Roy Jones Jr vs Reggie Johnson - HBO 6-5-99 - video Dailymotion

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WBA/WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Roy Jones Jr faces IBF Champion Reggie Johnson to unify all 3 belts on HBO Boxing

Transcript

00:00:00Of the moment when African-American athletes competing at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games changed the face of sports forever.

00:00:10Welcome back live to Biloxi. You know, for 95% of the fighters in the sport, it's enough just to try to beat the opponents who are put in front of them.

00:00:18But there are a special few for whom that's never quite enough, and Roy Jones is front and center among those special few.

00:00:24Roy is always chasing some bigger goal, whether it be his place in history, never quite big enough to satisfy himself, or his dominance of his opponents, never big enough to satisfy his critics.

00:00:40Few present-day athletes have dominated their competition quite like Roy Jones.

00:00:45Over the course of his career, he has so thoroughly outclassed his opponents that finding a legitimate in-the-ring challenge has become the challenge.

00:00:52But tonight could be different. Tonight, there's plenty at stake.

00:00:56Not only will Roy be fighting to become the only undisputed belt holder in his sport, he's fighting an opponent he's had his eye on for quite some time.

00:01:04Reggie Johnson sparred with Roy Jones down in Pensacola a few years ago, and apparently Roy did not appreciate the fact that his father, Roy Sr., took an interest in Reggie and was helping training him,

00:01:16because Roy had the foresight to say, hey, I may meet this guy sometime.

00:01:19Why would you even be spending time with him like that? Our paths are going to cross if he is successful.

00:01:25And sure enough, now it's been about seven, eight years, but still, they're about to cross now.

00:01:30Their paths have intersected, and with a victory tonight, the undisputed light heavyweight championship would be Roy's.

00:01:36If he achieves that goal, might the time finally be right to test the waters as a heavyweight?

00:01:41It's been talked about for years.

00:01:43He has a lot of trouble finding opponents with a light heavyweight.

00:01:47When you're too good for the guys in your division, the only thing to do is quit or move up.

00:01:51The biggest point of entry is that people think he's going to kill me.

00:01:55People think there ain't no way in the world Roy Jones is big enough to beat no heavyweight.

00:01:58He's too small.

00:01:59And I love to hear people say they think I can't.

00:02:02But history supports the naysayers.

00:02:05Although Michael Spinks won the heavyweight title, the only light heavy to do so, he was eventually embarrassed by a much bigger puncher.

00:02:11Other 175-pound greats like Billy Kahn, Archie Moore, and Bob Foster all failed in their attempts.

00:02:18So what chance does this former junior middleweight have?

00:02:21There's plenty of heavyweights out there than Roy Jones can beat.

00:02:24I think Jones had come in about 182, 183 pounds.

00:02:27You have to remember when Billy Kahn fought Joe Lewis, he only weighed 169 pounds.

00:02:31Against one of the greatest heavyweights that ever lived, and damn near won the fight.

00:02:35Roy has to pick the right time and the right guy if he's going to make the jump.

00:02:38Lennox Lewis was just simply too big.

00:02:40Evander Holyfield at this point, perfect.

00:02:43Roy Jones and Evander right now, I would say, would be a very competitive fight.

00:02:46Roy's plan is not to become a heavyweight for good, but to fight once for the heavyweight title against the right opponent.

00:02:53Like Evander Holyfield.

00:02:55It would be a great matchup for me because of the size.

00:02:58You know, he's not too, too big for me because I'm smaller.

00:03:01He'd want to come out and try to finish me off right away and get it over with.

00:03:04But I think, you know, I'm far too elusive for that.

00:03:07And after he got over that, then the fight would start.

00:03:10And I think it would be downhill for him from that point forward.

00:03:14If I had Roy Jones, I would have had him fight Evander Holyfield at least a year ago.

00:03:19Because I think he has the punching power and the speed to make Holyfield an easy fight for him.

00:03:25I'm not a guy who is afraid of nothing.

00:03:27I'm 30 years old.

00:03:28What do I have to be afraid of?

00:03:29I do whatever the fans want to see.

00:03:30I know the fans want to see a unification fight, so I may, that had to happen.

00:03:34They want to see me go to Milwaukee and wrestle a buffalo with a pair of gloves on, and that's what'll happen.

00:03:39Whatever happens, wouldn't it be fun?

00:03:41Not the buffalo and the gloves, but to see Roy Jones Jr. fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world.

00:03:47Welcome back.

00:03:53Roy Jones is someone you've gotten to know, as we all have, because, of course, among his many involvements, he works for HBO.

00:04:00But how about those many involvements?

00:04:01I mean, this is a guy who, he's playing on a semi-pro basketball team, so he trains in two different places.

00:04:06He works for HBO.

00:04:07He's got a carpet cleaning business.

00:04:09He's getting into the boxing promotion business.

00:04:11He owns a music studio.

00:04:13I'm leaving out two or three things.

00:04:14He's got a big farm.

00:04:15He tends to 100 chickens.

00:04:17Too many different walks of life for one guy or perfect for somebody with the energy of Roy Jones.

00:04:22Well, in boxing, they talk about the deterioration of brain cells.

00:04:25You can't, they won't deteriorate if you're using them.

00:04:27This guy is definitely using his brains.

00:04:30He's having a lot of fun.

00:04:31All boxers should take this lead and try to do the same thing.

00:04:34I think he needs more things to do.

00:04:36So, you don't think that there's a danger of distracting him from the difficult task of boxing?

00:04:43No, the days of, I got to ask coach, it's gone forever.

00:04:46These are the days of the many facets of heavyweight and middleweight and, of course, light heavyweight boxers.

00:04:51Well, let's see what happens to Roy Jones as a light heavyweight boxer as he continues that incarnation tonight.

00:04:56Meanwhile, there's been a delay in Reggie Johnson's dressing room where they had difficulty for a while finding a set of gloves to fit him.

00:05:03Now, they've finally gotten the right gloves.

00:05:05As you can see, they're putting them on at this moment.

00:05:08And Reggie will be coming out to the ring very shortly to get ready for this battle against Roy Jones.

00:05:14George, let's talk about Reggie Johnson.

00:05:16And I talked about how well you know Roy Jones.

00:05:19Reggie grew up in the same neighborhood in Houston where you grew up.

00:05:23His father was what, a schoolmate of yours?

00:05:25That's right.

00:05:26We had the third and fourth grade together.

00:05:28I could whip his dad.

00:05:28So, you've whipped a lot of people, George.

00:05:31So, you know as well as anybody the difficult path that he's had to travel to get here.

00:05:35And, of course, with Roy focused on so many different things, I mean, you know, you say it's not a distraction.

00:05:41Michael Jordan's at ringside tonight because he's Roy's business partner and they're launching a clothing line.

00:05:46It's like a perfect psychological setup for an upset for Reggie if he's ready to do his job.

00:05:51The difference between a contender and a champion, motivation.

00:05:55You've got to be motivated.

00:05:56If you can catch Roy Jones tonight not motivated, this guy could clean him out.

00:06:01That's the only difference.

00:06:02Physically, they're the same.

00:06:03Mentally, they could be the same.

00:06:05But motivation, you've got to be motivated.

00:06:07Because Reggie Johnson's a terrific fighter.

00:06:09He was a middleweight champion before he began to have trouble making 160 pounds.

00:06:14Eventually found his comfort zone when he moved up to 175.

00:06:17He's waited a long, long time to get this coveted opportunity to fight against Roy Jones.

00:06:23My road has been a windy, uphill, downhill, uphill road.

00:06:32A lot of bumps that I've had to overcome.

00:06:34Once a middleweight champion and currently a reigning light heavyweight champ, Reginald Johnson has never been a household name.

00:06:41Tonight, Reggie Johnson, a man continually with his back against a wall, plans to step out of the shadows of his difficult past.

00:06:50Around eight years old, his father went away to prison behind an assault case.

00:06:57I remember being a little kid, being the one traveling with my mother to go see my dad behind a big, big glass window.

00:07:05It made me feel sad.

00:07:07And these were really hard days for him.

00:07:09He would become sometimes emotionally detached.

00:07:14It was kind of degrading for my son to see me in that situation.

00:07:18He would ask me, when is he going to be allowed to come home?

00:07:21Home was the roughest neighborhood in all of Texas.

00:07:24Houston's Fifth Ward, where getting out was the road less traveled.

00:07:28We have the drugs, the prostitution, the robberies.

