Roy Jones Jr. was a formidable force in boxing and was on the right side of a victory that for his opponent, meant the end of a fairytale run.
Roy Jones Jr. defeated James Toney in 1994, a career-defining victory that led to a fight against Antoine Byrd, and then a fight against a 40-5 fighter who had won more than just in the ring, he had defied death itself.
Though he could defy death and defy the odds of returning to boxing, he could not defy the power and skill of Roy Jones Jr.
Roy Jones Jr. put an end to Vinny Pazienza’s fairytale boxing run
In 1991, Vinny Pazienza was involved in a serious car accident that would’ve been career-ending for anyone.
Despite being told by doctors that he would never box again, Pazienza defied their advice, and trained with a neck brace on, slowly but surely rebuilding himself as a boxer.
He ended up being out of the ring for just over a year, before returning and making his mark on boxing for good.
Within two years of his return to the sport, Pazienza did the unthinkable. He defeated the legendary Roberto Duran by unanimous decision.
The fairytale didn’t end there, though, as despite defying the odds time after time, he managed to not only defeat Duran once, but twice, winning again by unanimous decision in their 1995 rematch.
Unfortunately for Pazienza, all good things must come to an end, and he was matched up against Jones in his next fight after the statement win.
Jones, who went 1-1 with Bernard Hopkins, handed Pazienza his first loss since returning to the sport via TKO in the sixth round. Pazienza was challenging for Jones’ world title, and a win would’ve truly been a fairytale ending.
Roy Jones Jr. broke a record in the fourth round of his fight with Vinny Pazienza
In the fourth round, Jones, who was KO’d by Danny Green, set a record as he became the first boxer in CompuBox history to go an entire round without being hit by his opponent.
Pazienza failed to land a single punch, but reportedly only threw five in the entirety of the round.