3/10/07 - Jim Amato Roy Jones Jr.; Was he the Best Super Middleweight? By Jim Amato The " Super Middleweight " division with a 168 pound weight limit was conceived by the International Boxing Federation in 1984. On March 28th of that year rugged Murray Sutherland pounded out a fifteen round decision over Ernie Singletary in Atlantic City to become the first champion of this bastard weight classification. The World Boxing Association began to recognize the weight class in 1987. The World Boxing Council followed suit in 1988. Somewhere along the line the lightly regarded World Boxing Organization also gave this division its blessing. In all fairness the creation of the 168 pound class has some merit. The jump from middleweight ( 160 ) to light heavyweight ( 175 ) is a serious challenge. A few have accomplished the feat but other great middleweights like Carlos Monzon and Marvin Hagler avoided the issue. Little by little the division began to take hold. Currently the top regarded super middleweight is Joe Calzaghe although he now has a serious challenger in Mikkel Kessler. Since 1984 though the division has been graced by some great, great boxers. Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and James Toney all held the piece of the title at one point or another. Iran Barkley, Nigel Benn and Michael Nunn among others were recognized titleholders. Who was the best 168 pound boxer since the inception of the weight class in 1984. Many will favor Joe Calzaghe because of his numerous title defenses. It would be hard not to say Leonard or Hearns as their classic battle at 168 lbs. ended in a controversial draw. Really neither boxer spent a lot of time in this weight class to make a major impact. Well for my money I feel the most formidable super middleweight titleholder was Roy Jones Jr. In the two years he held the crown he made six successful defenses, all by knockout. Roy won the title by defeating unbeaten James Toney. This much anticipated Super Bout took place on November 18, 1994. Toney had won the title in 1993 with an impressive stoppage of Iran Barkley. Entering the Las Vegas ring to face Jones, Toney sported a 44-0-2 record. The fight wasn't even close. Jones scored a flash knockdown over Toney in the third round. Roy then proceeded to walk off with the title by scores of 119-108, 118-109 and 117-111. In March of 1995 Roy blitzed the capable Antoine Byrd in a single round. Then in June he dominated the popular Vinny Pazienza. The bout was halted in six rounds. Then Roy took out veteran contender Tony Thornton in three rounds. In 1996 Roy belted out the game and hard punching Merqui Sosa in two. Rough and tough Eric Lucas was next and his grit and determination took him into the twelfth and final round when the bout was finally stopped. In 2001 Lucas would win the WBC version of the title. In his sixth and final defense he took out unbeaten Bryant Brannon in the second. One month later Roy would beat Mike McCallum for light heavyweight honors. Taking the Toney fight and all six of his defenses into account, the combined record of Roy's opposition was an astounding 208-21-7. That should clearly show how dominant Roy was at this weight. Could Roy have beaten Leonard, Hearns or even Calzaghe at this weight ? Good question but it is plain that nobody other then maybe Calzaghe dominated like Roy did at 168 pounds. 
 Will we really see an Austin upset over Klitscho? By Jim Amato Saturday ( March 10, 2007 ) in Germany, Ray Austin will challenge Wladimir Klitschko who many feel is the best heavyweight in the world today. The fight will be for Klitschko's International Boxing Federation heavyweight title. First of all, I like Ray Austin. He is from my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio and he has done enough to earn a shot at the heavyweight championship. He has met anyone willing to face him. He has ducked no one. Ray has only three career losses. The last loss came in 2001 when he was stopped in nine by Attila Levin. That means it has been nearly six years since he has lost a fight ! Since the loss to Levin, Ray has compiled a 9-0-4 record against mostly " A " level competition. He fought draws with the one time highly rated Lance Whitaker and the capable Zuri Lawrence. He stopped touted prospect Jo el Scott in eight rounds. He then drew with long time contender Larry Donald. He pounded out a close decision over Owen Beck and in his last fight he drew with Sultan Ibragimov after twelve rounds in an IBF title eliminator. Ray rallied after a slow start and came on to do what many felt was enough to get the verdict over Ibragimov. Sultan then decided to challenge World Boxing Organization heavyweight titleholder Shannon Briggs leaving Ray as the # 1 challenger for Klitschko. Wladimir is 47-3 with 40 knockouts. He and Ray are both 6'6". Klitschko's reach of 81' exceeds Ray's reach by one inch. This time Wladimir won't enjoy the huge size advantage he has held over many of his opponents. In his last fight he overwhelmed the cagey but much smaller Chris Byrd to win the title. Ray is a big strong guy. He sports a record of 24-3-4. He has sixteen knockout victories. The loss to Levine was Ray's only KO loss. Wladimir's three losses have all come via the KO route. In two of those knockout defeats Klitschko was pounded badly by Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster. Obviously he did not inherit George Chuvalo's chin. DaVarryl Williamson and Sam Peter have also had him on the floor. The early rounds should go to the better skilled Klitschko as he works behind his fine left jab. I seriously doubt that Ray is going to fall early. Therefore as the fight wears on, Ray's chances get better and better. Nevertheless if Wladimir can keep Austin at the end of his jab it will be a long night for Ray. To have a chance at winning Ray must jab with Klitschko and work his way inside. When on the inside Austin needs to pound the body and rough up Wladimir who is not a very good infighter. If things are not going his way Wladimir has a tendency to lose confidence. This is when Ray must press his advantage and let his hands go. If one of Ray's heavy punches land on Wladimir's fragile jaw the whole complexion of the fight could change. Will Klitschko fall apart like he did when hurt by Sanders and Brewster or will he hold together like he gamely did against Peter ? This could be the key to the fight. Hopefully the fans will get their money's worth from the fight. Most feel that this will be a walk in the park for Wladimir. Please do not be too sure of that. We will soon find out. jimsboxing@zoominternet.net
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