- 2 months ago
Roy Jones Jr defends the undisputed Light Heavyweight Title against Richard Hall on HBO Boxing
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00:00calendar may 20 when boxing after dark features heavyweights olig maskaya facing derrick jefferson
00:00:06cory saunders taking on hasim rahman and june 10 when hbo's hot new boxing series ko nation returns
00:00:13with hasselino freitas meeting lemuel nelson hbo the heart and soul of boxing real sports with
00:00:19bryant gumbo premieres may 15 among the stories you'll see lesbians interest in women's golf
00:00:25and how the lpga and other sports organizations are dealing with the growing devotion of their
00:00:30newest fans real sports where nothing is out of bounds then in july sports of the 20th century
00:00:36presents when it was a game three the latest installment of the award-winning series
00:00:41this time presenting a colorful and reminiscent look at baseball in the 60s
00:00:46indianapolis in may certainly one of the sports competition capitals of the world
00:00:57and as lively a spot as can be found in america this time of year today it is not automobile racing
00:01:04which galvanizes the midwest and brings it to indy but rather a chance to see the unanimous choice as
00:01:11the best fighter pound for pound in the sport roy jones as he prepares to defend his title in a
00:01:17spectacular new basketball field house well there were questions for a while but no more about jones's
00:01:23status as the number one fighter in the sport but the questions which haunt his career are those of the
00:01:30what might have been variety what kind of a mark could roy jones have made on the history of the sport
00:01:36if he had had a chance to fight the kinds of opponents so many of his contemporaries have found
00:01:44in the colorful animals of boxing truly legendary fighters have all had one thing in common
00:01:50they've all been in fights where they've met their match and still came out on top
00:01:54muhammad ali did it with joe frazier sugar ray leonard with tommy hearns and aaron prior with alexis arguello
00:02:01you never had that friction or have never rubbed up against a great fighter you're penalized
00:02:08you're penalized in memory you're penalized in records and you're penalized in your placement
00:02:13in history so how do you judge a fighter who hasn't faced that type of challenge but who has defeated the
00:02:20best fighters in three different weight divisions how do you judge a fighter who's won 15 championship
00:02:26fight but hasn't had a defining trial by five how do you judge roy jones jr
00:02:34roy jones jr has not had that partner to define his greatness i think that roy jones jr's true
00:02:40greatness may never be realized because there may not be an opponent out there that you can gauge his
00:02:47greatness with roy jones disagrees with his current place in boxing history he believes he has faced
00:02:53world-class opposition but skillfully reduced them and picked them apart he believes he's been too
00:02:59good for his own good take a person like bernard hopkins who hasn't lost a fight since 1993 who beat
00:03:06him he's super fast gets very hard has every conceivable skill take a person like james who was
00:03:12knocking out everybody he came across who was considered pound pound the best fighter at that time
00:03:17who beat him easy none other than shut him down
00:03:23left hook and down goes tony
00:03:25virgin hill he held the light headweight division what nine years he was on top of that who stopped
00:03:31him with a body shot first time virgin hill has ever been knocked out when you get to where you are
00:03:38that far ahead of your competition it's very difficult to have someone to rub up against nobody else can
00:03:45come close to you it's a problem that few all-time great fighters have ever faced but it's something
00:03:50former heavyweight champion larry holmes knows about all too well he didn't fight anybody oh where
00:03:57you been fighting anybody i fought the best out there i held the title for seven and a half years longer
00:04:02than anybody and so they don't really want to give me my just due like holmes roy came along just a few
00:04:09years after some legendary fighters who might have helped to define him people are going to say that
00:04:15he couldn't beat sugar ray linda or marvin haggard or tommy harris or whoever you want to say but those
00:04:22people are not in this time he can't turn the clock back and say it they're going to do them like they
00:04:27do me they're not going to recognize him until he can no longer fight at least holmes rallied back from
00:04:34adversity on numerous occasions roy jones has never had to do it and he may need to find bigger
00:04:40challenges to create that sort of adversity maybe even by stepping up to heavyweight i'm not taking
00:04:46those stupid chances i don't have to they want to see me bleed but i'm not they want to see me down
00:04:51and out i'm not going that way if i can have it man they remember me as one of the smartest people
00:04:55to ever come in this game smart maybe too smart to be unforgettable the only place for roy jones jr is a
00:05:02place to be known as a guy who maybe beat his competition by the widest margins of any fighter
00:05:09in the history of the sport i've written books on 100 greatest boxes of all time and great fights
00:05:14of all time as of now i can't put roy in either of them for now roy jones has set a new precedent
00:05:21for competitive margins over his opponents but will that be enough to help us remember his greatness
00:05:27and we bring you back live to ringside larry let's pick up right off the theme of the feature piece
00:05:36roy jones says that he's fighting against a mandatory challenger in what odds makers say is a mismatch
00:05:42simply because there are no serious contenders in his division true or false it's true but it's also
00:05:50false it's true that there are no serious challenges for roy jones as a light heavyweight
00:05:56but there are serious challenges if he wants them if he wants to do what the great dominant fighters
00:06:04of history have all done they've moved up in weight looking for challenges in a recent magazine article
00:06:12roy jones modestly was quoted as saying he's a combination of foreman's punch ali's speed robinson's
00:06:19skill and haggler's toughness even allowing for some poetic egotism that's some package and so fans
00:06:30are entitled to ask if that's true why is he fighting fighters who on their best night don't have a chance
00:06:38to beat him on his worst night i think he left out merchants incisiveness well george roy jones
00:06:48scarcely ever loses a round much less a fight hall a hundred to one underdog is regarded as a puncher so
00:06:57should he just come out trying to land something big from the beginning yeah i look at all fights for
00:07:01good reasons zero to zero once that bell rings any guy has a chance i learned the hard way you get out
00:07:08there give it all you got you can only do one thing win the title you don't have it in the first place
00:07:12when you get in the ring he can win it just go for it that's right because he's in the ring right he's
00:07:17in the ring one man is no different from the other all right let's take a look let's take a look at the
00:07:23tail of the tape for roy jones jr against richard hall and you can see that the clock is ticking on
00:07:30jones's bid for historic greatness at age 31 he gives up four inches in height to an unusually tall
00:07:38light heavyweight and four inches in reach they weighed in a pound and a half and a half pound
00:07:43under the limit and on our unofficial hbo scale by tonight roy jones has put on eight and a half pounds
00:07:50and hall has put on four and a half punch stat numbers larry take a look at how roy jones has done
00:07:58against conventional fighters and southpaws offensively the numbers are virtually the same
00:08:04no difference at all in how he's how many punches thrown or landed defensively however southpaws have a
00:08:13very difficult time landing on roy jones that's why he has beaten them so decisively
00:08:21rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer harold letterman okay jim as you see on the
00:08:26screen the roy jones jr richard hall fight will be under the unified rules of the association of
00:08:31boxing commissions but jim i gotta report that around eight o'clock tonight the world boxing council
00:08:36showed up and said that unless one of their judges is used that they were going to take the title
00:08:41away from roy jones and they weren't going to sanction this so the indiana commission has
00:08:45been playing musical judges with us since eight o'clock the judges will be gary merit from indiana
00:08:52alejandro roisin from mexico and david harris from boston texas as absurd as it was for one of the
00:09:00so-called governing bodies to strip lennox lewis of his heavyweight crown it would be a hundred times
00:09:05more absurd for a governing body to strip roy jones of the light heavyweight title here's richard hall
00:09:11as he enters to try to make his bid to strip roy jones of the light heavyweight title the only way
00:09:17it should be stripped with his fists paul is an interesting character with an interesting story
00:09:25we'll see how interesting a fighter he is comes from jamaica where he was he was uh orphaned or
00:09:35his family abandoned him when he was very young at the age of 12 and 13 he was living alone on the
00:09:43beaches hustling the living eventually found his way into a gym tough life as a teenager he was
00:09:52momentarily charged with attempted murder when he stabbed an uncle who as it turned out had abused
00:09:58him brutally for years when the police found out the real story they dropped the charges against hall
00:10:04fortunately for him he's found a way to make a living with his fists and arrives here with a big
00:10:10chance against roy jones richard hall is a puncher against nondescript opposition he's got 24 wins and 25
00:10:18fights 23 of them by ko he's also a southpaw as five of jones's last six opponents have been
00:10:27and here comes roy
00:10:42and you can hear that roy has been adopted by the populace of indianapolis well as i said before jim
00:11:01it's a light heavyweight town marvin johnson was a very good light heavyweight champion back in the 80s
00:11:09from indianapolis there were storm warnings here last night one of those summer lightning festivals that
00:11:15often show up in this part of the midwest and now the storm warning for hall is being sounded by the
00:11:22and the crowd as jones arrives at ringside
00:11:37and the record for roy jones
00:11:5641 wins the one loss by disqualification against griffin when he hit griffin while he was down
00:12:02that was avenged on the first round knockout one of the 33 jones has scored in his career
00:12:10and we remind you as you watch this telecast you can log on to www.hbo.com boxing
00:12:16to score each round of this fight you can have a live chat with boxing journalist steve farhood
00:12:21after the telecast is over tonight and while online please participate participate in the website