00:07:31Watts, South Central, Fifth Ward.

00:07:35You know, from one ghetto to the other, they're all the same.

00:07:37One of my sisters said to him that he was going to wind up like his dad if he wasn't careful.

00:07:42A misdirected 12-year-old then turned to his uncle, an amateur boxer, for some much-needed guidance.

00:07:49It started in the garage.

00:07:50We just took an old croaker sack, a potato sack, and we filled it with sand, and he was really good, man.

00:07:57So I took him with me to the boys' club.

00:07:59He never looked back.

00:08:00The one thing about that day, the minute I took those gloves off, it was like I found my niche.

00:08:05But Reggie's mother would still need further convincing that boxing was the right kind of intervention to take him off the street.

00:08:12He would pull on my sleeve and say, Coach, when are you going to talk to Mama?

00:08:17I want a box.

00:08:18So me and Reggie went over there.

00:08:20She came out on the porch, and she said...

00:08:23You're Coach Carter from the boys' club.

00:08:24And he was like, yes, I am.

00:08:25She said, you want my son to box?

00:08:28I said, yes, ma'am.

00:08:29No, sir, I don't think so.

00:08:31Coach Carter persuaded Reggie's mother to give him a trial, and within two years, he won over 90 amateur bouts.

00:08:36He turned pro and became a middleweight champion before his career derailed because of managerial disputes.

00:08:43Disputes which cost him time, money, and recognition.

00:08:47I don't look at it as a complete loss because it's never too late to turn things around.

00:08:51Something he's learned from his father, who's put his own life back together over the last six years.

00:08:57For Reggie, his turnabout came last year in a dramatic upset victory over William Guthrie.

00:09:02A new belt holder in the light heavyweight division.

00:09:05And with that, a heartfelt wish was fulfilled.

00:09:08I used to always look out, and I would see two empty chairs.

00:09:12My mother and father were there for the most part.

00:09:14I've always known this is something that he always wished for.

00:09:18For Reg to have us there, we know the importance of it.

00:09:22It's nice now looking out there, knowing that, you know, through it all, I proved a lot of people wrong.

00:09:26Tonight, Reggie Johnson has another hill to climb.

00:09:29Amid near-unanimous expectations, he's about to get punched back toward the bottom of the boxing heap.

00:09:34But it's a long way from the fifth ward to the spotlight.

00:09:37And to have made the trip, and to have brought mom and dad with him,

00:09:41is a satisfaction that can never be knocked out.

00:09:47Norma Johnson, mother of Robert Johnson, father of, and former schoolmate of George Foreman,

00:09:53in the dressing room.

00:09:55Ha, ha, ha.

00:09:57Cheering their son on as he warms and gets ready to come to the ring

00:10:00to fight the biggest fight of his life against Roy Jones.

00:10:05Tale of the tape for this light heavyweight title fight.

00:10:09And you can see that Roy Jones has reached the age of 30,

00:10:12but is still two years younger than Reggie Johnson, an inch in height to Jones.

00:10:17They weighed in at 174 and 171, and Reggie Johnson says,

00:10:20I'm just not going to get much bigger than 175 pounds.

00:10:23This is my body, this is who I am.

00:10:25So he's giving up seven pounds in weight to Jones,

00:10:28who gained eight since yesterday's weigh-in.

00:10:30Two-inch reach advantage to Jones.

00:10:33Punched at numbers, and you can see that for the two fight averages,

00:10:38Jones against Otis Grant and Lou Duvall,

00:10:40Johnson against William Guthrie and Will Taylor.

00:10:44It is Johnson who has slightly the better numbers.

00:10:48How about jabs?

00:10:49Well, once again, and again unusually, it is Reggie Johnson who has slightly the better jab numbers

00:10:55coming into the fight against Jones.

00:10:57And one odds maker in Vegas called this a 15-to-1 fight.

00:11:03Those odds are outlandishly lopsided because Reggie Johnson's just too good

00:11:07to be a 15-to-1 underdog against anybody, even Roy Jones.

00:11:11Harold Letterman, the rules of the bout.

00:11:13Jim, the rules of the bout.

00:11:15The Roy Jones Jr.

00:11:16Reggie Johnson fight is scheduled for 12 rounds

00:11:19using the rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions.

00:11:22There is no standing eight count, no three-knockdown rule.

00:11:26Only the referee can stop the fight,

00:11:28and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round,

00:11:30including the 12th and final round.

00:11:33Jim.

00:11:36And first to enter will be Reggie Johnson.

00:11:41You see behind him the man who has taken over the training chores for this fight,

00:11:46Don Turner, well-known as trainer to both Evander Holyfield

00:11:50and Michael Grant in the heavyweight division.

00:11:58Reggie Johnson turned his career around

00:12:01with the stunning one-punch right-hook knockout

00:12:05of William Guthrie last year

00:12:07that earned him a light heavyweight title.

00:12:09Can you turn that music up, man?

00:12:12Yeah!

00:12:13Get up, boys, in the house!

00:12:16What's up?

00:12:17Reggie Johnson in the house!

00:12:22This goes out for anybody and everybody

00:12:24who has to have to fight for everybody!

00:12:26Johnson in, Turner following him in.

00:12:29And the record for Reggie Johnson,

00:12:3139 wins, five losses, one draw.

00:12:33Two of those losses, incidentally,

00:12:35were close, tough decision losses

00:12:36in Argentina to Argentine Jorge Castro.

00:12:40Even Roy Jones says,

00:12:41no way Reggie was going to win one of those fights.

00:12:43Everybody's right, everybody's right.

00:12:47Everybody's right, everybody's right.

00:12:48Everybody's up in this bucket

00:12:49like I am hoping that I can raise up

00:12:52out of this fight and watch it.

00:12:58Yeah!

00:13:00Referee Elmo Adolph

00:13:01with a little early instruction to Johnson

00:13:04as Roy Jones prepares to come in.

00:13:09The name of Roy's walkout music

00:13:11is Drop Bombs,

00:13:13which is the flip side of his own new single,

00:13:17I Pray,

00:13:18to be released later this month.

00:13:19Y'all ready?

00:13:22Back in our world?

00:13:23grandiose fold

00:13:25head, head.

00:13:26softball

00:13:27little

00:13:29Black

00:13:30I say

00:13:31it's raquid

00:13:33house

00:13:34some

00:13:34Relax

00:13:35what

00:13:35wake

00:13:37and

00:13:38get

00:13:39close

00:13:43go

00:13:45mama

00:13:46jump

00:13:47Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

00:14:17And Roy Jones' record, the one loss, a disqualification against Montel Griffin,

00:14:29immediately avenged via a first-round knockout.

00:14:3333 KOs in 39 fights, 13-1, 9 KOs in title fights,

00:14:37and you saw the statistic, almost incredible,

00:14:40that shows that Jones is about to defend his title against a southpaw for the fourth consecutive time.

00:14:45While you're watching this fight, you can log on to www.hbo.com slash boxing

00:14:49to chat and score each round of tonight's action.

00:14:52You can also voice your opinion on the poll question for the night.

00:14:56If Roy Jones wins, should he move up to the heavyweight division and campaign there?

00:15:00Give us a yes or no, and we'll provide you with the results of that poll later on.

00:15:04Now let's go to ring announcer Michael Buffer for the introductions.

00:15:07Ladies and gentlemen, Murad Muhammad's M&M Sports in association with Jordan Brand,

00:15:17Cedric Kushner Promotions, Square Ring, and the Grand Casino present

00:15:2212 rounds of boxing for the Unified IBF, WBA, WBC Light Heavyweight Championship of the World.

00:15:36Sanctioned by the Mississippi State Athletic Commission, Chairman Billy Lyons,

00:15:40Commissioner Fred Angelis, Chief Deputy Commissioner Sal Toronto,

00:15:44Physicians at Ringside, Dr. Lance Barnes, Dr. Todd Cothurn,

00:15:48Timekeeper at the bell, Denver Anderson, counting for the knockdown seconds, Wayne Cremu.

00:15:55From the Grand Casino, ladies and gentlemen, pardon me, your three judges assigned here at Ringside,

00:16:01scoring the belt on a 10-point must system will be from California, Chuck Hassett,

00:16:07from Venezuela, Cove Jesus, and from Mississippi, Paul Sita.

00:16:11And when the bell rings, your referee in charge of the action, Elmo Adolph.

