Roy Jones Jr. was stopped five times in his 76-fight-long career, but the very first KO came at the hands of a man who would become one of Jr.’s biggest rivals.
Roy Jones Jr. is widely regarded as one of the most successful boxers of all time, and a true Hall of Famer, but there was one man who stained Jones’ record forever.
In 1997, Jones Jr. was disqualified against Montell Griffin for striking him whilst he was taking a knee. This action in a fight Jones was winning cost him what would’ve ended up being a 50-fight winning streak, as he didn’t lose since that fight until one fateful day in 2004.
Roy Jones Jr. was knocked out by Antonio Tarver in the second fight of their legendary trilogy
In 2003, Jones Jr., who KO’d a police officer-turned-boxer, picked up his 49th victory over Antonio Tarver in a unification of light-heavyweight titles.
Jones Jr. was coming off winning the heavyweight title from John Ruiz, and defeated Tarver via a razor-close majority decision.
With the fight being so close, a rematch seemed to be the obvious choice, but a choice Jones would soon regret, as despite winning the first round, he was knocked out viciously in the second, making Jones and Tarver 1-1.
The defeat began a losing streak for Jones, who lost by KO in his very next fight to Glen Johnson, before losing once more to Tarver by unanimous decision.
In their three fights, Tarver ended up on top against the legendary Jones Jr.
Roy Jones Jr. lost to 0-0-0 fighter in comeback at the age of 54
After retiring in 2018 with a win over Scott Sigmon, Jones Jr., who knocked down Joe Calzaghe, returned in 2020 in an exhibition bout against Mike Tyson.
Interestingly, it was on the undercard of this fight that Jake Paul‘s boxing career kicked off. The fight ended in a draw, and Jones Jr. didn’t fight since, until 2023, when he faced Anthony Pettis in a professional fight.
Pettis was a former MMA star who had faced Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier, Donald Cerrone, Nate Diaz, and more, and was making his debut in boxing against the aged legend.
Despite his age, Jones Jr. gave a good account of himself and arguably won the fight. Unfortunately for him, the judges saw it differently, and Jones was handed his tenth loss, via majority decision.