00:12:26question roy jones was named the boxing writers association's fighter of the decade was he the
00:12:31fighter of the 90s or should that honor have gone to oscar de la hoya or evander holyfield or felix
00:12:37trinidad or lennox lewis or any other fighter you might write in give us your vote we'll give you the
00:12:43results later on in the telecast now let's go up the ring announcer michael buffer for the pre-fight
00:12:49introductions so many people in the ring who are having trouble getting michael buffer's attention
00:12:59and jones decides to dance with richard hall
00:13:08i haven't seen roy this exercise before a fight
00:13:13new york referee wayne kelly in there to separate the fighters excuse me larry
00:13:19i don't know what triggered that did you see ladies and gentlemen m m sports and murad
00:13:26muhammad promoter in association with square ring caesars indiana the jordan brand and pacers sports
00:13:34and entertainment present 12 rounds of boxing for the undisputed light heavyweight championship of the
00:13:43world
00:13:47functioned by the indiana boxing commission the three judges assigned to ringside scoring this bout
00:13:54on the 10-point bus system will be dave harris gary merit and alejandro roisin and when the bell rings
00:14:03your referee in charge of the action wayne kelly and now for the largest crowd ever to attend boxing in
00:14:10indiana indiana and the millions watching around the world on hbo world championship boxing ladies and
00:14:18gentlemen from conseco field house let's get ready to rumble
00:14:25introducing first fighting out of the blue corner wearing black trimmed with white and weighing in
00:14:41at 174 and one half pounds he brings an excellent professional record to the ring tonight consisting of
00:14:4825 bouts 24 victories including 23 knockouts with only one loss ladies and gentlemen from fort lauderdale florida
00:14:58here is the number one ranked wba light heavyweight challenger in the world richard the destroyer
00:15:08and across the ring fighting out of the red corner wearing silver and black and weighing in at 173 and one half pounds
00:15:24in 1988 while deserving olympic gold he captured the silver medal since then as a professional his record stands at 41 victories including
00:15:3433 knockouts with only one loss and that avenged while garnering four world titles and being universally
00:15:43recognized as pound for pound the best in the world today ladies and gentlemen from pensacola florida
00:15:53presenting the four-time world champion the reigning and depending undisputed light heavyweight
00:16:02champion of the world roy jones jr
00:16:10richard roy boxing for the undisputed light heavyweight championship of the world
00:16:33world i expect a clean fight obey my commands at all times protect yourself at all times shake hands
00:16:39come out boxing at the bell good luck 12 rounds
00:16:45conventional wisdom is that light heavyweights have as much chance of beating roy jones as of winning
00:16:52three hundred three hundred million dollars in the lottery let's see if hall has a better chance than that
00:17:00he comes from jamaica and jamaica has produced some good rough tough price fighters over the years
00:17:10and roy himself in discussing this fight yesterday was respectful enough to say hey he's a big puncher
00:17:17i'm certainly going to be careful not to walk into anything in the first few rounds but they come out
00:17:21swinging away richard hall has got the longer he's got the better reach so what he should do is take
00:17:28advantage of that and keep the fight at close range if he does roy has much of a chance wait i
00:17:34don't get it if he's got the long reach i'm sorry at long range okay you want to keep the fight
00:17:40far away don't let roy jones get close at all for what
00:17:43after his last fight against david telesco jones said following the fight that he had
00:17:51broken a bone in his wrist three weeks before the fight and fought with a damaged left hand
00:17:56he now says that the left hand is 90 percent healed not 100 90 percent healed as he comes into this
00:18:02back right hand leaves land twice to the face of hall crowd loves it
00:18:09when you're that tall as hall is you don't want to do anything but just stick your hands out you don't
00:18:13have to have power just accurate just keep them out there little left hook inside momentarily wobbled
00:18:20hall jones lands an uppercut with the right hand hall reaching with the left
00:18:28straight right hand up the middle by jones
00:18:30left hook lands and hall is wobbling legs wobbling under richard hall as jones sizes him up
00:18:40minute and a half left to go straight right hand lands jones was on his back foot for that one
00:18:46now he puts power behind the right hand now he puts power behind the right hand and down goes hall
00:18:54second knockdown of hall's career jones finally finds a neutral corner hall was up
00:19:00before the count began hall had better hold on just hold it he's not going to do that hold on and get your
00:19:08head clear he's not going to do it george he's going to keep throwing punches if jones comes in
00:19:12i'm saying that's what he should do yep no i mean he hasn't he hasn't been in this kind of trouble
00:19:20before he doesn't know he's he's knocked out all of his opponents he thinks he can keep swinging
00:19:25against jones the one thing about roy jones he has not been a good finisher in a long time
00:19:31well he hadn't had a first round knockout since 1997 when he knocked out montel griffin and you've
00:19:37talked about his refusal to commit to finishing the way the big punchers in the division did there
00:19:42there is no three knockdown rule remember that thank you larry good point because we're about
00:19:48to see a third knockdown if roy if richard i mean if roy goes after it nope round one is going to come
00:19:56to a close with hall still in the fight roy gave the crowd what they came to see
00:20:10he's hitting you with a right hand okay all right okay don't don't pause out he's throwing the right
00:20:17hand at you now stay down low come on i told you you're gonna have to take some big shots
00:20:22from he's just strong early now do basic stuff circle him don't stay in front of him use your jab
00:20:29now you got to move your head quick okay all right okay roll up under okay
00:20:35customarily roy jones will go after a guy in the first round test him to see
00:20:41how available he is to be hit if he is available he'll go for him if he's not
00:20:47he'll step back and try to break him down hall is a very big target for a light heavyweight at 6-3
00:20:59aaron snowell gave richard hall excellent advice between rounds he said i reminded you
00:21:04you were gonna have to take some big shots now get out there and circle and move your head that's
00:21:09what hall has to do to try to stay away from jones snowell suggesting that roy's power will diminish
00:21:15as the rounds go by roy takes no chances he always keeps some power and reserve so he will not burn
00:21:21himself out he's right in that area but hall he gave him bad advice to move his head you got to
00:21:28stand up tall don't even put your head down there in his range use your height hall lands a right hand
00:21:34hand to the body jones misses with the left and now rakes hall to the right another short right hand
00:21:41lands inside hall starting to take the right hand just a little better than in round one
00:21:48don't want to take them too much too many of those though
00:21:51hall is getting bending his knees he should bring his legs a little closer together and be tall
00:21:56he's getting right down there where the power of roy jones is
00:22:03why move your head when all you got to do is just stand up straight and your head is not there
00:22:07and he's not circling he is remembering the jab
00:22:10and now hall feels aggressive and goes to jones's body against the ropes
00:22:27he's trying to get a little air now because he's throwing those punches up high
00:22:44yep he's winded and when you're in training those hand pads everything is at your level
00:22:51you start reaching up high takes a lot of wind to do that jones smiling after he scored the uppercut
00:22:59he scored the uppercut
00:23:08hall may be convincing himself now that he's weathered the early storm jones having gotten a
00:23:14little rest steps in to begin firing again uppercut missed
00:23:22jones is pretty clever he gets lower than even he is supposed to to make his guy reach down at him
00:23:28and if he can get him reaching down he can land uppercuts that's what jones trying to do duck duck
00:23:33and throw an uppercut uh here's the pattern that has has bedeviled jones from time to time in his career
00:23:39as he backs into a corner and invites hall in and hall is landing good body punches
00:23:58body shot by jones hall reaching the land the left to the body
00:24:03gets through round two
00:24:10all right baby good round good round you think you can get to his body
00:24:14let's work his body a little bit let's work his body a little bit
00:24:20so much ain't gonna be able to hold up with them clean shots
00:24:25and you shoot that left that right hand to the body try to slide out to your right
00:24:29don't come back and just sit up in front of him
00:24:32i'm cool i'm cool listen to me listen to me richard don't sit in front of him start circling that
00:24:39go left go right you start boxing over there see he's waiting for you in the in the pocket the
00:24:44counter remember we worked on that get that jab work in boxing roy jones has seldom had an opportunity
00:24:52to look as spectacular as he has in these first two rounds
00:25:00get that water up
00:25:05in the second round richard hall began almost imperceptibly to get into the fight a little
00:25:11bit by compu box numbers he landed 14 of 59 punches jones 25 of 45 you heard alton merkerson
00:25:18asking roy to begin working to the body in this round
00:25:22the good thing about the last round for hall he made roy jones move backwards as the bell was ringing
00:25:28roy has turned southpaw for the moment as he does from time to time
00:25:34against david telesco when roy turned southpaw he was able to land both left-hand shots and some lead
00:25:45right hands
00:25:48one day is going to be bad for roy because he waits for that one shot knock you down
00:25:54and let you recover you got to land three and four shots in the big weights there's a big left hook to
00:25:59the body by jones and a right hand upstairs there you are now he's landing combinations
00:26:05fighting out of the southpaw stance jones bombs hall with a left hook
00:26:11or a left cross i should call it and hall gets in three body shots as they meet along the ropes
00:26:17that's what you want to be if you're a taller guy make the guy keep throwing up out of the range
00:26:22that's what you want to be if you don't bend at all
00:26:29big left hand by jones hall taking the punches are better than he did in round one what did roy see
00:26:34that made him turn southpaw well he's looking to get a second win he's thrown a lot of hard
00:26:39shots and that's what you do make the guy think differently just turn your body awkward
00:26:42He's smart like that.
