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Jones looks to fight Holyfield
20/03/2003 12:30 - (SA)
New York - Roy Jones says former world champion Evander Holyfield is likely to be his first opponent in defence of the heavyweight title, but added that Mike Tyson remains a big-paying possibility.
Jones defeated John Ruiz by unanimous decision on March 1 to capture the World Boxing Association title that Ruiz had taken from Holyfield in 2001.
Now Jones, the first former middleweight champion to claim the heavyweight crown in more than a century, said he plans to surrender his undisputed world light heavyweight title and give Holyfield a bout to regain part of the crown.
"It's a very exciting fight. I think Evander will fight me harder than anyone else because he's as proud as a lion," Jones told USA Today.
Holyfield lost his most recent fight, to fellow American Chris Byrd last December for the vacant International Boxing Federation title.
"Everyone has written him off," Jones said. "They say he's 40, he lost to Byrd in his last fight, but trust me, he's not done. He would come to win."
Jones, 34, is 48-1. Holyfield, 40, is 38-6 with two drawn. While Holyfield is smaller than many of his heavyweight rivals, he would have a size edge on Jones.
"Roy is interested in the fight, and Evander is interested in fighting for any of the three major titles and fighting Roy for his," Holyfield lawyer Jim Thomas said.
World Boxing Council champion Lennox Lewis of Britain is unlikely to book a third fight with Holyfield, but his huge size has Jones saying that a fight with him would not deliver the excitement of fights against Holyfield.
"So far everyone is leaning toward that fight," Jones promoter Murad Muhammad said.
Even as organisers toyed with the idea of an October 4 fight with Holyfield at Madison Square Garden, Jones refused to rule out a possible fight with Tyson, whose manager Shelly Finkel has already opened talks with Jones' camp.
"When they raise the dollars up, the danger starts to come down," Jones said.
While saying that he would "entertain" the notion of making a mandatory defence against Ukraine's Vitali Klitschko by September as the WBA demends in order to keep the crown, Jones rates Holyfield and Tyson as more likely foes.
"I don't know for sure yet what we will do," Jones said. "I will see what looks best. I like the Holyfield fight but if Tyson is there we will look at that. But if I fight him, it has to be big money, 100 million dollars.
"I don't need that much for Holyfield."
Jones told Muhammad to look into fight details with Holyfield, Tyson and South Africa's Corrie Sanders, who beat Ukraine's Wladimir Klitschko for the World Boxing Organisation crown earlier this month.
Jones has until April 15 to make a decision on whether to keep his light heavyweight title or his heavyweight crown, but having struggled to find foes at the lower weight, his path will likely be to keep the heavyweight crown.
Thomas said Holyfield would want the title to be on the line should he fight Jones. "Assuming we can get over the WBA issue, I'm very optimistic we will be able to do this," Thomas said.
- AFX
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