00:16:16And now, from the Grand Casino of the Mississippi Gulf Coast,

00:16:23for the thousands in attendance and the millions watching around the world,

00:16:28ladies and gentlemen,

00:16:31let's get ready to rumble!

00:16:34Let's get ready to rumble!

00:16:36Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, wearing white with blue and weighing 171 pounds.

00:16:50As an amateur, he accumulated nearly 100 victories, and now, as a professional,

00:16:55he's a two-time world title holder with 39 victories, 24 by knockout, with five losses and a draw.

00:17:03He comes to this ring wearing one championship belt, and plans to leave wearing three.

00:17:11Ladies and gentlemen, from Houston, Texas,

00:17:14here is the former middleweight world champion,

00:17:17and reigning, defending, IBF light heavyweight champion of the world,

00:17:25Reggie Sweet Johnson!

00:17:30And across the ring, fighting out of the red corner,

00:17:40wearing black, trimmed with red, he weighs 174 pounds.

00:17:45In 1988, he was a silver medalist while deserving Olympic gold.

00:17:51Now, as a professional, he has a record consisting of 39 victories, including 33 knockouts,

00:17:58with only one loss, disputed and avenged.

00:18:02And he has captured four world titles in three divisions,

00:18:06while most experts recognize him as, pound for pound, the best there is.

00:18:11Ladies and gentlemen, from Pensacola, Florida,

00:18:15presenting the four-time world champion,

00:18:19the reigning and defending,

00:18:22WBA, WBC,

00:18:25light heavyweight champion of the world,

00:18:28the world champion.

00:18:34Here we go.

00:18:38Let's get everybody out.

00:18:52Get them all out.

00:18:53Get them all out.

00:18:54Hi, gentlemen. Both of you are professionals.

00:18:59I expect you to pay attention to my commands out here.

00:19:01Let's have a good fight. Shake hands. Come on, boxing.

00:19:08Eight years ago, Reggie Johnson was briefly brought to Pensacola, Florida,

00:19:14and trained in the gym for a period of time, about six or eight weeks,

00:19:18with Roy Jones' dad, Roy Jones Sr., who was still training his son at that time.

00:19:24Roy Jones Sr. asked Roy to get in the ring and spar with Reggie Johnson.

00:19:28And Roy, after a brief period of time doing so, stepped away and said,

00:19:32this is nonsense. If I'm going to be measured,

00:19:35I shouldn't be measured against a guy I'm someday going to fight for a title.

00:19:39Jones was right. He knew that their paths would eventually cross.

00:19:46Reggie's got to make sure he jumped on Roy and get ahead on points.

00:19:50Stay ahead on points.

00:19:51You're a challenger, you're supposed to be motivated to get that title.

00:19:56Roy Jones' job is to make certain that he doesn't give this guy too much courage

00:20:00because once he starts landing one shot at a time,

00:20:03then he's going to fall right into Reggie's trap.

00:20:06The expectation is that Jones would choose to box and be safe.

00:20:10Even his good friend Derek Smoke Gaynor said to us yesterday,

00:20:13I want him to box. This should be an easy fight.

00:20:16But Roy Jones said to us,

00:20:17Well, don't necessarily count on it.

00:20:20I might decide to go ahead and confront him man-to-man in the first round

00:20:23because I think he wants it that way.

00:20:26It's already starting to go Reggie's way.

00:20:28Just Roy lands one shot and it turns into a clinch.

00:20:31Let's go break it.

00:20:32Reggie gets in two or three before all of that happens.

00:20:35Reggie getting in the little pops to the body

00:20:37as you saw them in that last clinch.

00:20:40One minute down, hard right hand by Jones

00:20:42and Johnson goes straight on to the seat of his pants.

00:20:46There's the quickness and the power of Roy Jones.

00:20:49That's the quickness and the power.

00:20:50But you've got a long night.

00:20:52You don't want to be doing it with one shot.

00:20:56Another right hand lead lands on Johnson

00:20:59and Johnson trying to fight back.

00:21:02Apparently wanting to communicate right away to Jones.

00:21:07That was a flash knockdown.

00:21:08You didn't hurt me that badly.

00:21:10That punch hurt.

00:21:12Reggie, this is all new to Reggie.

00:21:14Now he's into another category.

00:21:17Jones told us that he felt the straight right hand

00:21:19would be the dominant punch in his arsenal.

00:21:23Already the returns are in.

00:21:26One thing you want to do with Reggie's corner,

00:21:28you've got to let them know

00:21:29where Roy Jones' power range is.

00:21:32You've got to keep your hands set.

00:21:38Two weeks ago, Oscar Delooya knocked Obakar down

00:21:43in the first round.

00:21:45And it looked for a moment

00:21:46as though it would be an easy fight.

00:21:48Ten rounds later, Delooya was still fighting

00:21:50before he earned his TKO of Obakar.

00:21:56Another quick right hand by Jones.

00:21:58Now, Reggie's going to have to set his defense,

00:22:00find out where that shot hurt me,

00:22:02and put his hand right there in that position.

00:22:04Oh, okay.

00:22:05And a cut above the right eye of Reggie Johnson.

00:22:09Little cut just at the corner of the right eye.

00:22:12He was cut in the 12th round

00:22:15of the Will Taylor fight over the right eye.

00:22:17That was back in February.

00:22:19Now, four months later,

00:22:20the cut emerges again in the same place.

00:22:22All of that flash knockdown happened.

00:22:25Reggie is sticking straight with the same strategy,

00:22:27throwing four or five shots.

00:22:30Roy Jones, you don't want him throwing shots.

00:22:32You want him defending himself at all times.

00:22:34Great right hand lands for Reggie Johnson.

00:22:37Obviously, his plan was to go to the body.

00:22:41But there's a knockdown.

00:22:42There's blood.

00:22:43There's a highly energetic Roy Jones.

00:22:46There's a wildly enthusiastic crowd.

00:22:48And already, Reggie Johnson is in an uphill fight.

00:22:52Get that blood off him, man.

00:22:54Get that blood off his chest.

00:22:57Reggie, you're giving him too much time to work, man.

00:23:01He's leaning over at the waist.

00:23:03He can't hurt you if you get close to him.

00:23:05Relax.

00:23:06Relax.

00:23:06Let's take a look at the knockdown from three angles

00:23:14as you look at the CompuBox numbers

00:23:16that showed Roy Jones fighting economically but effectively.

00:23:20And there's the straight right hand.

00:23:22Right on top of the eye.

00:23:23You know, if the guy's throwing one shot,

00:23:26here we go again.

00:23:27Hmm.

00:23:28And you don't even think it hurt

00:23:29when you punch it with that kind of power.

00:23:31It happens so quickly.

00:23:33It takes a moment before your legs tell you,

00:23:35hey, you're down.

00:23:36So the knockdown and the cut

00:23:37came from the same punch.

00:23:38I believe it's in the same area.

00:23:40Look that way.

00:23:43All of Roy Jones' 12-punch connects

00:23:45in the first round were power shots.

00:23:50I don't think he'll throw too many jabs

00:23:52against a southpaw.

00:23:57And you heard Don Turner telling Reggie Johnson

00:23:59to get inside and don't give him any time to work.

00:24:02Reggie Johnson is listening.

00:24:03You want to get inside and land

00:24:05as many punches as you can

00:24:07so that you can make Roy Jones stop.

00:24:10Jones following you around,

00:24:11landing one shot at a time.

00:24:14Looking at Jones and his battles

00:24:16against Mike McCallum, Montel Griffin,

00:24:18and a couple of others,

00:24:19Lou Duvall in particular.

00:24:21Reggie Johnson's people,

00:24:22Don Turner most particularly,

00:24:24felt as though if you back Roy up against the ropes,

00:24:26he's not effective.

00:24:27But he's certainly awfully effective

00:24:29when he stands in the middle of the ring like this.

00:24:34All right, let's go.

00:24:35Get out.

00:24:35Break it clean.

00:24:36Step back.

00:24:36Think about this Roy Jones.

00:24:38He's so conditioned.

00:24:39Takes a lot of energy

00:24:40to throw that many power shots.

00:24:43And Reggie's having a difficult time

00:24:45trying to decide which defense is he going to use.

00:24:48Speed.

00:24:49Speed is the great equalizer in so many sports,

00:24:51and speed is the difference so far

00:24:54between Jones and Johnson.

00:24:56It doesn't matter who you're fighting.

00:24:57You have a defense.

00:24:58You set your defense.

00:25:00You don't move your hands back and forward.