00:26:44Now Jones goes back to his conventional stance.
00:26:48He's smart like that.
00:26:50When a guy gets comfortable with Roy,
00:26:52he will turn southpile.
00:26:53When a guy gets comfortable with Roy,
00:26:55he will turn southpile.
00:26:57Yeah, when a guy gets real comfortable with Roy,
00:26:59he will turn southpile just to throw him off a little bit.
00:27:12He's smart.
00:27:24Hall is waiting, waiting.
00:27:26What are you waiting for?
00:27:27You got to throw punches.
00:27:29Well, when the incoming is Roy Jones,
00:27:32you're not that eager to have too much outgoing.
00:27:35Yeah, but you just got to throw shots.
00:27:37You get a chance to fight for the light heavyweight title,
00:27:39you can't wait.
00:27:41Even if you get hit, you're doing something,
00:27:43you'll make him start waiting.
00:27:49Jones so quick.
00:27:55All of those overhand shots would take your win,
00:27:58I'm telling you.
00:27:59Ooh!
00:28:00That was a hard shot to the body.
00:28:04A little something to send back to the corner with Hall.
00:28:07A right-hand reminder that Jones can be
00:28:10a devastating body punch.
00:28:11You're all ready.
00:28:12This turkey ain't coming in.
00:28:13What are you worried?
00:28:16Look here, if you can, try to shoot this guy with some
00:28:18combinations.
00:28:19Don't worry about the big shot.
00:28:20Don't worry about the big shot.
00:28:21Don't worry about the big shot.
00:28:22Don't worry about the big shot.
00:28:23Just touch him.
00:28:24And low.
00:28:25All over here.
00:28:26Then one and two big shots.
00:28:27All right.
00:28:28He's getting out the way.
00:28:29He's waiting through him.
00:28:30Just touch him now.
00:28:31All right, Richard?
00:28:32Start going up underneath there with a hard body shot.
00:28:36With speed now.
00:28:37Boom, boom, boom.
00:28:38One, two.
00:28:39All right?
00:28:40Not power.
00:28:41More speed now.
00:28:42You're doing okay.
00:28:43As long as the fight goes, we're all right.
00:28:44But don't let him get his feet set.
00:28:46Got you.
00:28:47All right?
00:28:48And move that head.
00:28:49Roll up under there sometime.
00:28:50Since the Virgin Hill fight, Roy Jones has gone to the body with greater frequency as
00:28:57he tries to break his opponents down.
00:29:00Hold on.
00:29:01Hold on.
00:29:02Hold on.
00:29:03Hold on.
00:29:08Harold Lederman, how do you score it through three?
00:29:10Okay, Jim.
00:29:11Three to nothing.
00:29:12Obviously, Roy Jones Jr., 30 to 25.
00:29:15You got to score that first round 10 to 7.
00:29:17Roy Jones gets an extra point for each of the two knockdowns.
00:29:20Jim, watch the right hand to Richard Hall.
00:29:22When he throws that jab, very often it's very close to a backhand.
00:29:25He's got to throw that right jab, you know, where the front of the glove hits right.
00:29:29Can't throw a backhand.
00:29:38Hall escaped the early barrage from Roy Jones, and now he's just going about his business.
00:29:45Trying to take him down punch by punch.
00:29:52If you're going to follow a puncher like Roy Jones, you better throw shots.
00:29:56You just can't do it one at a time.
00:29:58Throw a lot of punches, make him pick his feet up.
00:30:00He stands in front of Jones and allows Jones to be in position.
00:30:13You must move him out of position.
00:30:15Now he's out of position.
00:30:17Now you got to take advantage of it.
00:30:19Keep him out of position.
00:30:26You got to throw shots.
00:30:28Roy Jones' body up against the rope.
00:30:29You can do nothing but catch.
00:30:34Suddenly, Richard Hall is training body shots punch for punch with Roy Jones, and landing
00:30:47to Jones' ribcage, and now Jones eludes a long right-hand shot and comes back with a double
00:30:53left hook.
00:30:59Roy Jones also have the ability to fight with his eyes.
00:31:02He'll sit there and look at you, watch what you're doing, and then hit you where you're not protected.
00:31:08Quick left hook inside by Jones.
00:31:12Hall reaching and reaching.
00:31:15Jones is back in position.
00:31:16You need to make him move that left foot behind him a little bit.
00:31:19Then you can get your shots.
00:31:23Straight right hand lands.
00:31:25Hall taking the punch pretty well.
00:31:27As the fight goes on, George, does the fighter get more accustomed to the punches so that,
00:31:33because the punches that are hitting Hall now look like the punches that shocked him in the first round.
00:31:38Yo, well, Jones is doing a lot of slapping.
00:31:40His gloves are not all the way closed when he hits them now.
00:31:42So he's getting a little slapping, slapping around now.
00:31:46But earlier, he was getting hard shots.
00:31:54Hard right hand by Jones.
00:31:56Snaps Hall's head back.
00:31:58And a left hook as well, but Richard Hall no longer losing his legs under Jones' power punching the way he did in round one.
00:32:11Well, nine years ago, when it was a game, brought sports fans a never-before-seen perspective on baseball.
00:32:18Color home movies interwoven with stories of the days when baseball truly was a game.
00:32:23In the tradition of when it was a game one and two, HBO and sports of the 20th century proudly present
00:32:28when it was a game three, a retrospective look at the 60s,
00:32:32the last decade of comparative innocence in baseball America, coming July 17.
00:32:41Get back going here and go up the middle.
00:32:43Remember them shots now?
00:32:45Come on now.
00:32:46Get in tight.
00:32:47Get this.
00:32:48Come on.
00:32:49Relax.
00:32:50Let out, let out, swim the sides, and you go kind of with that right hand.
00:32:54All right, good work.
00:32:55Remember the graphic that showed us before the fight, Larry,
00:32:59that Southpaws were averaging in recent fights only 27 punches around against Roy?
00:33:05Richard Hall is throwing 54 punches around,
00:33:08so give him an A for effort anyway.
00:33:10He's in there trying.
00:33:11Well, he was tainted, Jim, because he was a mandatory challenger who very few people
00:33:18had heard of, who has a good record but hasn't beaten anybody we've heard of, and became
00:33:24tainted by what happened last year when Roy Jones fought another mandatory, Ricky Frazier,
00:33:29the New York cop, who was plainly not ready for this level of competition.
00:33:35Paul has brought some strength and some courage to this fight.
00:33:39Absolutely right.
00:33:40He's considerably better than Ricky Frazier.
00:33:42Who tainted him, I'd like to know.
00:33:43Well, in the mind of everybody, because nobody knew who he was, just as no one knew who Frazier
00:33:50had been.
00:33:51And sometimes all of these whos need to go out and research you before they start talking.
00:33:55Roy Jones is going to the body.
00:33:56He's got this guy standing right in position now to load up with a good straight right hand.
00:34:03All those body punches are coming, but frequency now.
00:34:06Hall, 15 of 67 by CompuBox numbers in the last round.
00:34:10It's been a long time since we saw a southpaw fighter get off 67 punches against Roy Jones,
00:34:16regardless of whether they had any effect.
00:34:20And I'll say it up front, Hall's a lot better than I thought he would be, which is not to
00:34:25say that he's a threat to Jones.
00:34:27Ooh!
00:34:28That's what he's been doing, going to the body with those straight right hands over and
00:34:32over.
00:34:33Then he moves his left foot right in the middle of this guy and throws a right to the head.
00:34:39All those body shots.
