World Boxing News 2010-2013

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor All clear needed for Roy Jones Jr. grudge match Former world champion Steve Collins is to undergo medical examinations to evaluate whether his is up to the task of making a boxing comeback at the age of 48 - following 15-years plus out of the ring. The rugged Irishman, who reigned as a two-weight world title holder between 1995 and 1997 before retiring, is contemplating a spectacular return to face the one man who he feels avoided him throughout his career – Roy Jones Jr. The two have both accepted the contest, as exclusively revealed by WBN’s Frank Stea on December 6th and 8th of last year, and could now begin negotiations if Collins is passed fit by doctors in the near future, as the ‘Celtic Warrior’ explained to talkSPORT today. “I’d love the fight to be in the UK but there is interest from Dubai, Russia, China. Dubai looks the favourite, but we’ll have to see where the offers come from,” Collins told Richard Keys and Andy ...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor WBN chronicles the former pound for pound king Roy Levesta Jones Jr was born in 1969 in Pensacola, Florida and at the age of 15 won his first boxing title, the first of many, many championships in a glittering professional career that starting at middleweight in 1989. That first title in 1984 was the United States National Junior Olympic Title at 54kg followed by the 1986 and 1987 National Golden Gloves Titles at 63kg and 71kg respectively in a sparkling amateur career which Jones expected to finish with a 1988 Olympic Gold Medal. Jones had been used to winning and went into the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul as the hot favourite to bring home the Light-Middleweight Gold Medal, he didn’t disappoint on his path to the final, dominating ever opponent without losing a round. In the Final against home fighter Park Si-Hun, Jones continued in the same fashion, totally out-classing the Korean, landing 86 punches to 32 and was expecting what every non Kore...

Frank Stea Senior Reporter Recently World Boxing News had the honor to speak to former 2 division world champion “The Celtic Warrior” Steve Collins.  Collins who has been retired since 1997 had expressed his disdain towards fellow all-time great Roy Jones Jr. Collins told WBN that he would come out of retirement after fifteen years to face Jones if he were to accept. Less than 24 hours after the story broke, Roy Jones was interviewed in response to Collins and told the outlet that he accepts Collins’ challenge and to let him know when and where. Collins recently recent contacted WBN via email in response to Roy Jones’ acceptance. “If Roy Jones thinks that I have gone soft being out of the ring so long he is making a big mistake," Collins told World Boxing News. "Roy Jones avoided me when I was at my best.  He is fooling himself if he thinks it’s safe to mouth off now. Google Roy Jones v Fraser in Pennsicola and you will see me in the ring challenging him a...

