PM me about the fight and i'm taking a shot with Ruiz and think with his size that a landed punch might hurt Jones more than ever before and with him paying nicely as a dog I have to take a shot.......Not a big one though!

GOOD LUCK!

[BettorsChat]

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Roy Jones Jr. surprised John Ruiz by not running. There was nothing surprising about the masterful skills he used to become a heavyweight champion.

So confident in his heavyweight debut that he was mocking Ruiz much of the fight, Jones stood in front of Ruiz and simply outboxed him Saturday night to win the WBA heavyweight title.

Jones not only made history by becoming the second light heavyweight champion to win a piece of the heavyweight title, he did it with seeming ease against a man who outweighed him by 33 pounds.

"This means that I am the baddest," Jones said. "Only Ali can shock the world like I did."

In a fight that had moments of action and long lulls between punches, Jones won a unanimous -- and lopsided -- 12-round decision to take the WBA title against a bigger man who was never able to use his size to his advantage.

It was enough to impress another heavyweight champion at ringside, Lennox Lewis, though it may have been Jones' only fight as a heavyweight.

"Roy Jones is a worthy heavyweight," Lewis said. "I was very impressed with the way he handled himself. Whether he can do that against me is another matter entirely."

Jones stood in the middle of the ring and outpunched Ruiz, though neither fighter was very busy in a fight that drew occasional boos from a crowd eager for action.

"Everybody said I was going to run. I knew I wasn't going to run," Jones said.

Jones not only didn't run, but he stood and mocked Ruiz, finally smiling and laughing at him as the final minute ticked down.

It wasn't always spectacular, but it was good enough to give him a piece of the fractured title.

"I did this fight to make history," Jones said. "I said I wasn't going to change my style. Roy Jones doesn't change his style until he loses."

By the middle rounds, Jones (48-1) was taunting Ruiz (38-5-1) and standing in front of him, daring him to trade punches. When Ruiz did manage to land anything, Jones usually got out of the way quickly before returning for another flurry.

Ruiz complained that referee Jay Nady told him he couldn't hit on the break and didn't allow him to fight his kind of fight.

"How can I give him (Jones) any credit when the referee wouldn't let me fight my fight?" Ruiz said. "Everytime I went in, the referee was accusing me of holding."

Jones became the first light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title since Michael Spinks did it in 1985 against Larry Holmes.

But he said he doubted he would remain champion long. Jones, who weighed 199 before the fight, said his move to the heavyweight ranks was likely a one-time deal.

"I didn't want to become a heavyweight," Jones said. "I just wanted one fight. I have to see what's on the table for me."

Spinks watched from ringside as the fight unfolded in a predictable pattern with Jones landing easily with his left hand and Ruiz unable to do much except push him in the ropes.

One ringside judge had Jones winning 118-110, while a second had it 117-111 and a third 116-112. The Associated Press had Jones ahead 116-112.

Ruiz was so eager to fight he almost ran into the ring, then paced back and forth waiting for the bell.

And he carried that energy into a first round where he rocked Jones with a big right hand and landed hard shots to the body.

But Ruiz would not find his target very easy the rest of the night, despite the fact Jones stood in front of him most of the fight.

"I just couldn't get my punches off," Ruiz said.

The lack of action at times was reflected in ringside punching statistics which showed Jones landing 134 punches -- about 11 a round -- to 89 for Ruiz.

By the fourth round, Ruiz had blood coming from his nose and his corner was pleading with him to put more pressure on Jones and throw more punches.

"What are you doing waiting? What are you waiting on this stiff for?" manager Norman Stone asked after the fourth round.

It didn't get much better. Jones began showboating, secure in the knowledge Ruiz couldn't hurt him, and spent much of the fight circling slowly and throwing his left jab and left hook.

Neither fighter was knocked down and neither ever seemed to be in any serious trouble in a fight that drew boos at times from the crowd at the UNLV campus arena because of a lack of action.

Jones became the lightest fighter to win a heavyweight title since 182-pound Floyd Patterson beat Archie Moore in 1956. But he was not likely to remain in the heavyweight ranks, saying before the fight his move up in weight was a one-time affair.

Jones weighed 193 pounds at Thursday's weigh-in, but was 199 in his locker room before the fight. Ruiz, surprisingly, lost two pounds from 226 to 224, trimming what had been a 33-pound advantage to 25 pounds by fight time.

Of the 13 light heavyweight champions who challenged for the heavyweight title before Jones, only Spinks had been successful. And, unlike Jones, Spinks had the size of a heavyweight when he beat Holmes in 1985.

Still, Jones entered the ring as a 9-5 favorite, mainly because of his masterful boxing skills but partly because Ruiz was not considered by many to be a legitimate heavyweight champion.

While Jones was taking a big gamble, so was Ruiz. He was so desperate to get a fight against a name fighter that he agreed to fight for a percentage of the profits. Jones was guaranteed $10 million, but Ruiz needed pay-per-view sales to be strong to earn anything.

Jones was widely regarded as perhaps the best pure boxer of his era, losing only once on a disputed disqualification since being robbed of the gold medal in the 1988 Olympics.