00:34:41Jones concentrating to the body here in the fifth round.
00:34:47Jones is one of those guys who does not concentrate on footwork at all.
00:34:51He's that confident that things are going his way.
00:34:53Well, he's such a natural.
00:34:54I mean, it's so athletic, so much foot speed, and with his hand speed to go with it, he just
00:35:00feels like he can get away with anything, George.
00:35:02Roy putting on a show for the Indianapolis fans.
00:35:13Hall has not landed a punch in this round.
00:35:17Jones is the only fighter in CompuBox history to score a complete shutout through a round.
00:35:22Benny Pacienza was whitewashed in one round of Jones-Pacienza five years ago, and there's
00:35:28a big right hand that momentarily wobbles Hall.
00:35:32I haven't seen a guy that cocky says Muhammad Ali.
00:35:36Yeah, this is cocky stuff, no question about it.
00:35:39This is like an exhibition at the county fair.
00:35:41Yeah, and he's in with a difficult fight, too.
00:35:44He still has the nerve to get cocky.
00:35:48And that's what you want to do after you've landed so many shots like that, make the other
00:35:51guy throw some to get some of the air out of him.
00:35:57Jones just dazzling the crowd and Hall with his blinding hand speed.
00:36:02All right, baby.
00:36:09All right, way to work.
00:36:13Keep it like that.
00:36:14Let's have fun.
00:36:16This guy can take a shot.
00:36:17Let's keep touching him like that, okay?
00:36:19You might be able to get him out of there.
00:36:21Don't worry about it.
00:36:22Don't worry about it.
00:36:23As long as you can touch him, Roy.
00:36:25As long as you can touch him, don't get took.
00:36:26That's all I'm concerned about.
00:36:28He's going to look cute like that, but when you come in, make sure your legs are back.
00:36:33Come on, now.
00:36:33Get that rhythm under.
00:36:34Give him a wrench.
00:36:35Come on.
00:36:35Give him a wrench.
00:36:36Come on, now.
00:36:38Get that rhythm under you.
00:36:39Come on.
00:36:40Give him a wrench.
00:36:40Whatever the counting was about, this was not something that was funny.
00:36:52Same shot.
00:36:55Let's go, second one.
00:36:57Same result.
00:36:58In round five by CompuBox numbers, Jones landed 27 of 37 power shots, 73 percent, throwing
00:37:09them from all angles, delivered with complete unorthodoxy, sometimes with his feet moving
00:37:15even as he threw.
00:37:17And Hall comes back and goes right to Jones' body as if to say, okay, everybody's impressed,
00:37:23but I'm still here.
00:37:28He's a big, light heavyweight, so a lot of the things that are happening to him, he can
00:37:32recoup.
00:37:33Roy Jones cannot get over the reputation of being a good middleweight.
00:37:36Come on, Roy!
00:37:37Well, in Jones' battle against Telesco, you yourself said, George Foreman, that Hall had
00:37:45something happen to his left eye, trying to cover his left eye.
00:37:49Jones taking advantage.
00:37:51This could be it.
00:37:52Hall must think he's been thumbed in the left eye.
00:38:00Well, he could have been thumbed because the gloves are attached, but he could have been
00:38:05hit by a corner or by the stitching of the gloves.
00:38:10He is one brave dude, Richard Hall.
00:38:15Hall's trainer, Aaron Snowell, yelling instructions at him as he stands in the corner against Jones.
00:38:23Ooh, the body.
00:38:25The body.
00:38:25He's doing it as a re...
00:38:27He has a rhyme and a reason to what he's doing.
00:38:29Goes to the body two or three times and then brings it back upstairs.
00:38:35And Hall finally vacates the corner.
00:38:38All right, to go back to what I was saying.
00:38:39Missed.
00:38:40You talked about how the great light heavyweight champions, Bob Foster, Jose Torres, going
00:38:45back to Harry Greb, were guys who punched to finish.
00:38:49And you said that you didn't think Roy does that enough.
00:38:52No, he's not a finisher for good reasons.
00:38:55Evidently, he's been out there tired once or twice.
00:38:58But is he a flashy good boxer?
00:39:00There is swelling all across the face and the bridge of the nose of Richard Hall, who has taken a fistic tattooing from Roy Jones as we approach the midway point of a scheduled 12-round fight.
00:39:18Well, he's following a puncher, and at the same time, he's allowing him to stay in position as he follow him.
00:39:23And you've got to follow him and make him get out of position by going left and right.
00:39:28Left and right.
00:39:29Don't just go straight to him.
00:39:34And now a cut over Richard Hall's right eye.
00:39:38Small one, not a lot of blood.
00:39:40But I think he's been pierced over the right eye.
00:39:42You'd like to see a guy like Roy Jones put his punches together and stop hitting these guys one shot at a time like that.
00:40:02Welterweight hand speed in a light heavyweight body.
00:40:07Let's see if we can catch where they...
00:40:11Yeah.
00:40:12Ah, laces.
00:40:13Laces.
00:40:14On the side of the glove.
00:40:15There are no laces.
00:40:16On the side of the glove, yeah.
00:40:17There are no laces, but the inside of the glove can scream.
00:40:20Gamble with speed, man.
00:40:21Listen to me, man.
00:40:23Stop all that power, man.
00:40:25You can throw better combinations in that.
00:40:27You're thinking power.
00:40:28Come on now, Richard.
00:40:29Listen to me, man.
00:40:31Just listen.
00:40:33You're in the fight now.
00:40:34Triple your jab.
00:40:35Double your jab.
00:40:36Get that bounce.
00:40:37All right?
00:40:37Boom, boom.
00:40:38Throw combinations.
00:40:39Now with power.
00:40:39And count.
00:40:41You're definitely a motion.
00:40:42That part of here.
00:40:43All right.
00:40:44All of that part.
00:40:46How you feeling?
00:40:47Good, brother.
00:40:48All right.
00:40:48We're going to step.
00:40:49Come on.
00:40:50We're going to step.
00:40:51Take it down.
00:40:53All right, baby.
00:40:54Let's go.
00:40:55There was no knockdown in the last round, but I scored it 10 to 8 for Jones.
00:41:02It was so one-sided.
00:41:04It was about as one-sided as a no-knockdown round could be.
00:41:06It was an exhibition, as much of the fight has been, an exhibition of Jones' amazing capabilities.
00:41:13Harold, how do you have it through six?
00:41:15Okay, Jim.
00:41:15I got it 60 to 52, six rounds to nothing.
00:41:18I got to comment, Jim.
00:41:20I've never seen anything in 33 years of professional boxing like the fifth round of that fight.
00:41:24I never saw a guy run in, whack Richard Hall, and run out again and run around the referee.
00:41:29It's a new one on me.
00:41:31Roy Jones pulling all his tricks tonight and landing some monumental right hands.
00:41:38Now Roy has been the aggressor.
00:41:40This is where he has problems.
00:41:42He's a good counterpuncher and a good mover backwards, but he's not a good aggressor.
00:41:47Now all this guy, Richard Hall, has to do is just lay his hands out.
00:41:57Make him catch him coming in.
00:41:59You heard Aaron Snow telling Richard Hall that he thinks he's in the fight, would like
00:42:14for him to box a little more and throw combinations instead of just thinking of landing a big punch.
00:42:20Those body shots are like big right hands to the head.
00:42:25They hurt.
00:42:25Jones grinning, turning southpaw again.
00:42:34He did some damage from this position the last time around.
00:42:39Sometimes I think he does it just to amuse himself.
00:42:45Lands a swinging left hand.
00:42:47Jones counters with a body shot.
00:42:49Or Hall does, I should say.
00:42:51You can go to ten fights and not see as many big, clean, hard punches as Roy Jones has landed
00:42:59through the first half of this fight.
00:43:02This guy goes in and out.
00:43:04He's out for a second and he wakes up again.
00:43:08And Jones switches back to his conventional stance and fires a big right hand.
00:43:13And I'll tell you what, Richard Hall has guts.
00:43:16He could have been out of here four rounds ago and nobody would have criticized him or called
00:43:20him a quitter.
00:43:21He has taken a load from Jones and keeps on coming.
00:43:25You know, the referee is taking good looks at Richard Hall now.
00:43:28I wouldn't be surprised if he let him take too much more of this and call this bout to a
00:43:32hout.
00:43:33Well, he's earned his paycheck.
00:43:34And he's helped Jones give the crowd the show they wanted to see.
00:43:38And he's shown guts.
00:43:40Well, in terms this crowd would certainly appreciate, Roy has lapped Hall about two or three times
00:43:47by now.
00:43:48This is what happened when you see a guy following a guy shooting with .22s.
00:43:54He doesn't know he's been killed, but he has been shot up.
