From the Jones training camp in California, Pa. (just outside Pittsburgh)
You are making a lot out of stopping Tito...
RJJ: “He is smaller than me and it will be hard to not try to knock him out.”
Will it be a negative if you don't knock him out?
RJJ: “Trust me, he is not going to go 12 rounds with me. I hear, 'If he does this or if he does that...'. "He may try to do all of that but he is not going to go the distance with me. I really can’t see him going the distance with me.”
Roy, I see you haven't had a knockout in seven fights - what are you going to do different?
RJJ: “You have to look at it like this. Superman had to gain a lot of weight to fight at heavyweight. I had to take off a lot of weight to go back down. That was all muscle. It took me a while to get back to where I feel good again. When I added all of that muscle and then had to lose it, I don't think people were paying attention. I won the heavyweight title then came back to win the light heavyweight title. If you didn't win the heavyweight title then go back down to win the light heavyweight title, then you didn't do what Bob Fitzsimmons did.”
After the loss to Johnson, what made you continue to fight?
RJJ: “I feel so good, but I haven't told you all that, number one. I had to go through a phase where I had to do something for myself. After I won the heavyweight title I came back down and of course there were going to be consequences for that. Because I did something that someone doesn't do every day. It had been 106 years since a former middleweight champion won the heavyweight title. To accomplish that feat, there is a price to pay when you do something historic. People don't understand that. Look at Muhammad Ali. He was at the top but look at the price he has to pay now. He went so high to the top that no one knew the consequences he was going to have to pay. We have to pay a price for the things we do and a lot of times people don't realize that. My Christian brothers and sisters know exactly what I am taking about... because if you don't sacrifice, then you are wasting your time. I knew I was going to have to sacrifice and I paid the price. I am not sure if that was the sacrifice, but I feel like it was. Now I am back, my body is back to where I want it to be and I guarantee he is not going to make 12-rounds with me.”
We hear here in Puerto Rico that it is difficult for you to make weight. Has it been?
RJJ: “If it were, why would I tell you? You are down there in Puerto Rico and you will tell Tito. Are you serious? If I was, you would be the last person to know” (Jones said with a laugh).
Do you still think the fight will last no longer than 4 rounds?
RJJ: “It will no last longer than 4 rounds. No.”
Could you see yourself fighting at 39?
RJJ: “Yes, and let me tell you why. That is the reason why I never wanted to drink and I never wanted to smoke. Because I wanted to be able to perform at any time and at any age if I had to. I wanted to keep my options open because I didn't know what would happen in my career. But I don't know because it's really not my call and I don't know when I am going to leave. Whatever He says, I have to go do. It wasn't my call. I didn't know when I was going to come here. How will I know when I am going to leave? I may have thought so. But I don't know what He had planned for me. What He had planned for me was to go further than I would have wanted I had to go.”
Do you think if you beat Tarver and Johnson that you would be fighting now?
RJJ: “I don't know. Probably not. If I beat them I probably would have walked away. He knows what He wanted, not me. But I would have cheated the world out of a whole lot of blessings that He gave me. I feel like there is a lot more entertainment for me to give this sport than I had let them see already. When they robbed me of the [Olympic] gold medal, He knew what that would do to me. It would make me come back and show the world that I would be the best professional fighter ever. And I did that. Had I won, He knew I probably would have quit. But I didn't win, so He wouldn't let me quit.
“I want to go out the way I want to go. If they beat me being myself, then that's it. Right now I am back to being me. I am back, 100%.”
What does a win mean for you in this fight?
RJJ: “A win doesn't mean much. He’s got to go. He’s got to go in fo'. Just to win the fight would not be good enough for me at this time. He has to go. I really don't care when; he's just got to go. The way I see it, Bernard Hopkins is not as good as me. Oscar De La Hoya is not as good as me. Fernando Vargas? Not as good as me. None of those guys can be my equal, and they stopped him [Trinidad].”
RJJ: “I love what I do. When you see me in the ring, you will say, ‘He loves what he does.’ I have a good time performing for people. The people have not been getting all they can get. I am the big guy. I am the one that has to go perform on January 19th. The women that have to get up every day to fight breast cancer? I want to know that they have a chance to win. They have something that they can't even see. They just know that it is on them. I am going to go out and fight to give them another reason to fight. They have told me I give them the fight. So I feel I have to go out there and perform and have fun because you never know who may be watching. My blessing is to be able to go out there and perform.”
RJJ: “If Joe Calzaghe wins, yes.”
If Hopkins wins?
RJJ: “He doesn't want me. I'm not going to waste my time if he doesn't want me.”
Who will you want to fight?
RJJ: “I don't know yet. I would fight Glen Johnson, Antonio Tarver, Chad Dawson—I don't care. Let me tell you one more time, my time, my probation period is over. I don't care who he is. Line them up and I'll go to them. I don't care where he's at. If we have to go to London to fight Joe, if we have to go to Tampa to fight Tarver, or if we have to go to Miami to fight Glen. I don't care. My name is Roy Jones Jr. I am Superman and I don't care about anybody else.”
Why did Tito pick you?
RJJ: “He wanted to fight somebody with a bigger name. If he fights a person like me, I am explosive with both hands, so he knows he has to come in on top of his game, so he knows he has to get himself ready. He fought somebody like a Bernard Hopkins or a Winky Wright, he wouldn't have to get himself that ready because they are not power punchers. He knows he is a power puncher and to get to another power puncher, you have to be a power puncher. If you put a power puncher in with a boxer, the power puncher is usually going to get beat because those guys will just stay away and outbox them. So he knows Roy is going to be right there in front of him. So he figures, ‘This is the best chance I can take.’ He asked for me. I didn't ask for him.”