But he was a reluctant warrior at times, winning titles while never taking big chances in picking his opponent or fighting in the ring. At the age of 34, he finally took a calculated risk that his critics claimed he never would.

[BettorsChat]

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Round-by-round action in the John Ruiz-Roy Jones Jr. WBA heavyweight title fight Saturday night:


Round 1: Ruiz goes to the body right away and pins Jones in the corner. Ruiz lands two good body shots, then warned by referee Jay Nady to keep his punches up. Jones misses with a wild left, Ruiz bulls him on the ropes. Jones lands a right. The two fighters eye each other cautiously midway through the round, then Jones misses a wild right. Jones lands a left to the body. Jones lands a left, then is hit by a Ruiz right and comes back with his own left. The two fighters trade punches. Ruiz's round.


Round 2: The two fighters meet in the center of the ring. Both look cautiously for openings. There is little action in the first minute. Ruiz lands a left and misses a right. Jones is trying to feint Ruiz. Jones lands a counter left. Ruiz is very tentative, and Jones lands a right to the head with 50 seconds left. The two trade jabs and Jones lands a right to the body with 25 seconds left. Jones' round.

Round 3: Again, the round opens with the fighters doing little. They exchange jabs and Ruiz bulls Jones across the ring. Jones lands a left hook to the body. Jones misses a big right to the head, then lands two jabs and then two more at 1:45. Ruiz comes back with a right to the body. Jones is the quicker fighter and his standing flat footed looking for an opening. Jones lands two good jabs and a right at the one minute mark. Ruiz then pushes him and lands a right. Jones' round.

Round 4: Ruiz comes out more aggressive, getting Jones in his corner and landing to the body. Jones lands a big right to the head at 2:05. Again the two stand in the center of the ring looking for openings but doing little midway through the round. Ruiz then lands a right to the head. The two trade punches to the head. With 15 seconds left, Jones lands a big right, then winds up showboating. Jones' round.

Round 5: Jones is still flat footed, looking for big shots. Ruiz' corner is imploring him to fight harder. Jones lands a left hook to the body and follows with a left uppercut to the head. Jones' jab is landing at will. Ruiz is warned for using his head. Ruiz lands a left hook to the head with one minute left. Jones mocks him and the two trade punches to the head. Jones' round.

Round 6: Ruiz throws a huge right hand in the opening seconds but it misses. Jones lands a right lead and Ruiz hits him low. There's some blood on the left nostril of Ruiz. Ruiz lands a stiff jab. Jones throws a right lead, a left and another right with 45 seconds left. Jones is taunting Ruiz. Ruiz bulls Jones into his corner as the round ends. Jones' round.

Round 7: The fight is being fought in short flurries with long lulls between. Both fighters seem to be looking for the big punch, but Jones is landing more. Ruiz lands a good jab, then throws a right in the corner midway through the round. Jones lands a right hand lead but it doesn't shake Ruiz. The two trade punches at the bell. Jones' round.

Round 8: Ruiz bulls Jones on the ropes to start the round, but Jones gets off easily and lands a good right to the head. The sudden spurt of action excites the crowd, but the fight soon settles back to its predictable pattern. Jones lands a right hand with one minute left. Ruiz seems tired and unable to get his punches off. But he catches Jones on the ropes and lands two to the body as the round ends. Ruiz's round.

Round 9: Jones is moving more, circling Ruiz and throwing an occasional jab. Ruiz catches him on the ropes with two punches to the head, but Jones shakes his head as if to say he wasn't hurt. Jones is dominating with his jab, even though he throws it only occasionally. Ruiz seems unable to throw punches when he gets inside and the crowd boos the lack of action as the round ends. Jones' round.

Round 10: Jones is moving again, jabbing. Ruiz cuts him off and throws an uppercut that lands on the ropes, then misses a second uppercut. Nady warns Ruiz for pushing and holding. Ruiz gets Jones on the ropes and lands another right. Jones lands a left hook to the head and a low right hand to the body. He smiles at Ruiz after the punch and Ruiz plods ahead. Jones is moving more and lands two right hands with 30 seconds left. Ruiz gets him in the corner, lands a left and a right, then lands a good jab. Ruiz's round.

Round 11: Jones moves backward, throwing jabs. Ruiz pursues him again. Jones tries a big left hook and misses, but he lands a left flush on the side of Ruiz's face midway through the round. Ruiz comes back to trap Jones on the ropes and lands to the body. Ruiz traps Jones in his corner but lands little and Jones responds with a left hook with 30 seconds left. Jones then lands a right off the ropes and Ruiz is warned for using his head. Jones' round.

Round 12: Ruiz is desperate and goes after Jones, but the fight again settles into its pattern. Jones throws a jab and another, then moves away. The crowd starts booing with 1:45 left. Ruiz lands a right and left to the body, then gets Jones in the corner but lands little. Jones has a smile on his face with 1:10 left, seemingly assured he has the fight won. Jones is doing little this round but Ruiz isn't landing much, either. Jones starts dancing and holds his hands up in victory with 15 seconds left. Ruiz gets him on the ropes and complains to the referee. Ruiz's round.
Jones wins unanimous decision. One ringside judge had Jones winning 118-110, while a second had it 117-111 and a third 116-112. The Associated Press had Jones ahead 116-112.