00:43:57George, I think I know the answer to this.
00:43:59George, does this, does all this stuff tell us anything at all about what Jones would
00:44:04do against a heavyweight?
00:44:0522 shooter.
00:44:07It's not a .45 calendar.
00:44:08No way.
00:44:09I must be on drugs or something.
00:44:10The shit you're hitting him with.
00:44:12Rabbit gun.
00:44:14You can't do nothing no better.
00:44:15Just keep doing what you're doing.
00:44:17You're hitting him with everything.
00:44:18Back to the head.
00:44:20All right, as Quincy Dean used to call it, bear hunting with a switch.
00:44:23Okay, we're going there, baby.
00:44:25But he's getting that bear, though.
00:44:27There you go.
00:44:28Over there.
00:44:28Breathe easy.
00:44:31Richard, all you got to do is punch at this motherfucker.
00:44:33He done took his best shit.
00:44:36You got to counter.
00:44:38Lead off.
00:44:39You're not punching.
00:44:40Yeah, he's fine.
00:44:41Come on, now.
00:44:42You got to punch.
00:44:44The best defense in the world is offense.
00:44:46You're going to get hit.
00:44:47Get hit.
00:44:48Roy Jones may not box out of a textbook, but maybe he can write his own textbook.
00:44:54That's true.
00:44:55That's true.
00:44:56He's writing a book of his own.
00:45:00CompuBox numbers in round seven, reflective of a drastically one-sided fight.
00:45:06Jones, 23 out of 46.
00:45:0850%, almost all of them power shots.
00:45:11Hall landed two of 31 punches.
00:45:13And now Aaron Snowell begins to say to his fighter, well, what the heck.
00:45:17You've taken all of his shots.
00:45:19Go out there and do something.
00:45:21He certainly isn't going to have a chance to win the fight doing what he's doing.
00:45:25So why not?
00:45:26Hall, with a good, hard body shot with the left hand.
00:45:37I got to say this about Roy Jones.
00:45:39He's one of the most conditioned fighters I've ever seen.
00:45:42This guy is in...
00:45:44Well, you know he has zero bad habits, George.
00:45:46He wouldn't put a single, even vaguely destructive thing into his body.
00:45:49He trains every day of the year, virtually.
00:45:51This is the most conditioned fight I've seen.
00:45:54He's one of the most conditioned athletes in the world.
00:45:57No question about it.
00:45:57I'm a believer.
00:45:58I am a believer.
00:46:02You know, our HBO advertisements show you how proud Roy is of his ripped belly.
00:46:09And that ripped belly is there because he's worked for it.
00:46:11Well, there are a lot of guys with those ripped bellies, and they're not in shape.
00:46:14This guy, as you saw, with another heavyweight the other night, he was ripped to the tee.
00:46:23Yeah, Grant was pretty ripped up.
00:46:26This guy is just strong.
00:46:29Still has his legs.
00:46:34His eyes are just as wide and clear.
00:46:37Oh, you wonder at what point a merciful stoppage would be a good idea for Richard Hall.
00:46:57Because he can't stop what's coming.
00:46:59If he throws another good body shot like that, he doesn't have to...
00:47:02The referee doesn't have to do anything.
00:47:03Yeah, at this point, Hall can only...
00:47:06Ooh!
00:47:08Never seen so many vicious right hand to the body in this division.
00:47:13You better hide your body.
00:47:16Hall wobbling on his legs.
00:47:19Jones just sizing him up, getting ready to fire again with the right.
00:47:24He's going to the body at this stage of the fight.
00:47:29When they tell you to keep your hands up, with this guy, you better keep your hands everywhere.
00:47:33How about a towel?
00:47:36What do you think, Larry?
00:47:37It wouldn't hurt.
00:47:38Throw the towel in.
00:47:39Towel wouldn't be a bad idea, would it?
00:47:41I mean, what if they got the proof at this point?
00:47:44Well...
00:47:45Well, this is a...
00:47:50This is target practice, and this is dangerous.
00:47:54This is a hard and greedy game, and the people in the corner have only one chance to get a title,
00:48:02and here it is, however slim it may be.
00:48:07Come on, baby.
00:48:09Richard, you've got the punks, man.
00:48:11Oh, I'm punching.
00:48:12Come on, now.
00:48:13Listen to me.
00:48:14Hold it.
00:48:14Roy Jones may be a member of the NRA, the way he's using Hall to target practice here.
00:48:25And he's got a lot of bullets in a big clip of punches, and we're not even showing you the knockdowns.
00:48:38His chin's sitting right there waiting, man.
00:48:41Knocked power.
00:48:42Give me a towel.
00:48:44Give me a towel.
00:48:45Throw it in.
00:48:48Give me a towel to throw in.
00:48:50All right.
00:48:52We're going to the nine, baby.
00:48:54Nice round.
00:48:56I got it.
00:48:58Let's go.
00:48:59Second down.
00:49:03Richard Hall has had a very hard life.
00:49:08We told you about his extreme difficulties as a boy in Jamaica,
00:49:12and homeless at 12 or 13, hustling on the beach,
00:49:17trying to sustain himself that way,
00:49:18badly beaten up over and over by an uncle.
00:49:23So he's had the hard knocks.
00:49:25Referee should look carefully,
00:49:27and one good combination walk in and rescue this man.
00:49:30Hard to imagine why he needs to take any more of this.
00:49:34Another body shot by Jones.
00:49:37And Hall bangs away.
00:49:39Sometimes a fighter is almost too brave for his own good.
00:49:54But Richard Hall is showing us some serious bravery here.
00:49:58Oh, but I like it.
00:49:59I like it.
00:50:00He's got a heart as big as Jamaica.
00:50:04Doesn't have the kinds of skills that Jones has.
00:50:07But Richard Hall came committed to the fight tonight.
00:50:11Maybe he heard us over here saying the referee should stop it.
00:50:14Well, I'll tell him right now.
00:50:22I'm embarrassed that I said three weeks ago
00:50:25this would be an egregious mismatch.
00:50:26No, don't be embarrassed.
00:50:27You only see the best fights on HBO.
00:50:30The best fighters.
00:50:31They come alive.
00:50:32He's better than I thought he'd be.
00:50:34This is an opportunity of a lifetime.
00:50:37Be fighting on HBO.
00:50:38Why not get the best?
00:50:40Do your best.
00:50:49George, you sound like you're selling a hamburger machine here.
00:50:52But you know what?
00:50:53I've seen some of the...
00:50:54It's a good hamburger machine.
00:50:54I've seen the best fighters
00:50:55who supposedly had no chance
00:50:57rise to the occasion right here on HBO.
00:50:59Theater of the unexpected.
00:51:01That's what Hall is hoping for.
00:51:02One of those unexpected shots in the dark.
00:51:05Instead, he's taken a repeated beating of shots in the light.
00:51:10What they do, they sit down on their stools
00:51:12and they look over here at Jim Lamplin,
00:51:14Larry Merchant,
00:51:15Harry L...
00:51:16Harry, uh...
00:51:17Harold?
00:51:18Harold.
00:51:18Harold Latterman.
00:51:19The best judge ever.
00:51:21And they say, look, this is my chance.
00:51:24Every time you sit down, you see us.
00:51:28Hall playing a little possum for Jones
00:51:30and the crowd responds to him.
00:51:32So now we've got Roy Jones on a possum hunt.
00:51:50Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
00:51:52Possum.
00:51:56You never know whether a guy has a world-class chin
00:51:59until he takes a world-class beating.
00:52:03Richard Hall has appeared.
00:52:08And George Foreman stands up
00:52:11where Hall can see him
00:52:13and applauds the fighters' effort.
00:52:16Now, come here, boy.
00:52:18Now, punch now.
00:52:20Come on.
00:52:20Breathe easy.
00:52:21Breathe easy, brother.
00:52:23Keep your hands up.
00:52:24You've got the gamble now.
00:52:26We're going down that stretch.
00:52:28Remember we talked about this?
00:52:30Come on.
00:52:31You've got to get on.
00:52:32I'm going to get my coat.
00:52:34I'm going to get my coat.
00:52:35Let him go.
00:52:36Let him go, baby.
00:52:38Way to work.
00:52:40Feel like a champ?
00:52:42You're looking like one, baby.
00:52:44You're looking like one.
00:52:45Just keep up the good work.
00:52:46We've got three more.
00:52:47We've got nine minutes.
00:52:49Let's have some fun.
00:52:51Be careful.
00:52:51You got to...
00:52:52Let him go.
00:52:53Speed.
00:52:54Let him go.
00:52:54He's the thing.
00:52:56He's the thing.
00:52:57Come on.
00:52:59Aaron Snowell
00:53:00giving a passable imitation of Teddy Atlas
00:53:04as he tries to fire up his fighter.
