Milton McCrory vs Colin Jones

Milton McCrory and Colin Jones fought to a split draw over 12 rounds at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada, on March 19, 1983, leaving the vacant World Boxing Council welterweight championship without an owner. The title had been relinquished following Sugar Ray Leonard’s retirement after the discovery of a detached retina. McCrory, an unbeaten 21-year-old from Detroit, entered with 20 victories, while the 23-year-old Welshman Jones brought a record of 24 wins and one defeat, with 21 of those victories inside the distance. Their contrasting methods were plain: McCrory stood six feet tall and intended to box at long range, while the shorter, heavily built Jones depended upon pressure and his considerable punching power.

McCrory took command of the opening rounds by moving continually and delivering quick combinations from behind his long left hand. He gave Jones little opportunity to plant his feet, circling away after punching and forcing the Welshman to follow. Jones nevertheless found McCrory’s nose with his jab in the second round, drawing blood which continued to flow at intervals throughout the contest. In the third, Jones landed a roundhouse right to the temple which staggered McCrory, but the American recovered and resumed his movement. McCrory’s greater speed and reach carried most of the early work, although his punches lacked the weight needed to halt Jones’s steady advance.

The fourth round produced the first extended exchanges. McCrory landed combinations to the head and body, using his faster hands whenever Jones came within range. Jones replied with a heavy left to the body which rocked McCrory in a corner. Near the bell, McCrory connected with a left-right combination to the head, which briefly checked Jones. Jones was cut beneath the left eye during the round, the first cut he had suffered as a professional, but the injury did not seriously impair him. McCrory continued to box effectively through the fifth, and after the opening half of the contest he appeared to have established a useful advantage.

The fight began to shift in the sixth as Jones focused more on the body. The punches reduced McCrory’s movement and gradually brought the American within reach. Jones finished the seventh strongly and was plainly gaining confidence. By the eighth, McCrory was spending more time retreating and less time setting his feet to punch. Jones followed with patience, striking the body whenever McCrory approached the ropes and then bringing his right hand over the top. The Welshman’s work was slower than McCrory’s, but it carried more force and was beginning to dictate the physical terms of the contest.

Jones had one of his best rounds in the ninth. More body punches forced McCrory to lower his elbows, and a right hand to the head rocked him late in the session. Jones continued forward in the tenth, driving McCrory towards the ropes and making him hold at close quarters. For a period McCrory appeared in danger of being overwhelmed, but he managed to regain enough room to use his jab and survive the round. Jones had now erased much of the early deficit, while McCrory’s face showed the effects of the bleeding nose and the accumulated pressure.

The 11th was more evenly contested. Jones landed to the head and body and remained the stronger man at close range, but McCrory answered with body punches and several scoring blows upstairs. In the final round McCrory abandoned some of his caution and met Jones in sustained exchanges. He produced a rapid series of combinations and outpunched the Welshman during the closing three minutes, though he did not seriously hurt him. Both men were tired at the bell, and the crowd of approximately 4,000 rose to acknowledge a contest which had developed from a tactical match into a hard struggle over its second half.

The judges could not agree. Jose Juan Guerra scored the fight 116-113 for McCrory. Newton Campos returned 116-114 for Jones, while Dimas Hernandez marked it even at 115-115. The resulting split draw was loudly booed, and WBC president Jose Sulaiman announced that a rematch would be ordered after a rest period of at least 45 days. Guerra had awarded McCrory six of the first seven rounds, while Campos and Hernandez gave increasing credit to Jones as his pressure took effect. The 12-round limit also favoured McCrory, for Jones appeared the stronger man over the later stages and might have benefited from the 15-round distance traditionally associated with major championship contests.

Neither fighter could reasonably claim complete control of the match. McCrory’s speed, reach and combinations had won much of the opening half and the final round. Jones’s body attack and heavier blows had governed the middle and late portions, particularly from the seventh through the tenth. The draw therefore reflected the divided shape of the contest, although it satisfied neither fighter and settled nothing. Five months later they met again in Las Vegas, where McCrory won a split decision and finally secured the vacant championship.

I was a huge Colin Jones fan back in the day and watched him from ringside several times. His punching power was frightening because it came from short, compact shots rather than great swinging efforts. He had already stopped Kirkland Laing twice, won the British, Commonwealth and European titles, and arrived in Reno with 21 stoppages from 24 victories. Against Milton McCrory, however, he was facing a six-foot Kronk boxer with fast hands, a long jab and the sense to keep moving.

McCrory boxed well early. He moved, scored in combinations and made Jones follow him. But Jones never needed many clean punches to alter a fight. He bloodied McCrory’s nose, staggered him with a right in the third and gradually took the American’s legs away with body shots. From the seventh through the tenth, Jones was the stronger man, and McCrory was increasingly concerned with surviving rather than controlling the contest.

McCrory rallied in the last round, but I still thought Jones had done enough. The judges returned 116-113 for McCrory, 116-114 for Jones and 115-115, leaving the vacant WBC title unclaimed. It was close, not a robbery, but Jones landed the heavier punches and imposed himself for the longer decisive stretch.

The 12-round distance hurt him. Over 15, I doubt McCrory would have kept Jones off. The draw denied Colin the reward his pressure and power deserved.