Faded legend, Roy Jones Jr, ended his boxing career tonight as he began it – scoring a victory at the Pensacola Bay Centre, Florida, against a cherry-picked journeyman.
Two decades ago, the partisan crowd prickled with excitement as their hometown hero mopped the floor with Ricky Randall.
At the same venue on Thursday evening, a ghost of the all-time great unanimously outpointed Scott Sigmon in a dominant but uneventful affair.
Early on, Roy Jones stood poised in the pocket, welcoming in Sigmon with his arms by his side.
As the limited 30-year-old shuffled into range, the former four-weight world champion landed in bursts to head and body.
Sigmon’s nose dripped with blood at the end of round two, evidence of the gulf in class between the two men.
The 49-year-old showcased flashes of athleticism and good speed for a man of his age, landing a solid left hook in the fifth dislodging Sigmon’s gum shield.
But his opponent kept coming; hopelessly trudging into distance where he was picked off in a one-sided beatdown.
Roy Jones seemed content in seeing the rounds out, seldom capitalising on, or sustaining good work – a trait that often characterises performances from fighters over the hill.
The judges were kind to Sigmon scoring him the odd round in a lopsided defeat.
Roy Jones promised before the fight that this would be his last. Moments after claiming the vacant WBU cruiserweight title, he called out UFC fighter, Anderson da Silva, hinting he’s still not ready to hang them up.
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