00:53:09Harold Letterman,
00:53:10how do you have it scored through nine?
00:53:11Okay, Jim.
00:53:12Nine to nothing.
00:53:13Ninety to seventy-eight.
00:53:14I did give an extra point to Roy Jones
00:53:16in round eight,
00:53:16but everybody's yelling,
00:53:17stop the fight.
00:53:18But add by nine to the crowd of people
00:53:21that's saying Richard Hall is unbelievable.
00:53:23What a heart he's got.
00:53:24Taking sunbeater,
00:53:26he just keeps firing back.
00:53:27Tremendous show is by Hall.
00:53:33The good news for Hall,
00:53:34in round nine,
00:53:35he landed 21 of 53.
00:53:36Oh, but he went to the body again, Roy Jones.
00:53:38Yep.
00:53:38Back to the body again.
00:53:40Yep.
00:53:41Hall, 21 of 53 in round nine.
00:53:43That's his best round, statistically.
00:53:45The bad news was Jones was 38 of 50,
00:53:48landing 76% of his punches.
00:53:51All of them power shots.
00:53:56Jones goes to the body.
00:53:57It's a no contest.
00:54:01Well, it's a no contest already.
00:54:03Anyway, huh?
00:54:06He almost knocked Hall out
00:54:09in the earlier rounds with body shots.
00:54:11Then he stopped throwing them.
00:54:12In case you've just joined us,
00:54:14there were two lockdowns in the first round.
00:54:17Roy Jones knocking Richard Hall down twice.
00:54:19Ooh.
00:54:21For the start of the fight.
00:54:22Since that time,
00:54:23it's been target practice for Jones,
00:54:25and Hall has wobbled, grabbed,
00:54:28worked his way around the ring,
00:54:30and shown tremendous courage
00:54:31in taking a fearsome beating,
00:54:33but hanging in.
00:54:34Ooh, the left hook to the body by Jones.
00:54:37Oh, what quickness.
00:54:44What speed Roy Jones still possesses
00:54:46halfway through the 10th round.
00:54:50Roy Jones gets right back into that body.
00:54:53He can drop this guy.
00:54:57The head shots are not gonna do it.
00:55:00All right.
00:55:00Let me ask you this, George.
00:55:02We've seen Roy Jones hit Hall.
00:55:04I don't know how many clean, hard shots
00:55:06and the chin.
00:55:07What does that tell you
00:55:08about his chances against a heavyweight?
00:55:12Well, I'm gonna tell you this.
00:55:13This guy's got a chin,
00:55:14and he's got heart,
00:55:15so don't judge him concerning this hall.
00:55:17We cannot do it this time.
00:55:20This is some extraordinary phenomenon in boxing.
00:55:28I don't know how he's doing it.
00:55:30Well, frankly,
00:55:31I think the fight should be stopped
00:55:32after this round.
00:55:36You know, it's been a sensational performance
00:55:40or exhibition by Roy Jones
00:55:43against a guy who deserves to go home
00:55:48having felt that he gave it his best chance.
00:55:51But I think that the adults here
00:55:54have to tell the young man
00:55:56he's had enough.
00:55:57They're gonna keep trying.
00:56:02Again, I say throw in the towel.
00:56:05But they're gonna keep trying.
00:56:08Richard,
00:56:09he's opening a round strong,
00:56:12and he's saving for the last part of the round on you.
00:56:15All right?
00:56:15Come on, now.
00:56:16For the 11th round, man.
00:56:18Come on, now.
00:56:19You gotta let it all hang out.
00:56:20Richard with the other one.
00:56:21Come on, now.
00:56:22Here.
00:56:23Take that.
00:56:24Let it all hang out.
00:56:26Hit anything that you can hit.
00:56:28Just stay busy, man.
00:56:29Don't save nothing.
00:56:30Don't save nothing, man.
00:56:32Maybe leave it all in here, man.
00:56:34You got guns.
00:56:35Put some water on his back.
00:56:37Hit anything, man.
00:56:38Look at this pitch.
00:56:40Come on.
00:56:41The best defense in the world is offense.
00:56:43You're gonna get hit.
00:56:45You did hit.
00:56:45Punch it at him.
00:56:46Hit his arms.
00:56:47Hit anything.
00:56:48You're gonna create an opening.
00:56:50Come on, now.
00:56:51Take it home.
00:56:51Come on, sit.
00:56:52Smoke right behind you.
00:57:02Richard Hall has never fought past the 10th round in his professional career.
00:57:07Now he comes out for the 11th against Roy Jones.
00:57:13I like Roy Jones.
00:57:14He's been really clean this fight.
00:57:17He's put on a lot of showmanship, but he's been clean.
00:57:21I like it.
00:57:22I like it.
00:57:22Jones grinning as he dances away from Hall.
00:57:25Target practice continues in Indianapolis.
00:57:35Jones with a derisive look as Hall lands to his body.
00:57:38Poor Richard doesn't have much steam left on his punches.
00:57:42He's taken a brutal beating to the body and to the head.
00:57:45His face is a bloody bruised mask.
00:57:50He's swinging his arms, but with not much behind it as he tries to land punches against Jones.
00:57:56Jones!
00:58:00Jones.
00:58:01Why doesn't the referee stop it?
00:58:07What is the point?
00:58:09What in the world is the point?
00:58:13Wayne Kelly looking and looking, but...
00:58:15This is absurd.
00:58:17Stop the fight!
00:58:19Stop it, Wayne.
00:58:20Come on.
00:58:22This isn't competition anymore.
00:58:24This is a bloodletting.
00:58:25This is absolutely preposterous.
00:58:27This is all should not be taking these shots.
00:58:32Thank God.
00:58:34That it took Roy Jones to stop the fight.
00:58:41That was disheartening.
00:58:44Hall is saying,
00:58:44you shouldn't have stopped the fight.
00:58:49But the sad thing about it,
00:58:52Jim, these are guys who have no pension plan.
00:58:55Isn't that horrendous?
00:58:57If you like, if we like these guys,
00:58:59they should have a pension plan.
00:59:00There's no chance.
00:59:01Bernard Hopkins has been saying it for years.
00:59:04Get on the bandwagon.
00:59:06If you believe in what George said...
00:59:08I'll just say this.
00:59:09The referee ought to be pistol whipped
00:59:12for allowing that to go on.
00:59:14That was ridiculous.
00:59:18The New York State Athletic Commission,
00:59:20such as it is,
00:59:21should examine Wayne Kelly
00:59:22for taking as long as he took
00:59:25to stop this fight.
00:59:26This is the beginning of the round.
00:59:38Oh, they keep throwing uppercuts.
00:59:40That's where all of your power is,
00:59:42to uppercut position.
00:59:42It's just target practice, George.
00:59:44It's just beating another man
00:59:46to a pulp
00:59:47for no reason at that point.
00:59:50The crowd had gotten its entertainment.
00:59:53And for Roy Jones,
00:59:54he just cannot stop it.
00:59:56Well, of course not.
00:59:56He's a professional fighter.
00:59:58The other guy comes after him.
00:59:59You've seen Roy in the past
01:00:01stand back and ask referees
01:00:02to stop a fight
01:00:03in a situation like that.
01:00:05Also in New York, incidentally.
01:00:07And when it didn't happen,
01:00:08he went ahead
01:00:08and did what he had to do.
01:00:11It's not Roy's fault.
01:00:12No, he's got to do it.
01:00:14You've got to throw punches,
01:00:15I guess.
01:00:16Let's go to Michael Buffer
01:00:17for the official particulars.
01:00:21The end comes at one minute,
01:00:2341 seconds of round number 11.
01:00:27The winner by TKO victory
01:00:30and still the reigning
01:00:32and defending,
01:00:33undisputed,
01:00:35light heavyweight,
01:00:36champion of the world,
01:00:39Roy Jones!
01:00:42Roy Jones Jr.
01:00:51Hang on at it!
01:00:53Hang on at it!
01:00:54Hang on at it!
01:00:56Round two.
01:01:00Final look at a too brave man.
01:01:03Way too brave.
01:01:04Richard Hall.
01:01:05Final punch stat numbers,
01:01:07a complete wipeout.
01:01:08Jones landing,
01:01:10214 more punches.
01:01:11Only throwing 27 more.
01:01:15Credit to Hall
01:01:16for the tremendous effort
01:01:17he put forth
01:01:18within his limitations.
01:01:20He gave everything he had here.
01:01:22Jones landing 62% of his punches.
01:01:25That's just nuts.
01:01:26That's absolutely insane.
01:01:28Power punches.
01:01:30You know,
01:01:30it's going to be more madness.
01:01:32273 out of 421.
