Roy Jones Jr. fought the top names of boxing during his career, as he became a four-division world champion.
The legend of the sport is a former ‘Fighter of the Year’, as well as Jones Jr. winning a ‘Knockout of the Year’ award.
Jones Jr. boasts wins over fighters such as James Toney, John Ruiz, and Antonio Tarver, as he finished his career with a record of 66-10.
Despite fighting the very best in boxing during his career, Jones Jr. said that he didn’t want to fight one of his previous opponents due to health concerns.
Roy Jones Jr. did not want to fight Vinny Pazienza due to his opponent’s neck injuries
In 1995, Jones Jr. fought and defeated Vinny Pazienza in Atlantic City. Defending his IBF World Super Middleweight title, Jones Jr. stopped his opponent in the sixth round.
Although it was an impressive and memorable performance from Jones Jr. he recently revealed that he did not want to compete with the ‘Pazmanian Devil’.
In an interview with All The Smoke Fight, both Jones Jr. and Pazienza sat down with one another. Speaking on Pazienza’s fights with Roberto Duran, Jones Jr. gave credit to his former opponent for beating ‘El Cholo’ twice.
“After a broken neck, as a lightweight, you going to fight one of the best fighters ever, and you do it still.”
In November 1991, Pazienza was involved in a car collision as a passenger which resulted in one dislocated and two fractured vertebrae in his neck.
Jones Jr. said that he did not want to fight Pazienza in 1995, in fear that he would injure the fighter’s neck. “I didn’t want to fight him at all… I know Vinnie too much, I like Vinnie too much.”
The fighter then added that he was crying after the pair had their fight, as Jones Jr. said, “I was afraid. I didn’t want to hurt his neck again.” However, Pazienza went on to have 14 more fights have facing Jones Jr.
Vinny Pazienza could not reclaim world title after neck injury
Pazienza was just 28 years old when he suffered his neck injury and had a professional record of 30-5. At the time of the car accident, the American was the WBA World Super Welterweight champion.
A TKO win over Gilbert Delé in October 1991 would make Pazienza a two-division champion, having claimed lightweight gold in 1987.
Despite picking up wins over Duran and facing Jones Jr. Pazienza could not reclaim a world title. Retiring in 2004, the ‘Pazmanian Devil’ had a final career tally of 50-10.