Frank Stea Senior Reporter Irish ring legend and former WBO middleweight and super middleweight world champion Steve Collins recently made headlines on WBN for being appointed the new President of the Malta Boxing Commission. Since retiring as world champion in 1997, Collins made appearances on the big screen and as a television pundit, but mainly stayed away from the spotlight as far as boxing was  concerned. Now, as he readies himself to tackle his new position as the head of Maltese boxing outside of the ring, Collins spoke on the one fight that he felt truly eluded his historic career inside of the ring. “I was very happy with my boxing career but there was one thing I wished for and chased for a very long time,” Collins told World Boxing News. “When Roy Jones was at his best and I was at my best, we were the two best super middleweights in the world. I had beaten Eubank, Benn and all these guys and Roy had beaten James Toney and these other guys in the U.S. “My argument wa...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Ferguson seeks sixth heavyweight victory Former Backyard Brawler Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson will tackle Howard Jones next Saturday night as a bout against former multi-weight word champion Roy Jones Jr. looms on the horizon. Slice, 38, has been linked to a money-spinning clash against Jones Jr. in December, possibly in Jamaica or the USA, and should have no problem dispatching 40 year-old namesake Jones, who was dropped and stopped by Jesse Porter in 2009. Kimbo blasted Porter out in just under 150 seconds in his last bout in May and an easy nights work is promised against a fighter who has been knocked out in four straight contests on the back of five KO victories in a row. This is the fight that Ferguson recently told WBN that he wants to get out of the way before finalizing a defining contest against one-time pound for pound king Jones Jr. and for his sake, it should be one that his tackles with ease. Promoter Gary Shaw has annou...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Buffalo Run fight takes priority Unbeaten heavyweight Kimbo Slice has told WBN that any potential bout with former pound for pound king Roy Jones Jr. will have to wait as the one-time backyard brawler resumes his boxing career on October 6. The 38 year-old, who has racked up five victories since turning pro just over a year ago, has been linked to a high-profile contest with Jones in December, but won’t be commenting on the situation until after next month’s outing at the Buffalo Run Casino. “I’m in training for my next fight on October 6,” Slice told World Boxing News when pressed on the Jones rumour. “I gotta stay focused and I haven’t done any interviews regarding it (the Jones talk) yet.” Slice, real name Kevin Ferguson, has been criticized by some boxing purists for the calibre of his opposition so far as novice pro’s and lighter-weight MMA fighters have been his fodder for the infancy of his career in boxing. Ferguso...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Exhibition bout on for December Former pound for pound king Roy Jones Jr. will participate in an exhibition bout against former street and cage-fighter turned boxer Kimbo Slice, Livingston Scott of the Jamiaca Observer confirmed today . The bout featuring the one-time world heavyweight titlist and the undisputed champion of backyard brawling, will take place in December to mark Jamiaca’s 50th anniversary celebrations and Jones admits that Slice, real name Kevin Ferguson, poses a huge threat. "He's a big streetfighter with a lot of power, so early in the fight he can be very dangerous,” Jones stated at the event press conference on Thursday. “But as the fight goes on, my mental experience should take over. For the first five rounds he will be very deadly.” Although the final details of the contest have yet to be ironed out, the fight has been agreed and there is expected to me more exciting fights added to card to mark the island...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Picture by Andrew Snook Boxing legend open to WBO title challenge at 175 Former undisputed pound for pound king Roy Jones Jr. has indicated that a possible WBO light-heavyweight title bout against Nathan Cleverly in the UK would be of interest to him. The 43 year-old has won his last two bouts at weights of 193 and 183lbs and had been expected to pursue a shot at cruiserweight world champion Krzystof Wlodarczyk after winning his last fight in Poland.  A fight in the UK remains one of the American's ambitions though and Cleverly would be an attractive option as he comes with a version of the world title that Jones so desperately craves. “I’m still hoping to come to England and perform one time before I retire,” Jones stated according to The South Wales Argus. “If anybody out there wants to come up to the cruiserweight division and thinks they want some or even if Nathan Cleverly wants me to come to 175lbs and take his belt, I mig...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Boxing legend ends Pole's 17-0 record Former undisputed light-heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. moved a step closer to another shot at a world title with a closely-fought and somewhat controversial victory over Pawel Glazewski at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland tonight. The 43 year-old four-weight world title holder, who out-classed Max Alexander last time out, looked out of sorts for most of the fight and was knocked down in the sixth. Jones was eventually handed a split decision win by the two of the three judges at ringside to improve to 56-8. With his reflexes clearly gone, Jones was as easy to hit as I have ever seen him and has never adapted his style as his years have advanced which makes him look an old man in the ring at times as Glazewski out-worked him. Some flashy combinations will no doubt have won the American some of the rounds, but in my opinion not enough, and at the end of the ten round battle Jones was declared the ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Ring legend fights Max Alexander in Georgia Former pound for pound king Roy Jones Jr. will be hoping to stop a rot of three straights defeats tonight as he takes on Max Alexander at the cruiserweight limit in Atlanta, Georgia. The 42 year-old, who has lost to Danny Green, Bernard Hopkins and Denis Lebedev in the last two years, takes a considerable step down in class with the aim of getting back that winning feeling. The 62-fight veteran has shown no sign of slowing down despite suffering his fourth career knockout defeat in May and has now won just five of twelve bouts since 2003. The four-weight world champion does boast 54 victories in his 22-year professional career and looked sharper than in recent bouts against Lebedev, only to be stopped in the last seconds of the bout as he ran out of steam. Alexander, 30, hasn’t won in his last six fights and has to go back to 2007 for his last W. The New Jersey-based fighter has bee...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Pride comes before a fall for aging fighters The 1990’s was an era that produced an array of talented fighters, Roy Jones Jr, Bernard Hopkins and Evander Holyfield are three that spring immediately to mind. The suprising thing, is that all three of these former world champions are still vying to compete in the boxing world today. Former undisputed light-heavyweight ruler Roy Jones Jr is now 42 and has lost eight out his last thirteen bouts and was badly knocked out by Russian Denis Lebedev. The former boxing superstar has still refused to confirm his retirement and is said to be considering his options. With his record unimpressive over the last seven years and the fact that four of those losses were awful knockout defeats, maybe his family or the boxing commission should take the decision out of his hands. The same could be said for four-time world heavyweight champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield who at 48, has lost half of his fights ...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Russian Lebedev stops former champ in final round Four-weight world champion Roy Jones Jr. lost for the eighth time in his 22 year career tonight as former cruiserweight world title challenger Denis Lebedev knocked him out in the final round of their ten round 200lb contest at the Sport Complex Krylatskoe in Moscow. The 42 year-old has now suffered three straight defeats and seven of his last twelve fights dating back to 2004 and should now be stripped of his boxing license of suffering another shocking loss. The Russian, 31, ended the bout with just one second left on the clock with a hard right hand followed by an uppercut, which already had Jones falling as the Russian landed another huge right, leaving Jones blacked out and falling face first to the canvas. Referee Steve Smoger hesitated too long in stepping in after the initial flurry, leaving Jones wide open for, what seemed to be an uncalled for right, which had everything that Lebedev had left ...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Russian cruiserweight teams up with former world champ Former Russian light-heavyweight champion Denis Lebedev (21-1, 16 KO’s) has joined forces with former undisputed light-welterweight champion Kotsya Tszyu as he prepares to take on American Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr (54-7-0, 40 KO’s) in Moscow on the 21st of May. The 31 year-old is one the back of his only career loss to date, a controversial split decision defeat against WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck in December and will be looking to get back to winning ways. Lebedev racked up eight straight wins at 200lbs after a four-year absence from the sport between 2004-2008 after previously winning the Russian 175lb title in only his third fight. The eccentric southpaw has now joined the Russian-born Australian Tszyu’s Rockdale gym and will train under the guidance of the former 140lb star as he prepares to face the aging former light-heavyweight king, who continues to box despite losing six out ...

Heavyweight scene a step too far for aging champ With reports gathering about another possible venture into heavyweight by former undisputed light-heavyweight king Roy Jones Jr, WBN believes that a match up with the big punching Pole Tomasz Adamek is the last thing that Roy needs at this stage of his career. Jones Jr, 41, lost his last fight at 175lbs to old foe Bernard Hopkins in April, whilst his last venture up the divisions ended with a devastating first round knockout defeat at cruiserweight against Australian IBO Champion Danny Green. A further move up for Jones could be a career-ending move as Adamek himself is a former crusierweight, but has added an extra twenty pounds to his frame and I fear, it could be too much for Roy, who should really have retired after his second defeat against Antonio Tarver in 2005. With all of Roy’s achievements, being a four-weight world champion and holding numerous world titles, Roy should be able to relax and wait for his place in the boxi...