Bobby Gunn 197.4 lbs (21-6-1) vs Roy Jones, Jr. 199.0 lbs. (64-9)

It was a packed house at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware tonight when fans came out to see living legend Roy Jones, Jr. take on the Bareknuckle Champion Bobby Gunn in a bout for the WBF Cruiserweight World Championship. The fight was being billed as Skill vs. Will, representing Jones & Gunn, respectively. It was a pro-Jones crowd who stayed on their feet until the opening bell.

Round 1 was a feel out round with both fighters content to keep their distance. Jones landed more jabs and dictated the pace of the first round. 10-9 Jones.

Round 2 was another tentative round. Jones landed the two biggest punches of the round, a good left hook dig to the body and a vintage leaping left hook that Gunn took well. Gunn seems hesitant to engage and is content to let Jones pot shot him. 20-18 Jones.

Roy seemed to have fun in round 3, throwing a leaping left hook and catching Gunn with a big right hand towards the end of the round. Roy smiled throughout the round and jawed with ringside fans during the round. Gunn is hesitant to engage. 30-27 Jones.

Roy landed at will in round 4 with big shots to both the head and body. While taunting Gunn with a hip shake late in the round, Gunn returned the taunt and imitated Roy. 40-36 Jones.

Round 5 was all Jones, landing huge right hands and straight 1-2 combinations whenever he chose to do so. Roy appeared to be having a lot of fun and showed extremely fast hand speed. 50-45 Jones.

Round 6 was more of the same. Gunn did get in some shots in the corner and on the ropes, but nothing that seemed to affect Roy. Roy landed the bigger punches and is clearly the faster of the two fighters. 60-54 Jones.

Jones staggered Gunn with a quick combo to the head towards the end of the round. Jones stood in front of Gunn and jawed as if to say, “I could end it now, but no, you’re not ready.” Round 7 was an easy one for Jones. 70-63, Jones.

Bobby Gunn’s corner had seen enough and Gunn failed to answer the bell for round 8 in a fight that he was never in. If this was the end of the road for Superman, the Delaware fans were treated to one last night of brilliance. Bobby Gunn was game, but overmatched by one of the best to ever do it. The always classy Bobby Gunn said “Roy, you’re so good that I actually enjoyed you beating me up.” During Roy’s post-fight interview in the ring, Roy said, “my name is Roy, Damned Jones Junior!” I guess he said that just in case y’all musta forgot.

Kanat Islam 154.2 lbs. vs. Robson Assis 154.6 lbs. Jr. Middleweight 10 rounds
After an accidental head-butt that opened up a nasty gash in a bad spot over Islam’s right eye, Islam showed a sense of urgency and landed a series of huge right hands. A straight right hand put Assis on the mat. Assis could not beat the count and stayed down for a period of time after he was counted out to recover. The official time was 2:12 of the 1st round. Kanat improved to 23-0. During his post-fight interview in the ring, Kanat called out both Cotto and Canelo and said he wants a big fight. He then told the world, “I am coming.” After his explosive performance tonight, the world may be listening.

Round 1 saw minimal action with De Alba dictating the pace. 10-9 De Alba after 1.

Round 2 saw neither fighter landing anything substantial in a round that could have gone either way. De Alba may have done enough body work to steal the round. 20-18 De Alba after two rounds.

Round 3 was more of the same, with neither fighter landing anything substantial. I gave the round to Emeraz for decent body work in the red corner. 29-28 De Alba after 3 forgettable rounds.

De Alba was noticeably busier in round 4 and took the fight to Emeraz while alternating between southpaw and orthodox stances. De Alba landed a huge left hand that snapped Emaraz’s head back and was the biggest punch of the fight up to this point. De Alba seemed to take ownership of the fight. 39-37 De Alba after 4 rounds.

Round 5 featured Emeraz being more aggressive on the inside and he seemed to get to De Alba more often to the body. 48-47 De Alba after 5.

The 6th and final round was the busiest round with both fighters landing, but De Alba had a nice counter left hook near the end of the round and did enough to win the round. 15 rounds.com scores it 58-56 in a close fight.
Judges’ scorecards were 60-54 all in favor of Frank De Alba as he picked up a unanimous decision.

Local native Joey Tiberi, Jr. got the PPV portion of the night started by bringing the crowd to their feet in his bout against Bryan Timmons in a scheduled 4 rounder in the Lightweight Division. Round 1 showed minimal action, some big swings, but nobody landing anything too substantial. Tiberi did land one combo which was enough to win the round.

The second round was busier for both fighters with Tiberi landing the biggest blows, including a huge left hook. Tiberi 20-18 after 2 rounds.

The 3rd round showed better movement from Tiberi and his hands were much busier in round 3 and he landed bigger shots at will. Tiberi 30-27 after 3 rounds.

The 4th and final round started with Tiberi landing a few big hooks to the head. Late in the round, Tiberi attacked with multiple flurry attacks and landed a huge over-the-top right hand. Timmons was rocked and Tiberi pressed the action. Referee Vic de Wysocki wisely stopped the fight at 2:04 to prevent any further damage to Timmons.

Olimjon Nazarov 119.4 lbs vs Dagoberto Aguero 118.6 lbs Super Bantamweight 6 rounds

Dagoberto won via Majority Decision, judge’s scores were 57-57, 58-46, 59-55. 15rounds.com scorecard had it 57-57 with Nazarov landing the more effective power shots during the fight.

Dagoberto fought the fight mostly with his hands at his side and clowned about the ring, but Nazarov got his attention often with left hook shots to the body.