00:25:01You just sit where the guy is going to hit you.

00:25:06Johnson getting to the body.

00:25:08Jones backs up.

00:25:11Hard right hand uppercut by Jones.

00:25:14Have you noticed Reggie's hands

00:25:16were right in the right spot that time?

00:25:17Keep them up.

00:25:18Now he blocks a right hand with his left glove.

00:25:21Does Reggie Johnson

00:25:22and fires a right to Jones' chest.

00:25:25Backs Jones up into the ropes

00:25:27as he goes to Roy's body.

00:25:28Back up, Reggie. Back up.

00:25:34Watch your hands. Watch your hands.

00:25:37A lot of times you think

00:25:38you have to move your hands back and forward,

00:25:39but just setting your defense,

00:25:41you're out of trouble.

00:25:43Keep your hands up at all times.

00:25:45Jim Lampley and George Foreman live

00:25:54at ringside in Moxie, Mississippi.

00:25:56Larry Merchant not with us tonight.

00:25:58Home in California for his daughter

00:26:00Julie's graduation from high school.

00:26:03And Jones, having already knocked

00:26:05Reggie Johnson down once in the first round,

00:26:08looks for another one in the second.

00:26:10Roy Jones is awful courageous.

00:26:16Now he's throwing combinations,

00:26:19which he should have always been doing.

00:26:21Roy Jones, throw your combinations,

00:26:23although you're powerful.

00:26:24Use the one, two, three.

00:26:26It punches up, Roy.

00:26:27Watch it lower.

00:26:28Jones digging up and under

00:26:30with the right hand.

00:26:31And again, this is the 10-second warning,

00:26:34not the end of the round.

00:26:35Elmo Adolph has to let the fighters know

00:26:37that that's not the end of the round.

00:26:39That's the bell that ends the round.

00:26:42Confusing.

00:26:44Way to play off his jam.

00:26:46That's good.

00:26:46They're 4-3 working, baby.

00:26:48Okay.

00:26:48They're 4-3 working off his jam.

00:26:50What's he doing here?

00:26:51I got it.

00:26:52Okay.

00:26:52Pull the cup out.

00:26:53Get that blood off his chest, man.

00:26:56All right.

00:26:57Way to go.

00:26:58Way to follow his jam up.

00:26:59You're going to follow that jam right now.

00:27:01When you get close, you want to run,

00:27:03make him run.

00:27:04You got to get close.

00:27:05Cut down his...

00:27:06What about the cut?

00:27:08Ain't nothing we can't have to.

00:27:12Relax.

00:27:14When you throw a hook, step back.

00:27:15Because coming with the straight right,

00:27:16and counting the punch.

00:27:18Straight left with the right hook.

00:27:19Coming back with the right hook.

00:27:19You got to move to the right, right?

00:27:21You got to move to the right, right?

00:27:23You got to move to the right, right?

00:27:25You got to move to the right, right?

00:27:28If Elmo Adolph hasn't expressed an opinion

00:27:31to officials at ringside as to whether that cut

00:27:33was the product of a butt or a punch, we're not sure.

00:27:36And we showed you the punch in the first round

00:27:38that could have caused the cut.

00:27:40There's head contact,

00:27:41which also could have caused the cut.

00:27:43So we're not sure which was the instance

00:27:46in which Reggie Johnson's right eye got sliced open.

00:27:50Now we go to round three.

00:27:52All right, all right, all right, all right.

00:27:55And whenever Roy Jones spreads his legs,

00:27:58any length of a weight, he's trying to get in a power shot.

00:28:01And I think Reggie's corner should be advising him,

00:28:03not allow this guy to spread his legs.

00:28:05How do you stop it?

00:28:07Well, what you do is just stay close, real close to him,

00:28:10make him back up everything after he backs up.

00:28:13All right, got it over, baby!

00:28:15I'm pretty sure Don Turner would want Reggie Johnson

00:28:19to crowd Jones a lot more than he's doing.

00:28:22When he spreads his leg,

00:28:23he can also just kind of move back a little bit

00:28:25and make him bring his feet together again.

00:28:29We're told, incidentally, that Johnson's corner

00:28:32firmly believes that the cutover Reggie's right eye

00:28:35was from the butt, not from the punch in round one.

00:28:38Of course, it's in their best interest to believe that.

00:28:45Johnson with a looping left hand

00:28:46and now digging to Jones' body.

00:28:49Jones backs him up for the right.

00:28:52Now, when he backs his legs up,

00:28:54move back a little bit and make him start all over again.

00:28:56This is what Reggie has to do.

00:28:57All right, hold on. Let's go. Let's go.

00:28:59Don't push him in, right. Don't push him in, right.

00:29:05Boy, Jones doesn't like using his left jab,

00:29:07so he uses everything with his feet,

00:29:09spreads them apart.

00:29:15And does Roy drop his left hand so low

00:29:19because he wants you to fire the right

00:29:21to take the counter over it?

00:29:22He spreads himself because he doesn't lose a jab.

00:29:25He's looking for the same thing

00:29:26that you could create with a left jab or a left jab.

00:29:32He just can't stand for him like that.

00:29:33Punch combination by Jones.

00:29:35Too much speed for Johnson to handle.

00:29:40More lead right hands.

00:29:41Reckie Johnson backing up against the ropes

00:29:45and not throwing,

00:29:46blinded by Jones' speed.

00:29:48Jones is pretty...

00:29:49Roy Jones is pretty clever.

00:29:51He knows all this was created

00:29:52in the middle of the ring,

00:29:53so he's not gonna throw everything

00:29:54while this guy's on the rope.

00:29:57Try to pull him back out to the middle of the ring

00:29:59and do what you did originally.

00:30:00As there ever in the history of the sport

00:30:17been a 175-pound fighter

00:30:19with the kind of hand speed

00:30:20that Roy Jones has.

00:30:21He's gifted.

00:30:22He started off in a light of weight room,

00:30:23just like one of those jet pilots.

00:30:27Speed moves up with him,

00:30:28and you see what happens.

00:30:29That hurts.

00:30:30One, five, six, seven, eight.

00:30:35Reckie Johnson has never been knocked out.

00:30:41And now round three comes to a close.

00:30:43Or did it?

00:30:44One, four, three, here.

00:30:53Oh, Renate.

00:30:54Don't stay on the ropes, man.

00:31:11Keep him in the center of the ring.

00:31:12All right, if you blinked,

00:31:13you might have missed the knockdown.

00:31:14Want to see it again?

00:31:16You see Roy gets a chance

00:31:17to spread his feet.

00:31:19Boom.

00:31:20Straight right hand right on the button.

00:31:21And it bent his knees.

00:31:23You don't allow him to spread his legs.

00:31:25Once again, he's got it.

00:31:27Happens so quickly

00:31:28that you just can't duck.

00:31:30Second knockdown in three rounds.

00:31:32Second time Johnson's been knocked down

00:31:34by a quick, straight right hand.

00:31:35Let's go.

00:31:36Come on out!

00:31:36This one's set up by a left.

00:31:38The one in the first round

00:31:39was a single-punch knockdown.

00:31:41Seldom you see guys

00:31:43with that kind of speed,

00:31:45accuracy,

00:31:45and then have the power

00:31:46to go along with it.

00:31:48You just don't see it much.

00:31:49Harold Lederman,

00:31:51how do you have it

00:31:51through the first three?

00:31:52Three to nothing,

00:31:5330 to 25.

00:31:55Roy Jones Jr.

00:31:56You certainly have to give him

00:31:57an extra point in round one.

00:31:59You've got to give him

00:32:00an extra point in round three.

00:32:01Personally,

00:32:02I thought they should have sent

00:32:03that a doctor with a quarter

00:32:04at the end of the third round

00:32:05to look at Reggie Johnson

00:32:06and his third doctor in there.

00:32:08I tell you,

00:32:08I still think Reggie Johnson

00:32:09is coming up

00:32:10for the fourth round hurt,

00:32:11but this is all Roy Jones.

00:32:12Look at that.

00:32:13Yep,

00:32:13we could see a finish here.

00:32:15Well called,

00:32:17Harold,

00:32:18as Reggie Johnson

00:32:19has no legs,

00:32:21or at least is diminished

00:32:23beginning round four.

00:32:25One thing about this,

00:32:26Reggie is one of the best fighters

00:32:28in this weight class ever.

00:32:30He can't even know,

00:32:31he doesn't even know

00:32:31what to do.

