Saturday, March 08, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLUMN: Royce Feour

Jones' plan to stay heavy: Fill his pockets with cash

Do you think Roy Jones Jr. will ask for big money to defend his WBA heavyweight championship? Big is not the right word.

Jones proved he was a sensational fighter by dominating John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title March 1 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Jones also is showing he is a super negotiator with his comments Friday about his plans after becoming the second light heavyweight champion to defeat a heavyweight champion.

He said he wants $100 million to fight former undisputed champion Mike Tyson or WBC champion Lennox Lewis. Jones said it would take $50 million for him to fight former champion Evander Holyfield.

"If I come, I am coming to win," Jones said via cell phone while driving to his home in Pensacola, Fla., in his new Bentley after being honored in Mobile, Ala. "It is going to take that kind of money to put my name on the line. I proved my point I could become heavyweight champion."

Jones called the exorbitant figures of $100 million for Tyson and Lewis "stupid money," but said he had to ask for that much because they are high-risk fights.

"I am not a money-freak," Jones said. "But money talks. That kind of money I can't turn down. I proved my point. I am the baddest man on the planet. It would cost them (for me to fight heavyweights)."

And if he doesn't get that much money? Jones said he would leave the heavyweight division.

"Other than that, I will look at going back to the light heavyweight division and continuing my domination there," Jones said.

Jones' promoter, Murad Muhammad, said the figures are not "far-fetched."

Sorry, Murad, but they are. Consider that the $34 million Lewis received for his victory over Tyson last year was the largest purse in boxing history. The largest purse in Nevada was the $33 million to Holyfield for the second Tyson fight, in 1997. Tyson received $30 million in Nevada three times.

Jones was guaranteed $10 million for the Ruiz fight, and Muhammad said Jones would get between $14 million and $15 million because the pay per view sold 525,000 subscriptions.

Renzo Bagnariol, the chairman of the WBA championship committee, said Friday that Jones has been given until April 15 to decide if he wants to remain WBA heavyweight champion or defend his WBA light heavyweight belt. Under WBA rules, Jones had 10 days to make the decision, but it is not surprising that he was given an extension.

Meanwhile, Jones weighed more than the announced 193 pounds at the weigh-in Feb. 27.

Mackie Shilstone, Jones' conditioning coach, said Jones was 198 1/2 the morning of the weigh-in.

"I knew it was more than 193," said Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission. "Roy had a sweat suit on. (The scale) was hovering. I figured he had about three pounds of clothes. With the skirmish that had just happened (between the camps), the amount of people on the stage and all of the jockeying around, I just got them up and down (off the scales)."

Ratner said because heavyweights don't have to make a weight, it was better to get the weigh-in over with before another melee broke out.

"Marc didn't make an error," Shilstone said. "The scale never balanced."

Royce Feour's boxing column is published Saturday. He can be reached by phone at 383-0354, fax at 383-4676 or e-mail at rfeour@reviewjournal.com.