Jones Faces Up to Heavy Challenge

Boxing

Roy Jones said last night he had been "taping my hands and hitting walls" thinking about the challenge of stepping up from light-heavyweight to heavyweight to challenge John Ruiz for the World Boxing Association version of the world title here on Saturday.

Jones, the undisputed world light-heavyweight champion who has only lost once by disqualification since turning pro after the 1988 Olympics, told Ruiz at the pre-fight press conference: "I'm here, I'm for real. People constantly ask me, why do you take the fights? They want to see me knocked out, they want to see me hurt, they want to see me bleed. Come Saturday, I gotta beat him."

The 34-year-old Jones is trying to become the first one-time world middleweight champion since Britain's Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 to win a world heavyweight title, and silence critics who say he has avoided the hardest test.

Jones is the 2-1 on favourite with the Vegas oddsmakers and has been guaranteed a $10m payday, whereas Ruiz's purse is dependent on a share of the pay-per-view TV sales. But Ruiz, 31, has impressed with his physical conditioning and quiet confidence.

Ruiz said: "I will cut off the ring and hit him anywhere I can reach. He thinks I can't catch him but he's in for a big shock when he feels the power of a real heavyweight. Does a pimp catch a whore when she's got his money?"