00:32:34Roy Jones is there and beyond.

00:32:37Yep.

00:32:38Johnson looking hesitant

00:32:39and confused

00:32:41as he trained hard,

00:32:43had a good plan,

00:32:45was mentally focused

00:32:46and prepared,

00:32:47and has simply been dazzled

00:32:48by Jones' overwhelming

00:32:50physical gifts.

00:32:52Seldom you see a guy

00:32:53get to this stage

00:32:54as Roy Jones has

00:32:55and continuously

00:32:56gets into the ring

00:32:57in shape.

00:33:06Boy firing to the body

00:33:08that time.

00:33:10Jones has become

00:33:11increasingly fond

00:33:12of body punches

00:33:12in the past four

00:33:13or five fights.

00:33:14Very proud last year

00:33:15when he knocked

00:33:16Virgil Hill out

00:33:17with a body shot here.

00:33:18That goes to show you,

00:33:19he's holding something

00:33:20back right now.

00:33:22Hasn't been able

00:33:22to get in a good body shot.

00:33:23That ever happened,

00:33:24my goodness.

00:33:25Ha, ha, ha.

00:33:33You just cannot

00:33:35drop your hands

00:33:36when you're boxing

00:33:37Roy Jones.

00:33:37They have to be up

00:33:38and you're ducking,

00:33:39cover your face.

00:33:42George, I know you're a,

00:33:44you're a big Oscar

00:33:45Della Hoya fan.

00:33:46You have a lot of admiration

00:33:47for Trinidad

00:33:48and Prince Nassim

00:33:49and various other fighters

00:33:50in the sport.

00:33:51Is Roy your pound

00:33:52for pound number one?

00:33:53I've never seen

00:33:54anything like this.

00:33:55Roy Jones reminded me

00:33:56of a little more.

00:33:56Hamer Ali,

00:33:58uh, stinging hooks

00:33:59with Joe Frazier.

00:34:00He's everything

00:34:01you'd want to see

00:34:02in a fight,

00:34:02and you're not going

00:34:03to see that much.

00:34:05I can't tell you

00:34:06that about the other guys.

00:34:07They are great.

00:34:07The reflexes of a Ray Leonard

00:34:09or a Ray Robinson?

00:34:10Anything you want,

00:34:11he has it.

00:34:11I mean,

00:34:11he's got body punching power.

00:34:15So it's been all

00:34:16Roy Jones

00:34:17for the first

00:34:18four rounds.

00:34:20And like Oscar Della Hoya,

00:34:21he has courage.

00:34:22Yeah.

00:34:25Ah, sensational uppercut

00:34:28snaps Johnson's head back.

00:34:30And Roy beginning

00:34:31to clown just a little bit

00:34:33for the audience here.

00:34:35Can't play with Reggie,

00:34:36though.

00:34:37Can't play with him.

00:34:39Roy even looks away

00:34:41to try to tempt Reggie

00:34:42to come off the ropes.

00:34:45And dances with Elmo Adol

00:34:47for further entertainment.

00:34:49One-sided copybox numbers

00:35:07reflecting Jones'

00:35:09overwhelming dominance

00:35:10against a guy

00:35:12who was regarded

00:35:12as one of his toughest

00:35:13opponents ever.

00:35:14Wait now,

00:35:15you got to be playing.

00:35:17Here's the uppercut, George.

00:35:21There you are.

00:35:22And that's something

00:35:23you don't expect

00:35:24Roy Jones to do.

00:35:28You have to keep

00:35:29your hands in position

00:35:30at all times.

00:35:36Seated at ringside,

00:35:37Reggie Johnson's mother,

00:35:38Norma Johnson,

00:35:40remembering now

00:35:41why all those years ago

00:35:42she wasn't sure

00:35:43she wanted her son to box.

00:35:44This is the time.

00:35:47This is what it's all about.

00:35:49You can't win them all.

00:35:50Let's get all this ice

00:35:51out of here.

00:35:51Let's keep this ice out of here.

00:35:52All right, ice and moisture

00:35:54in Johnson's corner.

00:35:58I wonder if Reggie's handlers

00:35:59thought maybe they could

00:36:00concoct a little delay here.

00:36:03Does nothing but help Reggie.

00:36:04That's right.

00:36:05Let's go, fellas.

00:36:06He's definitely

00:36:07the beneficiary.

00:36:09Now they start

00:36:10round five

00:36:11of a Schedule 12.

00:36:14Now, Reggie,

00:36:15when you can't do

00:36:16anything else,

00:36:17go back to your basics.

00:36:18Use your left jab,

00:36:19feint,

00:36:20come in with a right,

00:36:22I mean, your right jab,

00:36:23feint,

00:36:23come in with a little

00:36:24right hook every now and then,

00:36:25box.

00:36:26Nothing else is working

00:36:27the basics.

00:36:28Always you can call

00:36:29on your basics.

00:36:30The problem, of course,

00:36:37is what's coming back.

00:36:39Well, no, you can do

00:36:40the basics.

00:36:40He stepped out

00:36:41of the basics reaching

00:36:42out for hard shots

00:36:43with Roy Jones a little

00:36:44early on throwing combinations

00:36:46without understanding

00:36:47what he's doing.

00:36:48But now he can go back

00:36:49to the basics.

00:36:50He's been a boxer

00:36:50for many years.

00:36:54If you throw a right jab,

00:36:56a left jab,

00:36:57right jab in this corner,

00:36:59and Roy Jones

00:37:00Jr.,

00:37:00you're not going

00:37:01to miss him.

00:37:01You take the power

00:37:02off of it,

00:37:03you're going to get him.

00:37:08Jones landing

00:37:09three punches.

00:37:10Johnson manages

00:37:11to connect with a right.

00:37:14Once again,

00:37:14he drops his right hand.

00:37:16Drops his right hand.

00:37:17You can't do that.

00:37:18Your defense has to be set

00:37:19because this guy is so quick,

00:37:21you can't depend

00:37:22on your reflexes.

00:37:24Roy's just looking

00:37:24for another opening

00:37:25for that straight

00:37:26right-hand lead.

00:37:27String to the right hand.

00:37:29Fires it there.

00:37:31Reggie is stepping back

00:37:32just a counter.

00:37:33One time,

00:37:34looking for one good counter

00:37:35straight left hand.

00:37:38That time,

00:37:39Jones stepping

00:37:40into the right hand,

00:37:41and Johnson hugging him up.

00:37:43Hugging him up.

00:37:44Stopped the momentum.

00:37:47He's still looking

00:37:48for one shot, Reggie.

00:37:49He's got his leg spread, so he's intending to land a hard shot.

00:37:58Well, it's an almost insurmountable task facing Johnson now

00:38:04because he's bound to be four, five, six points down

00:38:08on the scorecards.

00:38:10He hasn't had a knockout past the fifth round since 1993.

00:38:18And, uh, he's going against a guy who is overwhelming him

00:38:24and swapping him with punching accuracy and activity.

00:38:31And putting on a show.

00:38:38He would have to go back to the basics,

00:38:40try to break Roy down to the body,

00:38:42and set him up for something in the late rounds.

00:38:44Right jab, you double up on your jab,

00:38:46you go to the body, you faint.

00:38:48It's the auto self-defense.

00:38:50This is the time to defend yourself.

00:38:53He's not doing any of that.

00:38:55See, boxing was invented so that the smaller guy,

00:39:00the freller guy can have an advantage with the skills.

00:39:03Use your skills.

00:39:08And you saw the one punch Johnson landed.

00:39:19It was that winging right hand around the top.

00:39:23The guy's quick. You can see that, right?

00:39:25You got to nullify his speed, man.

00:39:26You got to crown him and throw punches

00:39:27and make him back up.

00:39:29You letting him be the aggressor.

00:39:31Come on, man.

00:39:33Right here.

00:39:34Potsied him and then move out.

00:39:36Don't stay there.

00:39:37Play the work.

00:39:40You're gonna make a mistake.

00:39:42You're gonna catch him, clean.

00:39:43Come on.

00:39:44We're gonna poke him in on him.

00:39:45Play the work.

00:39:46Deep breath.

00:39:49Kid Gavilan invented the bolo punch.

00:39:52Second.

00:39:53Kid Gavilan landed it a little harder than that

00:39:55a lot of times.

00:39:56Sometimes, when you're not doing what you wanna do,

00:39:58you just get the crowd involved by doing funny things.

00:40:02He's got a lot of great things.