47 year old Roy Jones, Jr. will square off against journeyman, 42 year old Bobby Gunn, on February 17, 2017 at the Chase Center in Wilmington, DE. The fight is being promoted by David Feldman Promotions and will be for the WBF Cruiserweight Championship. While Jones has more knock-outs than Gunn has fights, it could be an entertaining fight as Jones is in the very late stage of his career and Gunn is hungry for that one signature victory on his resume.

Gunn’s most recent fight was in 2013 against Roy Jones conquerer, Glen Smith. Gunn lost a unanimous decision but showed much courage and heart while lasting 12 rounds against a very tough fighter. Gunn is also the current Bare Knuckles Boxing Heavyweight Champion. Jones has won two straight over lower-tiered fighters since suffering a brutal knock-out loss to Enzo Maccarinelli roughly one year ago in Moscow.

The fight is being billed as “Skill vs Will”, Jones versus Gunn, respectively. While the title may be true, the question remains, “How much skill does Roy Jones, Jr. have left?” Father Time defeats all fighters eventually if they stay around too long, and Roy Jones, Superman himself, is no exception to the rule. Will Bobby Gunn’s will and heart are enough to break down and wear down a 2017 version of Roy Jones, Jr.? My gut tells me that this one will bring enough action to make it a fun fight. We’ll find out in February.
Tickets range from $75 – $300 and can be purchased by calling (484) 935-3378

I ran out of excuses for Roy Jones Jr. The weight loss, the cut-man, his father, the taping of the hands in Australia. I think we heard every excuse we need at this point. Some nights he shows up and rips apart a B fighter like Lacy, and the next fight he’s dropped by a B- Aussie. What has escaped Roy as he has aged is motivation and a sincere & consistent dedication to a fight plan inside the ring. When he commits himself he still shows us flashes of the speed and power that made him the best fighter of the 1990s. And when he doesn’t commit to a plan, he ends up on his back staring at the bright lights or pointing his finger at everyone in his corner.

Roy Jones is FINISHED!! And with that said, I’m going to tell you exactly why he beats Bernard Hopkins SOUNDLY on April 3rd in Las Vegas, which just happens to be where his original fall from glory took place on May 15, 2004 at the hands of the Magic Man, Antonio Tarver, who has since done a disappearing act of his own.

I’ve spent a lot of time studying Roy Jones Jr. over the past 20 years or so and have spent a lot of time with Roy and his camp as well. I know enough about Roy Jones to write a novel, certainly enough to know that there’s no way he loses this fight. Call it a gut feeling, call it a hunch, but if you want actual reasons, I’ll give it to you. Let’s start with looking at the type of fighters who have successfully defeated Roy Jones Jr.

Antonio Tarver: He happened to catch Roy at the right time and place. Despite what any critics might say, losing 25 lbs of muscle certainly takes its toll on the body. Tarver pressured Roy in their first bout. Roy’s body was not ready to handle what Tarver threw at him, and his reflexes were slow. But he fought valiantly in the championship rounds and eeked out a well-deserved decision over Tarver. Then May 15th came. Tarver caught Roy with a beautiful and flawless left hook that Roy never saw coming. Southpaws with power have always been dangerous fighters, especially to Roy Jones, so quite simply, he just tagged him. Right place, right time, left hook. End of story.

Glenn Johnson: While Johnson is not a notoriously powerful puncher, he stalked Roy Jones Jr. like no fighter I’ve ever seen. Top that off with a solid chin and he was just too much of a challenge for a fighter whose confidence was already shaken after the Tarver knock-out. Stalking fighters with high punch out-puts and a great chin can hurt Roy Jones Jr. See the next fighter……..

Joe Calzaghe: Do I need an excuse for this? He’s a southpaw with a great chin, a ridiculously high punch output who stalks his opponents, oh, and he NEVER LOST to ANYONE, including Bernard Hopkins. I don’t think Roy needed to look at his cut man for this one, he only needed to check the Compubox numbers.

Danny Green: I don’t know what happened that night in Australia. Roy got caught by a hard-punching cruiserweight as he tried to once again re-write boxing history. Looking ahead to B-hop? Time zone difference? Padded hand wraps? No one can be sure. But then again, he wasn’t counted out either, and according to Bernard Hopkins himself, the fight was stopped prematurely, hence why April 3rd is still on.

Describing the type of fighter that can beat Roy Jones doesn’t necessarily tell you why Bernard Hopkins can’t win. So let’s break it down. Speed. Roy has it, Hopkins doesn’t. Look at recent fights. Roy still shows blazing hand speed and superior footwork when compared to Bernard Hopkins. Power. The power of Roy Jones Jr. cannot be questioned. He packed a huge punch at Middleweight and carried it all the way to the Heavyweight Division. Chin. Ok, one checkmark for Hopkins. Experience. I think we can throw ring experience out the window when you’re talking about two future first ballot halls of famers.

Roy Jones Jr. will potshot Bernard Hopkins all night long. Hopkins will not be able to get off more than one punch at a time, and his ring generalship, which includes hooking his opponent’s arm and muscling him at angles where the referee cannot see it, will be a non-factor. Roy will hit him and get out. And when you’re talking Roy Jones Jr., any one of those shots can drop you at any time.

Bernard Hopkins is an old, slow, orthodox fighter with low punch output numbers who lacks one-punch power. He does not have the tools to defeat a 60 year-old Roy Jones Jr. When trying to predict the outcome of a sporting event, it is sometimes best to look at common opponents. I see that on May 22nd, 1993, they fought a common opponent. Roy defeated that guy via easy decision. You can expect the same on April 3, 2010.