Roy Jones Jr vs Julio Cesar Gonzalez

Roy Jones Jr retained his collection of light-heavyweight championships with a wide unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Julio Cesar Gonzalez at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 28, 2001. Jones defended the WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO and NBA titles while also collecting the vacant IBA and WBF versions after 12 rounds in which Gonzalez was knocked down three times but refused to be stopped. Judges Peter Trematerra and Robert Byrd scored the contest 119–106, while Larry Rozadilla returned 118–107. Referee Raul Caiz Sr supervised the bout. Jones weighed 173 pounds and Gonzalez 174. The champion earned $1.5 million and the challenger $500,000. An announced crowd of 20,409 filled the arena, many having also come to see Erik Morales defend his featherweight championship against Injin Chi on the supporting programme.

Jones was 32 and generally regarded as the leading boxer in the sport regardless of weight. Since moving permanently into the light-heavyweight division, he had defeated Mike McCallum, Montell Griffin, Virgil Hill, Reggie Johnson and Eric Harding, collecting the principal championships without appearing seriously threatened. Gonzalez, a tall Mexican-born Californian, entered with 27 victories and no defeats. At 6ft 2in, he stood three inches taller than Jones and held a reach advantage of approximately five inches. He was a persistent, physically strong challenger rather than a refined defensive boxer, and his declared intention was to press Jones, make him work and test whether the champion’s celebrated speed had begun to diminish. Jones started as a 20-to-one favourite.

The first round immediately demonstrated the difficulty of Gonzalez’s assignment. He advanced behind a high guard and tried to establish the jab, but Jones remained outside his reach, changing position and waiting for the challenger to commit himself. Midway through the round, Jones suddenly stepped in with a short left to the jaw. Gonzalez went down, more surprised than badly injured, and rose without difficulty. Jones did not rush after him. He returned to the outside, where his quicker feet enabled him to dictate when the exchanges began and ended. Gonzalez continued moving forward, but much of his work struck Jones’s gloves, forearms or elbows. The champion’s defensive method was economical. He kept his hands high, leaned away from the longer punches and replied only when the target was clear.

Gonzalez enjoyed his best spell in the second round, which all three judges awarded to him. He maintained a steadier attack, forced Jones to give ground and landed several punches while the champion was near the ropes. Jones remained comfortable and was never hurt, but he spent much of the round studying the challenger rather than taking the initiative. Gonzalez also received the third round on one official card, although Jones had begun to find the target more regularly. The champion used single jabs, hooks from unexpected angles and quick right hands delivered before Gonzalez could set himself. Gonzalez continued to press, but his punches were generally too slow and too widely separated. Jones could see them coming and either blocked them or moved beyond range.

By the fourth, Jones had settled completely. He worked increasingly to the body, striking beneath Gonzalez’s elbows and then moving away before the challenger could answer. Gonzalez remained willing and physically strong, but he was being made to miss repeatedly. Early in the fifth, Jones produced the second knockdown. A sharp left hand caught Gonzalez as he came forward and sent him to the canvas. This time the challenger was plainly hurt. He rose, gathered himself and resumed the attack, showing considerable determination during the second half of the round. Jones again declined to pursue an immediate finish. He later explained that he respected Gonzalez’s strength and intended to reduce him gradually rather than take unnecessary chances against a larger opponent.

The middle rounds were controlled almost entirely by Jones. Gonzalez kept advancing and threw more punches, but his activity produced little clean scoring. Jones remained near the ropes for periods, inviting the challenger to open up before catching the blows on his arms and countering with short hooks or straight rights. Late in the sixth, Gonzalez landed a glancing punch to the face, prompting Jones to smile rather than retreat. The gesture reflected the general character of the contest. Gonzalez was working hard but could not generate sufficient speed or accuracy to disturb the champion. Jones was not fighting at a frantic pace. He conserved his movement, selected his punches, and repeatedly forced Gonzalez to begin his attacks from too far away.