00:40:05This is sometimes still the circus, you know.

00:40:08Roy, conscious of the fact that there are fans here

00:40:10who may not have seen Kid Gatline in his prime,

00:40:13just wanted to show him a little glimpse.

00:40:16Boy, there's a lot of water falling off of Roy Jones.

00:40:18This rain can become very slippery.

00:40:21So where's the Reggie Johnson right hook

00:40:23that KO'd William Guthrie when Guthrie came at him?

00:40:27Roy Jones has a little height advantage,

00:40:30and he spreads his legs apart.

00:40:32Too much, he gets out of the way.

00:40:35And now a fuselada punches by Jones.

00:40:38Pop, pop, pop!

00:40:40Johnson dunking and slipping, fires a right hand.

00:40:51Now he's allowing Johnson to step back on his left foot.

00:40:58There you go.

00:40:59He brings him back into the middle of the ring.

00:41:00He brings him back into the middle of the ring.

00:41:01This is where he's got the advantage.

00:41:07Reggie touches him on the shoulder with his right hand

00:41:09every now and then, just to know where he is.

00:41:13One element of the Jones plan he has completely fulfilled here.

00:41:18He told us that he would try in every round

00:41:21to remind Johnson who the man is.

00:41:24He wanted psychological domination.

00:41:26He's had it ever since round one.

00:41:30And you heard Don Turner between rounds

00:41:33leading with his fighter to be more aggressive.

00:41:36There you go.

00:41:37A good right hook by Reggie Jackson.

00:41:40By Reggie Johnson.

00:41:41Johnson, I'm sorry.

00:41:42Reggie got in a good right hook.

00:41:43It wasn't hard, but it made Roy Jones understand

00:41:47you're still in a boxing match.

00:41:52It halted the Jones combination flurry.

00:41:56He touches him here and there.

00:41:59He keeps that right hand too low.

00:42:03Meaning Reggie Johnson.

00:42:04Reggie Johnson drops it.

00:42:05If you're going to drop it low, then put it on the side of your chin

00:42:08that your hand is low, that you're carrying the hand low on.

00:42:20Roy Jones has succeeded in allowing Reggie

00:42:22to get some confidence in the latter round.

00:42:25That's something he shouldn't miss.

00:42:26Well, in this round. In this round, though.

00:42:28Yeah.

00:42:29Oh, his confidence has never waned.

00:42:31He got up from the floor, didn't run it high.

00:42:38When you're in the light heavyweight,

00:42:43you just can't go on one punch.

00:42:44You got to finish it up, come back with that hook.

00:42:48Left-right combination by Jones.

00:42:50Another left by Jones.

00:42:53Another busted right hand across the chops of Johnson.

00:42:56And just despite the fact that the last minute of the round

00:42:59has been Johnson's best minutes in quite some time.

00:43:03The 1960s were among the most volatile and turbulent decades

00:43:06in American history.

00:43:06In the world of sport, no event would

00:43:09so transcend the playing fields as the 1968 Summer Olympics.

00:43:13In August, Sports of the 20th Century presents Vists of Freedom,

00:43:17a documentary which looks back at the origin, the individuals,

00:43:21and the after effects of the moment when African-American athletes

00:43:26changed the face of sports forever.

00:43:32You got to get closer and let your hands go, man.

00:43:35Do you understand?

00:43:37You were in Mexico City when...

00:43:38You got to get close and throw combinations, man.

00:43:39Tommy Smith and John Carlos held their fists up on the victory stand.

00:43:43I was there.

00:43:44How aware were you of their actions, and how did it affect you?

00:43:47It affected the Olympic teams more than anything.

00:43:50Inside the village, it had a shock effect.

00:43:52No one wanted to lose a teammate.

00:43:53We felt like our teammate had been kicked off the team.

00:43:56Let's go second.

00:43:57We were hurt.

00:43:58No matter who you are, we didn't understand the media aspect of it.

00:44:01Did it influence your decision to wave little American flags

00:44:04after you won your gold medal, or was that something you would have done anyway?

00:44:07Well, I think even Tommy Smith and John Carlos really were there because of that flag.

00:44:12Don't forget that.

00:44:13They had something else to say.

00:44:14I can't question it.

00:44:15He's a patriotic guy.

00:44:19Harold, how'd you have it through six?

00:44:20Jim, I think this is incredible.

00:44:22Six to nothing.

00:44:23Sixty to fifty-two, Roy Jones Jr.

00:44:26I mean, I've never seen such an incredible performance of speed and power.

00:44:29He's fighting a good light heavyweight.

00:44:31This is no slouch in there, and he's doing everything.

00:44:33Doubling his left hooks, great right hand leads, pounding away at the body.

00:44:37Good defense, good ring generalship, stays away from Johnson's shots.

00:44:41I think it's all Roy Jones, and I think it's a heck of a performance.

00:44:44I think it's a real good fighter.

00:44:46We showed you CompuBox numbers coming into the fight

00:44:48that showed Reggie Johnson had landed close to 40% of his punches

00:44:52against his last two opponents.

00:44:53Tonight, 33 out of 205, 16% connect percentage.

00:44:58Just can't get anything going against Jones,

00:45:00and Jones is landing more than half his punches.

00:45:05Jones is starting to use a left jab at the beginning of the round.

00:45:07He's jab, double jab, and things of that nature also.

00:45:10He just doesn't have the confidence once he gets the guy on the ring, on the ropes.

00:45:16Yeah.

00:45:17Yeah.

00:45:17Seem to want to pull him back off every time.

00:45:20Now, if you're Reggie, you exploit that.

00:45:23Do what you're going to do and go back to the ropes.

00:45:30Reggie Johnson with a hard right hand to the body.

00:45:32Jones pops and moves.

00:45:34Reggie is going to the body, but it's not about wearing the body down.

00:45:41He's trying to blow this guy into a hard, straight left hand.

00:45:48Now, when Roy Jones Jr. gets on the ropes,

00:45:51he doesn't have any room to plant and further move his right foot.

00:45:55So then he's vulnerable.

00:45:57Now he gets back into the middle of the ring,

00:46:00where he's been able to land that right hand lead at will.

00:46:02Yeah, because he's able to spread that leg.

00:46:04The right leg gets further and further back.

00:46:08Reggie's corner told him to get on this guy.

00:46:11They were exactly correct.

00:46:13It takes courage.

00:46:16And after using the right hand lead almost exclusively

00:46:18for the first five rounds,

00:46:21Jones in the last two rounds begins,

00:46:23as George Foreman points out,

00:46:24to land the left hand.

00:46:25And that sets up stuff like this.

00:46:28And a good body shot by Roy Jones for the first time.

00:46:30He's going to the body.

00:46:32Sends Johnson into the peek-a-boo stance.

00:46:35Fires combinations.

00:46:37He's seen what he can do to the body.

00:46:39You notice Johnson on the ropes.

00:46:42He's able to exploit Roy Jones Jr.

00:46:44Gets back to the middle of the ring.

00:46:46Nothing there.

00:46:50Got to hit him and slide back

00:46:52into that uncertain territory.

00:46:57Reggie Johnson just trying to land something,

00:47:00throwing soft punches to the chest of Roy Jones.

00:47:04Don't put so much water on him.

00:47:07We'll get it up.

00:47:09It's getting dangerous.

00:47:10But out here it's getting dangerous.

00:47:14When you're here, bro.

00:47:15Go ahead, shoot.

00:47:16All over here.

00:47:17All right.

00:47:18Lean into his man at the back.

00:47:19Lean into his left, you go south far.

00:47:22He might be on the hook and lean over to the left a lot.

00:47:25Trying to see what you can see.

00:47:26Trying to get right up to the end, too.

00:47:28All right hand.

00:47:29Let's go number five's hook.

00:47:31If he turns south far, he'll be further away from his hook.

00:47:34Then you're out with your dad, bro.

00:47:35Next thing you can get on him when you hit him.

00:47:37And another look at Roy Jones' combination punching ability

00:47:51as Reggie Johnson comes back with some stuff to the body.

00:47:56And Jones says, yes, those are my ribs.

00:47:59Now, here's my right hand.

00:48:04Reggie Johnson averaging only 33 punches per round

00:48:07and landing fewer than 20% of them

00:48:10now tries to start off round eight with a round.

00:48:13You notice whenever he's up, bro, throwing shots,

00:48:16nothing happened to him.

00:48:18You've got to keep on him.

00:48:19Stay right on him.