01:01:34And so many of them
01:01:35were brutal,
01:01:37fully thrown,
01:01:38hard shots to the body
01:01:39and to the head.
01:01:39Jones landing 65%
01:01:42of his power punches
01:01:42in a classic
01:01:45one-sided wipeout
01:01:46of mandatory challenger
01:01:49Richard Hall.
01:01:50I don't need that.
01:01:50Now let's go to Larry Merchant
01:01:51with Roy Jones.
01:01:54First, I'm with...
01:01:55Excuse me, with the referee.
01:01:55I'm with Wayne Kelly first, Jim.
01:01:59Wayne,
01:02:00Richard Hall
01:02:01took a savage, brutal beating.
01:02:04Why didn't you stop
01:02:06the fight earlier?
01:02:08Well, Larry,
01:02:09he was in the fight.
01:02:10He was a very resilient fighter.
01:02:13He was coming back strong.
01:02:14And a few times
01:02:15he had Roy up against the ropes.
01:02:17He was clearly losing the fight.
01:02:18And that's why
01:02:19I did stop it when I did.
01:02:22Certainly...
01:02:22All right,
01:02:23we're watching some action earlier
01:02:25as he's taking punishment.
01:02:26But certainly,
01:02:27he had no chance
01:02:28to win the fight.
01:02:29He had not shown
01:02:30he could hurt Roy Jones.
01:02:32What was the point
01:02:33of letting it go on
01:02:34for that long?
01:02:36The point was,
01:02:37as I indicated earlier,
01:02:38he was in the fight
01:02:39by throwing punches back.
01:02:41If you wait a few more seconds,
01:02:43you'll say he'll come back
01:02:43with some punches.
01:02:45Not in this round,
01:02:46but another one.
01:02:47And Gary Resilient,
01:02:48when I did stop the fight,
01:02:50he actually objected.
01:02:51His corner man didn't,
01:02:52but he did.
01:02:53He was going to continue.
01:02:54And he asked me,
01:02:55why'd you stop the fight?
01:02:56I'm ready to continue.
01:02:57Would you have been surprised
01:02:58in a fight of this nature
01:03:00if his corner
01:03:01had stopped the fight earlier?
01:03:03No,
01:03:04I wouldn't have been surprised.
01:03:05Thank you very much, Wayne.
01:03:07Thank you, Larry.
01:03:08Jim?
01:03:09All right,
01:03:09thank you, Larry.
01:03:10George,
01:03:10you made a hell of a point.
01:03:11Unlike athletes
01:03:12in so many other sports,
01:03:13these guys don't have a union.
01:03:15They don't have a pension plan.
01:03:17They don't have any way
01:03:17of being taken care of
01:03:19in a situation like this.
01:03:20If fans love fighters,
01:03:21what should they do?
01:03:22Write to you, congressman.
01:03:23Write to you people
01:03:24in Washington.
01:03:25Senator McCain,
01:03:26he's tried for years
01:03:27to put this on the map.
01:03:28This is a chance
01:03:29to applaud him
01:03:30and let's get a way
01:03:31to protect these guys
01:03:31so they don't have to fight
01:03:32like this all the time.
01:03:34All right.
01:03:35Here's the point.
01:03:37Larry is trying
01:03:38to get a hold of Roy Jones
01:03:39and right now he's with him.
01:03:41All right.
01:03:41Okay, Jim.
01:03:42Congratulations, Roy.
01:03:44Spectacular performance.
01:03:46Let's go to the first round
01:03:48where you obviously stunned Hall.
01:03:50Did you think
01:03:51that he was going
01:03:52to be easy at that point?
01:03:54No, I never thought
01:03:55he was going to be easy.
01:03:55I knew he was a good fighter.
01:03:56I expect to be a tough fighter.
01:03:58He's a strong puncher.
01:04:02Did you go in
01:04:03with the idea
01:04:04that you wanted him
01:04:06to know what he was up
01:04:07against right now?
01:04:08I wanted to let him know
01:04:09that he's in there
01:04:09with the champ.
01:04:10He's in there with the man
01:04:11and he better respect them.
01:04:12First of all,
01:04:12it takes the opportunity
01:04:13to thank God
01:04:13for giving me the opportunity
01:04:14to do all the things I do.
01:04:15I'm so glad
01:04:16to try and be
01:04:16a terrific performance.
01:04:18People in and out
01:04:18are great.
01:04:19I enjoyed myself
01:04:20and had a beautiful time.
01:04:22This was a superb evening.
01:04:23I just want to thank God
01:04:24again for giving me
01:04:24the opportunity.
01:04:26All right, Roy.
01:04:27You gave Hall
01:04:29a savage beating.
01:04:30He had a tremendous heart.
01:04:33Did you think
01:04:34the fight should have been
01:04:35stopped earlier
01:04:37than it was?
01:04:38Yeah, the opportunity
01:04:38got stopped a little earlier,
01:04:39but the referee knows
01:04:40what he's doing,
01:04:40so what the referee said
01:04:42found me.
01:04:42I just beat him
01:04:43to the referee
01:04:43come and get him.
01:04:44All right,
01:04:44let's watch the end
01:04:45of the fight.
01:04:46At this point,
01:04:48did you believe
01:04:49I got to stop this fight
01:04:51if the referee won't?
01:04:52Well, that's all God.
01:04:53You know, I'm just like,
01:04:54I'm just doing my thing.
01:04:55I really won't worry about it.
01:04:56I was just doing
01:04:56what I had to do, you know.
01:04:57My thing is to work,
01:04:58do what I can.
01:04:59God bless me.
01:04:59I just had to give
01:05:00all my praise to God.
01:05:01I just worked, you know.
01:05:02I don't know what
01:05:02I'd be doing sometimes
01:05:03if you'd be working.
01:05:05This is one of your
01:05:07more spectacular performances.
01:05:09Was this had anything
01:05:10to do with the fact
01:05:11that some of your
01:05:12buddies here,
01:05:13buddies here like
01:05:14Reggie Miller,
01:05:16who aren't here,
01:05:18but who helped
01:05:19to bring you
01:05:19to Indianapolis,
01:05:20did you want to put
01:05:21on a performance for them?
01:05:22I want to put on
01:05:22a beautiful performance
01:05:23in the arena for them.
01:05:24Even if they couldn't be here,
01:05:26I still wanted to make sure
01:05:26that I gave the fans
01:05:28the best thing that I could give them.
01:05:29I just like to thank God
01:05:29for blessing me
01:05:30and giving me the opportunity
01:05:31to do it.
01:05:32I said, what's up to Big Roy?
01:05:33Everybody back at the house,
01:05:34everybody at Pensacola,
01:05:35God bless you, we love you,
01:05:37and happy Mother's Day
01:05:37to all the mothers in the world,
01:05:38and I just had a superb time
01:05:40tonight, Larry.
01:05:41All right, you've talked
01:05:42about fighting
01:05:44the heavyweight champion
01:05:45of the world, Lennox Lewis.
01:05:46Is that something
01:05:47that you're serious
01:05:48contemplating,
01:05:49or is it merely musing
01:05:51about what would this be like
01:05:53if I challenged him?
01:05:54I just wonder
01:05:55how would I fare
01:05:56against a guy that big?
01:05:57You know, sometimes it's fun
01:05:59to go out and challenge
01:06:00a guy much bigger than you,
01:06:01put yourself against all lies.
01:06:04What's up, baby?
01:06:06Indiana in the house, baby!
01:06:08Yeah, put yourself
01:06:09against all lies.
01:06:10You know, God bless you
01:06:11with talent,
01:06:11so sometimes you have to see
01:06:12just how far your talent
01:06:13can take you.
01:06:14You know, Lennox is a good guy,
01:06:15Lennox is a strong puncher.
01:06:16I never say anything
01:06:17to underestimate Lennox
01:06:18or to demote or degrade Lennox.
01:06:20Lennox is a superb champion.
01:06:22Lennox is a champion
01:06:22who will fight anybody
01:06:23that steps in his way.
01:06:24So I never doubt
01:06:25that Lennox is not a true champion.
01:06:27And it would be very dangerous
01:06:27for me to fight Lennox
01:06:28because Lennox is so strong
01:06:29and so big,
01:06:30so that would take
01:06:31some more contemplation
01:06:31because he was a big guy.
01:06:33He's 70 pounds bigger
01:06:34than Richard Hall,
01:06:36and Hall was taking your shots
01:06:37for 11 rounds.
01:06:40Yeah, but you know,
01:06:40I'm a bad man, Larry.
01:06:42You know, if I keep on
01:06:42putting that heat on you,
01:06:43you're going to go sooner or later.
01:06:44So, you know, Hall is strong.
01:06:46A guy, you can't take
01:06:46nothing from him.
