Roy Jones Jr. Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Childhood And Early Life

American professional boxer, actor, and rapper Roy Levesta Jones Jr. was born on the 16 January 1969 in Pensacola, Florida.

Rise To Fame

Coached by his father, Jones took up boxing when he was young. In 1984 Roy Jones Jr. won the U.S. National Junior Olympics in his division. Two years later he won the U.S. National Golden Gloves title and followed that up with another Golden Gloves win the following year.

Roy Jones Jr. was chosen to be a member of the 1988 USA Olympic Boxing Team for the Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. He won silver in the light middleweight boxing event which some felt was a controversial decision. The opinion was that he should have won gold.

Career

In 1989 Roy Jones Jr. turned professional and won his first match when he knocked out Ricky Randall in Round 2. He won his first title in 1992 when he became the WBC Continental Americas super middleweight champion. In 1993 he won the IBF middleweight title when he beat Bernard Hopkins. He successfully defended the title in 1994. He took the super middleweight title when he beat James Toney in a marathon twelve round right.

Roy Jones Jr. made boxing history in 1996 when he retained his IBF super middleweight title. He then went on to win the WBC light heavyweight. By winning the fight, he became first former middleweight champion in over a hundred years to gain a heavyweight title.

In 2003 Roy Jones Jr. won the WBA heavyweight title in a match with John Ruiz.

The following year Jones was knocked out by Antonio Tarver, and that fight marked a turning point in his boxing career as he began losing fights. He had a victory in 2011 when he won the Universal Boxing organization Inter-Continental cruiserweight title.

Musical Career

In 2001 Roy Jones Jr. released a rap music album Round One: The Album as well as a debut single. Y’All Must’ve Forgot. He was also part of a group, the Body Head Bangerz.

Controversies

Jones’s loss to South Korean Park Si-Hun at the 1988 South Korean Summer Olympics games was controversial with some experts questioning the judge’s decision. Along with his silver medal, Roy Jones Jr. was also awarded the Val Barker Award for the most outstanding boxer at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games.

Later Years

Roy Jones Jr. runs a company Square Ring Promotions which promotes boxing as well as mixed martial arts events.

Awards And Achievements

Roy Jones Jr. was The Boxing Writers Association of America’s Fighter of the Decade for the 1990s. In 2003 he was named Fight of the Year by the World Boxing Association