00:48:20It's a safety zone there.

00:48:21You get a corner man, you get coaches,

00:48:30you're supposed to study the films,

00:48:31find out your safety zone, find out your power shots,

00:48:35what can happen in what spot in the gym.

00:48:38You don't follow a guy everywhere.

00:48:40Reggie Johnson has been on the canvas twice,

00:48:43knocked down in the first, knocked down in the third,

00:48:45both times by straight right hands.

00:48:48He was also cracked over the right eye in the first round.

00:48:51Maybe by Jones' straight right hand,

00:48:54maybe by an unintentional headbutt.

00:48:57Hard to tell.

00:49:01There goes again.

00:49:02That's the safety zone.

00:49:04You want to keep that up.

00:49:05If you're Reggie, stay right there.

00:49:07Don't get back on it to West.

00:49:12In the late rounds of his battle

00:49:15with Lou Duvall and Addison's back.

00:49:16That last up to the body hurts Reggie.

00:49:19Yeah, that was a hard left hand.

00:49:21That was a hard right hand body shot.

00:49:22Right there by Roy Jones.

00:49:24Yep.

00:49:24I was about to say, yeah.

00:49:26Reggie is trying to recuperate.

00:49:27He's moving around because of it.

00:49:29And Jones fires his straight right upstairs,

00:49:34trying to take advantage.

00:49:35Yes.

00:49:35Now copying the jab.

00:49:38Now Roy was able to allow him to recuperate,

00:49:42so now he's going to go right back

00:49:43to getting him into the rope.

00:49:44There used to be a time when Roy Jones

00:49:45didn't want to fight southpaws,

00:49:47didn't like fighting.

00:49:48Now he's gotten so used to it,

00:49:50he's creating more and more ways

00:49:51of attacking against the southpaw.

00:49:53You notice he never changes anything about himself.

00:49:56He doesn't look to plant his left foot anywhere.

00:49:58He just boxes as though he's fighting

00:50:00a regular right-hander.

00:50:01Fourth straight time,

00:50:02he's defended his title against the southpaw,

00:50:04and he's not really worried about it anymore.

00:50:05I was going to say, George, that in the later rounds

00:50:08of his battle with Drew Duvall last summer

00:50:10in Madison Square Garden in New York,

00:50:12Jones clearly got bored and distracted,

00:50:15and it helped lead to the first knockdown of his career

00:50:18as Duvall was able to knock him down.

00:50:20Johnson has to be hoping that Roy's mind will wander again

00:50:23as he has completely dominated the first seven rounds.

00:50:27Another thing you can pay some attention to,

00:50:29the referees.

00:50:30Whenever Reggie gets Roy on the rope,

00:50:33the referee comes in and says,

00:50:34get back.

00:50:35Now, wait a minute.

00:50:36You can still fight on the rope.

00:50:37All right, let's go.

00:50:43Get out, fellas.

00:50:44Get out.

00:50:53Star-studded crowd in Biloxi.

00:50:56Evander Holyfield across the ring

00:50:58in the middle of your shot,

00:50:59looking right at you.

00:51:00And farther over to the left extreme edge

00:51:05of the screen right behind Roy Jones

00:51:07is Michael Jordan.

00:51:08Everybody loves to come to boxing matches.

00:51:27That's good. That's good. That's good.

00:51:28You've seen that on that side.

00:51:29We're in Mississippi.

00:51:30Miss Glamour, the pump, M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.

00:51:34Put them on top of the ground.

00:51:37Yes, sir.

00:51:37Come ahead, sir.

00:51:38Let's try and put them three together, please.

00:51:41All right.

00:51:42Body punishment, George.

00:51:45Yeah, Roy Jones had started just whenever he wanted to,

00:51:49but that's the, that's his, ooh, calling card.

00:51:51Throw hard shots to the body.

00:51:56Another, those things hurt.

00:51:59Seconds.

00:52:00Let's go, Connor.

00:52:01When you're Connor telling you to go.

00:52:05Norma Johnson's son, Reggie,

00:52:08way down in the fight.

00:52:12Way behind on the scorecards.

00:52:15Roy Jones,

00:52:15Leaking about a gallon of water

00:52:19onto the ring canvas right now.

00:52:23I don't know how they're going to keep their footing

00:52:24in this corner of the ring

00:52:25because Roy came back in

00:52:27as though he had just emerged from the shower.

00:52:32Reggie picks up the pace a little bit.

00:52:35Trying to fan a weight.

00:52:37Psst. Psst. Psst. Psst.

00:52:44Pop, pop.

00:52:46Jones's hand speed still there.

00:52:50Hard right to the body by Reggie Johnson.

00:52:52And the blood begins to flow again.

00:52:54Next to Reggie's right eye.

00:52:56Psst. Psst. Psst.

00:52:58How about the cut in the corner of the eye like that, George?

00:53:01Bothersome because the blood trickles in?

00:53:02Yeah, it's bothersome.

00:53:03And also, people don't understand that blood,

00:53:06losing blood in a boxing match, sure can make you weak.

00:53:11Even from the small cuts?

00:53:12Small cuts.

00:53:14Every bit of your body you've been training for months,

00:53:17you haven't been bleeding in the gym.

00:53:20You need every drop.

00:53:21He can make Roy Jones lose his temper a little bit

00:53:35and just get wild like that,

00:53:36then Reggie's in business.

00:53:38You want him to keep doing that.

00:53:41That's the only chance that Reggie can get something in himself.

00:53:44Marcially blocked right-hand shot.

00:53:48Roy Jones loading up right-hands

00:53:52and trying to look for a knockout here.

00:53:54For a moment, he lost his concentration

00:53:55and started winging him a little without any...

00:53:59Accuracy.

00:54:00That's when you want to counter.

00:54:02But Reggie didn't counter.

00:54:04Reggie, like I said, the losing of the bloods,

00:54:08the knockdowns,

00:54:09bended his legs a few times.

00:54:11The discouragement, the confusion,

00:54:13the blinding hand speed of Roy Jones.

00:54:18It's not the counter-punches that hurt.

00:54:20The fact that it's a hard sport, not an easy sport.

00:54:24The fact that you train months to get yourself ready

00:54:26for disappointment like this,

00:54:28if you're Reggie Johnson, it's tough.

00:54:30Yeah, but the fight goes on.

00:54:36You got to think like the hare and the TARDIS, hey.

00:54:39Let the rabbit get away.

00:54:41Win the race. Think of these winners.

00:54:42When he goes to sleep, pass him up.

00:54:46That was the first jab that Reggie was able to land that time.

00:54:52Hard right hand lands for Jones.

00:54:55Little left hook behind it.

00:54:56Straight right hand lands again.

00:54:58Johnson not punching as Jones goes to work.

00:55:02Those body shots, they hurt.

00:55:06All right, we're winning the round.

00:55:08That's all I want.

00:55:09That's all I want.

00:55:10Let's keep winning the round.

00:55:13It's ten. It's ten coming up.

00:55:14Right, Reggie?

00:55:15You got three more rounds, man.

00:55:16Come on.

00:55:17Let's go, man. You got three more rounds.

00:55:18You want to be champion of the world, man?

00:55:20Come on. Let's go.

00:55:21Okay, Reggie.

00:55:22Do it here.

00:55:23I got to do it.

00:55:24I need water.

00:55:25You got to do it.

00:55:26Are we going to the ten?

00:55:27Yeah, here we go.

00:55:28Good shot.

00:55:29Yeah.

00:55:30Yeah.

00:55:31All right.

00:55:32Let's go, Carter.

00:55:32Come on.

00:55:33Let's go, man.

00:55:33Let's go.

00:55:33You want to be champion of the world, man?

00:55:37Come on.

00:55:50Let's go.

00:55:51OK, Reggie.

00:55:53All right.

00:55:55Do it here.

00:55:56Do it here.

00:55:57I need water.

00:55:59Feeling good?

00:55:59Feel good?

00:56:00Yeah.

