Jones on the Tough Road to Greatness

If Roy Jones is successful in his outrageous attempt to step up two weight divisions and beat the World Boxing Association heavyweight champion John Ruiz at the Thomas and Mack Center here tonight, it will underline claims that he should be ranked alongside the finest boxers of all time.

It is no fault of Jones that he was born too late. Had he been 10 years older, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard or Tommy Hearns would have been happy to test his credentials, and what great fights they might have been. But Ruiz represents the sternest examination yet of a talent that has enabled Jones to dominate the middleweight, super-middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions for a decade.

The 34-year-old Jones, a sometime rap artist and breeder of fighting cocks and pit bull terriers, is not everybody's ideal. He is no shrinking violet, and as he shouted this week, "I just want to see the man out there who can beat me, I just want to see him", it was easy to draw the conclusion that many watching will hope Ruiz, who won his title from Evander Holyfield, can prove the old adage that "a good big 'un will always beat a good little 'un".

Jones has suffered only one defeat, by disqualification, in a professional career spanning 48 contests which began in 1989, the year after he was named the outstanding boxer of the Seoul Olympics, and he is now generally recognised as the outstanding pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.

He retains a blinding speed at an age when most fighters are forced to rely on guile and ringcraft to compensate for the erosion of innate reactions. He still has the ability to unleash accurate multi-punch combinations in the time it takes the average boxer to contemplate throwing a single shot.

Ruiz, 31, an American-based Puerto Rican called the Quiet Man, is certainly better than average. Neither Lennox Lewis nor Mike Tyson was able to knock Holyfield down, but Ruiz sent him to the canvas in their second fight two years ago. His supporters would say if he can put Holyfield down he can also hurt Jones, who will be massively outweighed.

Only once in heavyweight boxing has the 33lb weight disparity between the two men been exceeded: 69 years ago when the Italian Primo Carnera outweighed the American Tommy Loughran by 86lb. For the record, Carnera won on points over 15 rounds.

However, Ruiz moves slowly and the key issue is whether he can cut off the ring to trap his smaller opponent and make his power tell. Then the fight would be interesting, but it is easy to foresee Jones giving a will o' the wisp display to move and frustrate Ruiz.

Emanuel Steward, Lewis's trainer, says: "I could see it being a dull fight, because Jones cannot afford to engage. If he trades with Ruiz, he can lose." James Toney, a former world champion and Jones opponent, agrees, saying: "Roy's going to run like a girl. I can't imagine it's going to be fun to watch, because Roy won't fight. He don't have the guts to take what Ruiz might give him."

Don King would prefer a Ruiz victory to set up a unification match against the International Boxing Federation champion Chris Byrd or a meeting with Lewis if plans for a second Tyson fight founder. But the best bet is that Jones will win on points, although one humdinger from Ruiz could spring the upset and send the light-heavyweight champion back to pick on men his own size.

</B> John Ruiz's manager Norman Stone, who collapsed after being punched by Roy Jones's trainer Alton Merkerson in a brawl at Thursday's weigh-in, was released from hospital with only bruising and a broken finger. The Nevada Athletic Commission will investigate the disturbance.