RJJ: “Personally, if I have the chance to beat Trinidad, I took the gamble. He took the guarantee. Just like I took the guarantee against Ruiz and he took the gamble. I was the bigger fighter, so I took the guarantee. And I will get it back like Ruiz did.
“I can get a title shot any time I want to. They know I can beat 110% of the champions out there right now. I just have to be motivated. Most of them are going to be trying to not give me a shot.
“The knockouts did not change me as a fighter. I was more of a boxer as a heavyweight. The problem was when I came back to light heavyweight, I lost all of the muscle and I lost all of the energy. I was going for the knockout because I didn't want to go the whole 12 rounds because my body was tired. I couldn't understand why my body was tired and it didn't dawn on me until now.
“The reason why everyone should tune into this fight is because anyone who has ever seen Roy Jones Jr. knows that Roy Jones Jr. puts on a show every time he gets in the ring. I am going to give you a show regardless of who or what is on the other side. Now, with Tito Trinidad on the other side, he comes to fight all day long. He's bringing his left hook to the game and he thinks he is going to knock me out if he can land it. So if you want to see a wonderful fight—two guys who are going to go at it for real—and I'll give you my word right now that he's not going 12 rounds with me. You want to see a wonderful fight and you want to see a good fight with him getting knocked out, then you want to put your money down and check it out on January 19.”
Have you done anything different to get down to this weight?
RJJ: “What I did do is have a much longer camp to let my body do it the right way. It has probably been about a three-month camp. Right now I feel like my old self. I love it. I am a true professional and I will be right where I need to be come fight time.”
I noticed you kept your hands up a little higher in the Hanshaw fight...
RJJ: “I used a different style against Hanshaw because he was so quick, but I think I will keep that style. Especially if the guy is not that big of a puncher it is a good style to use. I am not sure I will use that in the Trinidad fight yet.”
“Right now I feel like I have my body back. I can make those three-punch combinations. The 11th round, that is kind of late to knock somebody down. But it didn't surprise me at all. I could have taken Hanshaw out, but I needed the rounds.”
Would you go to London to fight Calzaghe?
RJJ: “If they sign to fight on January 20th, after I get out of the ring against Trinidad, I will go straight to the UK for sure. I love Calzaghe, don't get me wrong. I think he is one of the best super middleweights to come along. The way I look at things, I try to be as fair as I possibly can. I look at the way the world goes and I want to be fair. Now Hatton came over here to fight Floyd Mayweather, now maybe it is our turn to go over there. So if I need to go, I'll go.”
There is a report that Tyson wants to fight Holyfield a third time. Could you see yourself fighting the winner?
RJJ: “I could see myself fighting the winner of anything.”
RJJ: “After losing to Tarver and Johnson, I needed to get myself back physically—not only physically but mentally also. You don't want to go out like that. I had to go back and do something different. I had to go back and redefine myself. You need to go back and re-motivate yourself. I needed to go back and find myself and see what is going on.”
How big of a factor will the Puerto Rican contingent be at the Garden?
RJJ: “I will just have to tune that out.”
Would you fight Calzaghe at super middleweight, since you haven't fought there since 1996?
RJJ: “I am fighting Trinidad at 170, so what's two more pounds?”
Don King: “Yes, Roy, there is no one that can say they came back down to win both. I think it is phenomenal what is going on. These two guys have pride and glory.”
Don King: “You can watch Roy Jones train on www.donkingnetwork.tv and see all of the great things that we are doing to make this a great show. And we want you to get an all-round view of this phenomenal fighter, the best of the last decade. Look what George Foreman did. He came back and won the title at 45? Time moves on but God utilizes you in the way he wants to utilize you. You can run and not be weary. This fight is as big as when he fought Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle. He was being counted out when everyone was saying that Ali was too old to fight and he couldn't do this and he couldn't do that. It was a foregone conclusion from 90% of the fans that he was going to get destroyed.”
Don King: “That is why I am so honored and pleased that I am a great part of this event. I think you are all going to see a new Roy Jones. This is role-model time, when everyone says ‘No, you can't,’ you say, ‘Yes, I can.’”
Don King: “These boxers are committed to what they have to do. They have to work at it, stick to it and make it happen. That means you have to be focused and disciplined... the struggle goes on. Both of these guys, with Tito coming out of retirement and the only one he was looking for is Roy Jones. This other fighter, Floyd Mayweather, was only looking at the dollar signs. Then his [Trinidad’s] father told him about Roy Jones. Roy heard about it and put himself to work. Right now, it is incredulous. No one can believe it is Roy Jones. You are talking to Roy Jones Jr., the man who has committed himself to excellence.
Hopkins-Calzaghe? If Calzaghe wins?
Don King: “The irresistible force against an immovable object. That is what is going to make this fight.”
Don King: “He wanted the best. I can tell you that right now. I sat with Tito and his father in Puerto Rico. We would make money from beating Floyd Mayweather but we wouldn't get any prestige from beating Floyd Mayweather. Roy Jones is the giant on the scene. He is the biggest name and he has history attached to it. Going beyond the payday and adding to his legacy at the same time. This is what counts.”