Jones increased his output in the seventh and eighth, striking to the body and occasionally driving Gonzalez backwards with combinations. The challenger’s face began to show the effects of the cleaner punches, although he remained sound on his legs and continued to force the fight. His principal achievement was that he would not become discouraged. Many of Jones’s previous opponents had grown reluctant after discovering how difficult it was to land upon him. Gonzalez kept trying, even when the champion’s counters made his efforts costly. His bravery, however, could not compensate for the difference in ability. Jones landed at a high rate while Gonzalez connected with only a small proportion of the punches he threw.

Near the end of the ninth, Jones hurt Gonzalez with a rapid attack to the head. Gonzalez backed away and held his guard high as the champion attempted to follow, but the bell arrived before Jones could force another knockdown. The tenth and 11th continued in the same manner. Gonzalez advanced, Jones moved along the perimeter, and the champion interrupted each approach with the jab, left hook or lead right. Jones was occasionally content to remain close and allow Gonzalez to work against his guard, but the challenger could not land with sufficient force to alter the pattern. By then the outcome was beyond reasonable doubt. Gonzalez required a knockout, while Jones did not need to expose himself in pursuit of one.

Jones nevertheless finished strongly. In the 12th, he increased the pace and drove Gonzalez backwards with several clean blows. A right hand sent the challenger down for the third time. Gonzalez rose once more and survived the remaining seconds, although he was exhausted and holding as the final bell sounded. His durability had carried him through a contest in which he had been outclassed from the opening round. Jones landed 192 of 375 punches, a connection rate of 51 per cent. Gonzalez landed 91 of 609, only 15 per cent. The challenger had thrown 234 more punches yet landed 101 fewer, figures which accurately described the champion’s control of range, timing and defence.

The decision was inevitable. Trematerra and Byrd each gave Jones ten of the 12 rounds, with the three knockdowns widening their totals to 119–106. Rozadilla awarded Gonzalez the second and third rounds but otherwise agreed with the general verdict, scoring 118–107. Gonzalez accepted the result without complaint and acknowledged that Jones had been both quicker and stronger than expected. He had attempted to push the champion backwards and had landed occasional punches, but none caused visible damage. Jones had boxed with discipline, concentrating on the body and refusing to become careless against an unbeaten challenger with substantial physical advantages. It was not among his most dramatic performances, but it was one of complete command. Gonzalez later recovered to win the WBO light-heavyweight championship from Dariusz Michalczewski in Germany, a result which added weight to Jones’s victory. On this night, however, the difference between a capable contender and the leading boxer of the period was unmistakable.

Julio Cesar Gonzalez was unbeaten in 27 fights, stood 6ft 2in and had already shown plenty of bottle by climbing off the floor three times to beat Julian Letterlough. He was not a bad challenger. The problem was that he was facing Roy Jones Jr at the height of his powers, when Jones had already dealt with James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Virgil Hill and Reggie Johnson. Gonzalez was bigger, but size means very little when you cannot make your opponent stand still.

Jones dropped him in the first round with a short left and put him down again in the fifth. After that, the fight became a lesson in distance. Gonzalez kept coming forward and throwing, but he was chasing shadows. Jones would draw the lead, lean away by an inch, then clip him with a hook or right hand before sliding off at an angle. That is not running. That is making a man pay for every mistake.

There were spells when the crowd became restless because Jones refused to take silly chances. I understood it. Gonzalez was tough, long and still dangerous enough to punish carelessness. Jones was content to break him up, work the body and stay in complete control. He put Gonzalez down for a third time in the final round and won by scores of 119–106 twice and 118–107.

I did not argue with those cards. Gonzalez showed courage and later proved his quality by beating Dariusz Michalczewski, but against Jones he looked painfully slow. Roy’s speed gets all the attention, yet his judgement was the real business. He knew exactly when to strike, when to move and when not to take liberties. It was one-sided because Jones made a capable fighter look ordinary.