Roy Jones Jr. was one of the best fighters to ever lace up the gloves, but boxing can be harder when your opponent knows your every move, as Jones found out in 1998.
Roy Jones Jr.‘s career got off to a flying start. In his first 50 fights, he had one loss, a loss which could have been entirely avoided, one which came by disqualification.
Jones struck Montell Griffin whilst he was down, forgoing his chance of a dominant win streak.
Despite the loss, it was in his 38th fight that Jones first encountered real trouble, when he faced a former friend and sparring partner.
Roy Jones Jr. was dropped by Lou Del Valle in the finale of many sparring sessions
In 1995, Jones Jr defeated Vinny Pazienza, as well as Antoine Byrd and Tony Thornton. It was this year that he was armed with a solid sparring partner in Del Valle.
The pair’s careers moved on after their sparring sessions, and Jones captured the WBC light heavyweight title in his rematch with Griffin.
Del Valle had also become a world champion, claiming the WBA Regular light heavyweight belt against Eddy Smulders.
In 1998, then, 36-1 Jones, who played pro basketball before a fight once, took on 27-1 Del Valle, and was dropped in the eighth round by a left cross from the man he shared many rounds with.
Though the sparring must’ve given Del Valle an insight into Jones’ mind, it works both ways, and Jones proved to be one step ahead of Del Valle for much of the fight, cruising to a unanimous decision win.
Roy Jones Jr. knocked out a police officer two fights later
In 1999, Jones fought 18-3-1 Richard Frazier, an NYPD officer and boxer. Frazier was far less experienced than Jones, who had struggled to find a suitable opponent.
The fight went as well for Frazier as many expected, with Jones stopping him in just the second round.
Frazier never fought again after the loss.