Black Sports : Report: Jones Jr. will get back in ring for bout in Philly

[Monetary]

Roy Jones Jr. will get in the ring for the first time since last summer, according to a report in Tuesday's Philadelphia Daily News.

The 37-year-old light heavyweight will put his 50-4 record (38 KOs) on the line Dec. 9 at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia against Puerto Rico's Manny Siaca (20-6, 18 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round, pay-per-view bout.

Jones last won a unanimous decision over Prince Badi Ajamu in Boise, Idaho.

He hasn't given up yet.

 

[Monetary]

'Contractual issues' force cancellation of bout

Barely a week after the announcement that former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr. would face former super middleweight titlist Manny Siaca on Dec. 9 at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, the fight was canceled Monday.



Jones Jr.


"It is unfortunate for the boxing fans of Philadelphia that this significant event has been called off due to contractual issues for the fight," John Page, the COO of Global Spectrum, said in a statement.

Global Spectrum, which runs the arena and was going to promote the event, is a subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor, which also owns the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers and the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.

Although Page didn't detail the "contractual issues," a source involved in the event told ESPN.com that when the fight was announced, Jones had not yet signed a contract, although he had agreed to a $500,000 base purse plus a share of the profits from the event.

However, when pressed to sign the deal, Jones demanded more money, the source said. Global Spectrum didn't give in and the fight was called off.

Jones-Siaca was ticketed as a small pay-per-view card, one that would have competed head-to-head with an HBO card headlined by middleweight champion Jermain Taylor vs. Kassim Ouma.

Jones (50-4, 38 KOs), over the objection of adviser Jim Thomas, had elected to face Puerto Rico's Siaca (20-6, 18 KOs) instead of a taking a more lucrative deal to fight Peter Manfredo Jr. of "The Contender" on Jan. 19 on Showtime PPV.

That decision surprised "Contender" promoter Jeff Wald, who had nearly completed a deal with Thomas.

"Jim has no control of his client," Wald said a few days before the Siaca fight was canceled. "This is what Roy has done his whole career. He missed out on a huge payday for a fight that won't do 10,000 buys. Roy wants to be his own man. That's fine. He would have made multiple millions to fight Peter. We were about 90 percent there on the deal. We made him a very good offer where he would have had a big share of the upside. But Roy does what he wants to do. He beats to his own drummer."

Jones, a former champion in four divisions, ended a three-fight losing streak -- which included two vicious knockout losses to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson -- on July 29 when he easily outpointed Badi Ajamu in Boise, Idaho.

Check this out. What's on this brotha's mind?

 

[SAMURAI36]

He hasn't given up yet.

He should; he's done.

In fact, I was never impressed with his record to begin with. How impressive is it, to knock out a bunch of has-beens and nobody's?

Step into the ring with Hopkins, so he can break his mandible.

 

[Monetary]

He should; he's done.

In fact, I was never impressed with his record to begin with. How impressive is it, to knock out a bunch of has-beens and nobody's?

Step into the ring with Hopkins, so he can break his mandible.

Maybe BHop has a chance now. But, when Roy, Jr and BHop first fought, Roy took it to him. That was BHop's last lost before he went on winning streak.

I think Roy is still good. He needs to get his confidence back.