Roy Jones Jr. Interview Part Two; “Trinidad challenged me, and I do not back down from a challenge!”
 INTERVIEW By Benny Henderson Jr (Sept 11, 2007) Doghouse Boxing
Seven-time world champion Roy Jones Jr. 51-4 (38) is set to open up the New Year with a bang as he takes on the three-time world champion and power punching Puerto Rican Felix Trinidad 42-2 (35) at a catch weight of 170-pounds at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City.
‘Tito’ is coming off a two year layoff after losing out to Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright unanimously in May of 2005, while Roy Jones has banged out two back to back victories since three straight losses. While most in the fight
world including fans and media alike believe this fight should have been made year ago, Roy believes there is a time for everything, and this scheduled throw down is going to be an entertaining knock down, drag out fight. In our first installment Roy spoke on his eighteen years in the boxing biz, this go around it is all Trinidad talk and what the future holds for Jones Jr. himself, enjoy.
Benny Henderson Jr.: You have the Trinidad fight coming up, just give the readers your thoughts the match-up.
Roy Jones Jr.: I am looking forward to the match-up, it is a wonderful match-up for boxing. He has knockout power, I have knockout power so that is always a beautiful thing when you have two people in there that can knock each other out. I am looking forward to it.
BH: He is coming into this fight from a two year lay off; in your honest opinion as a business decision is that a smart thing to do. Come in after the lay off and take a big fight as such?
RJJ: Yep, he is at the end of his career, I just come off a year lay off and defeated an undefeated fighter. I knew what I was doing. My thing is this, he wants to try to prove to himself that he can win big fights; he wants to be able to say that he beat Roy Jones Jr. That is his whole goal.
BH: You, the fight world as well as I know all that you have accomplished in the ring, so what do you have to gain with this fight with Trinidad?
RJJ: I do not have a whole lot to gain, but I have to do what nobody has been able to do, I have to try to take him out inside four rounds, I cannot let it go past four rounds, because if I do I have not anything bigger than anybody else did. I have to prove to myself, because if I do not knock him out with in four rounds than I haven’t done anything. Secondly, I cannot back down from a challenge, Trinidad challenged me, he said that he wanted to fight one of the best of all times, he wanted to fight Roy Jones Jr. when he said that I knew that he had a lot of respect for me, but he wants to see if he can get lucky and knock me out real quick.
BH: You said that he is at the end of his career, so in that case do you feel that he is looking for the big one.
RJJ: It’s a big one because of the risk but also it is a big one because it is one that people would want to see, and he knows that. He is looking for a big one, but at the same time it is like De La Hoya, to me De La Hoya knew that he could not out box Floyd Mayweather Jr. but it was a big fight and he knew people wanted to see it so he thought that he would try it and hoped that he got lucky. He knew he would not win but he was going to try to see if he could get lucky. He did not get lucky but he won in every other aspect anyway, he made more money than Mayweather, it was a great publicity stunt for everybody. But Tito is not like him, Tito is going to try to come in and win, he thinks he has a chance.
BH; How has camp been?
RJJ: It is going pretty well; right now it is really about getting the weight down.
BH: If you could say anything to Felix Trinidad before the fight, what exactly would it be?
RJJ: I appreciate the challenge, I’m a man, I’m a champion and I can’t deny a challenge. I accept the challenge from a guy who is wanting to come after me; he has the heart to do it so I take my hat off to him. I appreciate the big fight because this fight would not have happened if he would not have challenged me. I am proud of that, people are interested so I am like hell, let’s do it.
BH: You have done everything Roy, you have been in the business for a long time, I cannot start naming the titles that you have won as well as the awards and such because it would take all damn day long. (Roy Laughs.) You have accomplished so much in the business of boxing, so what else is there to prove, what else is in this sport for Roy Jones Jr.?
RJJ: To prove that I can get back to myself before I retire, I want to go out being myself. I want to go out with God teaching me bringing me back down making me be myself again. I don’t want to go out being the Roy that I have grown to be, I want to go out being the Roy that God wants me to be, the Roy I was when I first started. And that is what I am back to being right now, if I go out being this way then I am good.
I would like to thank Bob Carroll and Charlie Bernard as well as Team Jones for their help on setting up this interview. And a thanks goes out to Roy for his time and thoughts.
PART ONE: INTERVIEW WITH ROY JONES JR
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