01:06:47A lot of people don't think
01:06:48that he deserved a beat up,
01:06:49but he lasted a lot longer
01:06:50than a lot of other opponents did.
01:06:51And that was nothing
01:06:52to be taken like that
01:06:53by Hall.
01:06:53Hall was a good guy.
01:06:54Hall came to do his work.
01:06:55But it's just something
01:06:56about when I get in here,
01:06:57man, God takes over me.
01:06:58I just click.
01:06:59I just turn into something
01:06:59terrible, something tremendous.
01:07:01Half the time,
01:07:02I ain't sure what be going on.
01:07:02I just be fighting.
01:07:03You know, I be like,
01:07:04dang, what am I doing?
01:07:05I'm a fighting machine.
01:07:06I don't even have to think.
01:07:06That stuff just comes from nowhere.
01:07:08I be like, oh my goodness,
01:07:09did you see that?
01:07:10Did you see this?
01:07:10Did you see that?
01:07:12It'd be something else, man.
01:07:12I just enjoy.
01:07:13I love it.
01:07:13I just like to thank God
01:07:14again for blessing me,
01:07:15giving me the opportunity
01:07:16to do all I do
01:07:17because without God,
01:07:18nothing.
01:07:18All right.
01:07:18What was that bit
01:07:20in the fifth round
01:07:21where you threw a punch,
01:07:22jumped around the official,
01:07:23jumped around again?
01:07:24Was that something
01:07:25you worked on
01:07:26or was that just improvisational?
01:07:28It was improvisational.
01:07:29I do a lot of things.
01:07:30I have a lot of tricks,
01:07:31a lot of antics that I do.
01:07:32When you pound the best fight
01:07:33in the world,
01:07:34you got to get a power to show
01:07:34and that's what I came here
01:07:35to do, Larry.
01:07:36You did, Roy.
01:07:36Thank you very much.
01:07:37And finally, just this word.
01:07:41You know, all of us
01:07:42want to see great fighters tested.
01:07:45We want to see their hearts x-rayed.
01:07:48We want to see drama
01:07:50more than just mere talent.
01:07:54But when you see talent like that,
01:07:56when you're not just
01:07:58contemplating what might be,
01:08:00all you can say is,
01:08:02oh, boy.
01:08:04And the caravan moves on
01:08:06and the dog's bark
01:08:08and those of us
01:08:09who bark
01:08:10that we want to see him
01:08:12in some greater challenge
01:08:15just feel a sense of awe
01:08:18after watching
01:08:20a performance like this.
01:08:23Jim?
01:08:24All right.
01:08:25What do you want to see him do
01:08:26as a fan, George?
01:08:26You want to see him fight
01:08:27more light heavyweights?
01:08:28You want to see him go down
01:08:29and fight Hopkins?
01:08:30You want to see him fight heavyweights?
01:08:31Well, he's shown us
01:08:32that the height differences
01:08:33has nothing to do with.
01:08:33This guy was at least my height.
01:08:36He did well against a tall guy.
01:08:37Fight another guy
01:08:38that's big with a height
01:08:39and he's a heavyweight in my book.
01:08:41I'd like to see him fight heavyweight.
01:08:42All right.
01:08:43Maybe it'll happen
01:08:44and we'll all see
01:08:45what would happen
01:08:46if David goes up
01:08:48to fight Goliath.
01:08:50Now, our website question tonight
01:08:52was who was,
01:08:53in your opinion,
01:08:54the fighter of the 90s
01:08:55given that the United States
01:08:57Boxing Writers Association
01:08:58accorded that award
01:08:59to Roy Jones.
01:09:01Our results are,
01:09:02to me, surprising.
01:09:04Oscar De La Hoya
01:09:05is your choice
01:09:06as the fighter of the 90s.
01:09:0843% of you voting for De La Hoya.
01:09:1021% for the man
01:09:12who won the heavyweight championship
01:09:14of the world
01:09:14three times in that decade,
01:09:16Evander Holyfield.
01:09:1836% for the Boxing Writers Choice.
01:09:20Jones,
01:09:21this surely a mark
01:09:22of De La Hoya's continuing
01:09:24and enormous public popularity
01:09:27despite the official loss
01:09:29to Trinidad last year.
01:09:31We'll have a final word
01:09:32on what happened here in the ring
01:09:33in just a moment.
01:09:34Right now,
01:09:34let's look ahead
01:09:35to some more upcoming programs
01:09:37on HBO.
01:09:40Next Saturday on HBO,
01:09:42based on a true story,
01:09:44Jeff Daniels and his students
01:09:45are put to the test
01:09:46when tough questions arise.
01:09:48Of course they cheated.
01:09:49The only question is how.
01:09:50Then,
01:09:50they've got their eye
01:09:51on the heavyweight championship.
01:09:52Knockout artist Derek Jefferson
01:09:54and hard-hitting Oleg Moskyev
01:09:56duke it out in the ring.
01:09:57Next Saturday on HBO,
01:09:59it's the premiere
01:10:00of the HBO original movie
01:10:01Cheaters at 9,
01:10:02followed by HBO Boxing
01:10:03After Dark at 11.
01:10:05Next Saturday on HBO.
01:10:09The only sports show
01:10:10that delivers more than the score
01:10:11is real sports.
01:10:12The best sports show
01:10:13on television.
01:10:14With the best reporters
01:10:15in the field,
01:10:16bringing you a side of sports
01:10:17you won't see anywhere else.
01:10:19No other show
01:10:19hits controversy this hard.
01:10:21No other sports program
01:10:22digs this deep.
01:10:23Hailed by critics.
01:10:24Flat Out TV's
01:10:25best sports program.
01:10:27And honored by its peers.
01:10:29Real Sports
01:10:30with Bryant Gumbel.
01:10:31Premieres Monday
01:10:32at 10 p.m. on HBO.
01:10:34Real Sports.
01:10:35Nothing is out of bounds.
01:10:39And KO Nation.
01:10:41Our Saturday afternoon
01:10:41in the Boxing Series
01:10:42returns June 10
01:10:43with host Ed Lover,
01:10:44DJ Max Glazer,
01:10:46the knockouts,
01:10:46and last but not least,
01:10:48boxing.
01:10:49In July,
01:10:50the return of
01:10:51When It Was a Game.
01:10:51In this third
01:10:52and final installment,
01:10:53we take a retrospective
01:10:54look at the changing face
01:10:55of baseball in America
01:10:56during the 1960s.
01:10:59Earlier this evening,
01:11:00here in the
01:11:00Consico Fieldhouse
01:11:02in downtown Indianapolis,
01:11:03world middleweight champion
01:11:05Bernard Hopkins
01:11:06defended his title
01:11:07for the 11th consecutive time,
01:11:09defeating Canadian
01:11:10Sid Vanderpool
01:11:11in a one-sided,
01:11:13unanimous decision.
01:11:14Hopkins showed
01:11:15many of his skills.
01:11:17And then,
01:11:18in an even more dazzling
01:11:19display of skill,
01:11:20world light heavyweight champion
01:11:22Roy Jones
01:11:23easily defeated
01:11:24mandatory challenger
01:11:25Richard Hall,
01:11:26knocking Hall down twice
01:11:28in the first round
01:11:29and then repeatedly
01:11:30battering Hall
01:11:31with power shots
01:11:32to the belly
01:11:33and to the head
01:11:34throughout the remainder
01:11:35of the fight
01:11:36until it was finally stopped
01:11:37later than it should have been
01:11:39in the 11th round.
01:11:41Coming up immediately
01:11:42after tonight's coverage
01:11:43of world championship boxing,
01:11:44stay tuned for part four
01:11:45of the HBO miniseries event,
01:11:47The Corner.
01:11:48So now for George Foreman
01:11:49and Larry Merchant,
01:11:50I'm Jim Lampley
01:11:51saying so long
01:11:52from the Consico Fieldhouse
01:11:54in Indianapolis, Indiana.
01:11:56The executive producer
01:11:57of HBO Sports
01:11:58is Ross Greenberg.
01:11:59Tonight's telecast
01:12:00of world championship boxing
01:12:02was produced by Rick Bernstein
01:12:03and directed by Mark Payton,
01:12:05feature producer
01:12:06Thomas Odlefelt,
01:12:07associate directors
01:12:08Greg Backer
01:12:08and Michael Whalen,
01:12:10assistant to the producer
01:12:10Thomas Uppey.
01:12:12The production manager
01:12:12was John McCalley,
01:12:14technical supervisor
01:12:15Bob Hunter
01:12:15and the technical director
01:12:17was Doug Getz.
01:12:18for a great time.
01:12:39.
01:12:39.
01:13:10The Network of Champions.
Be the first to comment