00:56:00in two separate rounds here tonight by CompuBox numbers Reggie Johnson has landed one punch in

00:56:16one round two punches in another round Jones you'll recall once helped Vinnie Pacienza to zero connects

00:56:22for a complete round that's the only time in the history of CompuBox punch counting that a fighter

00:56:27held an opponent without a connect in an entire round Harold Lederman how do you have it through

00:56:32nine Jim you know those numbers only point out the fact that you have to give Roy Jones credit

00:56:36for great defense as well as ring generalship and great punching 90 to 79 nine rounds to nothing

00:56:44Roy Jones Jr. I think he's just pitching a shout out I think it's one of the best performances I

00:56:49ever saw him put on against the current reigning world champion I mean this is some performance by

00:56:54Jones quick he's got as much speed now as he did the first round only the two two-point round

00:56:59let me put that to the other way I just want Roy Jones for measuring Reggie Johnson somewhere please

00:57:05I'll let you get away with it as long as you keep the glove closed that was not letting Roy

00:57:09I think the biggest mistake for Reggie was to get in that knockout and the lad to win the world

00:57:27championship by way of knockout started putting a lot of confidence into power that just was not there

00:57:33tonight well but he was perfectly satisfied to go for the decision against Will Taylor a few months

00:57:43ago to set this fight up maybe he felt coming in tonight as though his best chance was going to be

00:57:48to knock Roy out seems to me all night he's been waiting to counter and get in one big shot

00:57:54Johnson was very respectful of Jones in pre-fight publicity when he came to news conferences to

00:58:04promote the fight as was the case here in the past week he said hey I'm the underdog and I ought to be

00:58:09the underdog everybody knows who Roy is but I'm planning to win the fight in big stock Roy's totally

00:58:14dropping his hands as though he has no regards no respect for Reggie now well I think he feels as though

00:58:21he's taking all the snap out of Reggie's punches with his body punching and the punishment he's dealt

00:58:26out and he still possesses his speed I'm Reggie put my feet together and start walking this guy

00:58:40down throwing hard shots low blow by Johnson Jones points it out to Adolf Adolf properly warns Reggie to

00:58:47keep him up you see when you're fighting a guy he spreads his legs he's father and father away from

00:58:54you what do you want to do don't spread yours also bring those feet together and walk them down keeping

00:59:00the feet no more no more than one foot apart from one another looks like it's a lesson Johnson will have

00:59:06to learn for another fight

00:59:08those are gruesome numbers in only one round of the fight as Reggie Johnson landed in double figures by

00:59:32three two feet he can hear he would raw match is he can help him put his gig off to three

00:59:38He's got to catch up he got to catch up he got to catch up Donna

00:59:41anyways to know if Reggie's got two rounds left in it

00:59:44You make a mistake, throw some good stuff.

00:59:52That's gross every time.

00:59:54You know what I'm saying?

00:59:55Me, me, me.

01:00:00Boy, Larry Merchant would have something to say about right now.

01:00:04He's saying it at home.

01:00:06Call us up, Larry.

01:00:08I don't know.

01:00:12Elsewhere in Mississippi,

01:00:14at the United States Women's Open Golf Championships,

01:00:18Reggie Johnson's punch stat numbers

01:00:20would make a pretty good scorecard.

01:00:22Uh-oh.

01:00:32He'd be the only player on the field with a hole-in-one.

01:00:38He'd be the only player on the field.

01:00:42I was saying earlier,

01:00:44when a puncher spreads his leg,

01:00:46don't you spread yours also.

01:00:48You bring your feet closer together and march him down.

01:00:50You all right? Huh?

01:00:52All right, hold on.

01:00:54Pucks, let's go.

01:01:00See how far Reggie's left hand is from Roy Jones?

01:01:04Yeah.

01:01:06A bit of a punch.

01:01:08Just a little closer.

01:01:10Bring it up a little closer.

01:01:11Don't spread your legs.

01:01:12Let it go, let it go, let it go!

01:01:14Brings his foot up closer

01:01:15and goes to the body with the left hand.

01:01:16Let's go.

01:01:17He's in business.

01:01:18Let's do it.

01:01:20Let's do it.

01:01:22Get out.

01:01:26Let's go.

01:01:27Jones continuing to add polish to what has been a brilliant dominant performance against

01:01:48Reggie Johnson so far. Johnson, a seasoned professional,

01:01:53has to be totally realistic about the scorecards, looking for some way to find a knockout opportunity.

01:02:07I think the crowd made Roy Jones start picking up the puncher.

01:02:12You think the crowd was too quiet for his job?

01:02:15Yeah, the crowd started to boom just a little bit. He didn't like that. He's a performer like anyone else, like any other rapper.

01:02:21I don't want the crowd to boo you.

01:02:24Now, let's go. Get out of there.

01:02:25Hounding Johnson back into the ropes with right hands.

01:02:34Body punching this time.

01:02:35Oh, Lord, let's go, fellas. Let's go. Get out.

01:02:37Let's go. Get out.

01:02:40What do you want to bet? Roy makes a spirited bid to try to knock Reggie out in the 12th round.

01:02:55Yeah, he's conserving his energy right now for something. He didn't expel too much energy in the middle round there.

01:03:02Round 11 will come to a close.

01:03:07Another dominant performance by Jones.

01:03:12Okay, let's go round, baby. Right there, floor.

01:03:15I'm here, baby.

01:03:15You want another call?

01:03:16I'm here, baby.

01:03:18Let's go round.

01:03:20Next is fine.

01:03:22You can't win unless you knock you out, baby.

01:03:24Only put the back, y'all.

01:03:25I know it.

01:03:26I know it.

01:03:26Talk with me next.

01:03:28Good.

01:03:29Good.

01:03:41First round, baby.

01:03:41Come on, baby. Last round.

01:03:42Last round, Tim. Come out and touch gloves, okay?

01:03:43Last round, Tim. Come out and touch gloves.

01:03:46All right.

01:03:51All right, Josh.

01:03:53Reggie Johnson has never had a 12th round knockout in his career in round 11.

01:03:58by copy box numbers.

01:04:00He landed two out of 32 punches,

01:04:02another terrific golf scorer.

01:04:05And Roy Jones was relaxed enough

01:04:07to say hello to the round card girl

01:04:09as she passed by his corner.

01:04:12He's paying attention to the rounds, huh?

01:04:14There you go.

01:04:14He was pleased to see that it was round 12, I guess.

01:04:18So here's the last stanza

01:04:20of what has been so far

01:04:22a virtuoso demonstration

01:04:25of the most incomparable

01:04:27and a 12 set of talents

01:04:28in the sport of boxing.

01:04:31One thing I can say about Oscar De La Hoya,

01:04:34a fighter's going like this,

01:04:35he will take a chance.

01:04:36He'll go for a knockout.

01:04:38Hey, listen, you used the right word

01:04:40for De La Hoya earlier.

01:04:42His courage is proven

01:04:43and few fighters have had more chances

01:04:45to prove it

01:04:46because of the tough circumstances

01:04:47he's been in.

01:04:49De La Hoya is high on my list.

01:04:51Number 10 is for his courage

01:04:52as for everyone else

01:04:54being number 7 and 8.

01:04:56Roy Jones, however,

01:04:57has all of these gifts

01:04:59in his arsenal.

01:05:01And now Jones

01:05:03choosing whether to go all out

01:05:07in an effort to close the show

01:05:09with a flourish

01:05:10or simply taking what would be

01:05:12an overwhelmingly easy decision

01:05:14while Reggie Johnson

01:05:15continues to look for

01:05:16an opportunity to land

01:05:18one overwhelming,

01:05:20life-changing shot.

01:05:22Remember, Muhammad Ali

01:05:23was kind of like that.

01:05:24get a hit on a fight,

01:05:26never wanting to hurt

01:05:27the other guy too much.

01:05:29Well, there's so much moisture

01:05:30in Jones' corner,

01:05:31it's not surprising

01:05:31that Johnson went down.

01:05:33That was another hard right-hand lead

01:05:35by Roy Jones.

01:05:37Roy Jones has got a little mercy

01:05:38in his gloves, too.

01:05:40Now Reggie Johnson wants to fire the jabs.

01:05:46Now Reggie Johnson wants to fire the jabs.

01:05:50He's got a lot.

01:05:57I think Roy Jones is saying to himself,

01:06:02look, this guy didn't disrespect me.

01:06:04He stayed in his place.

01:06:07I'm just going to be satisfied

01:06:08and just winning the fight

01:06:09because there were some opportunities

01:06:10for him to really hurt Reggie

01:06:11if he didn't do it.

01:06:14Go!

01:06:16Jones appreciates professionalism,

01:06:18and he was quoted several times before this fight saying,

01:06:21hey, I respect Reggie. He's a champion and a pro fighter

01:06:24and somebody who's really good. I'm just gonna beat him.

01:06:29He's doing an old cat-and-mouth game now.

01:06:31Don't punch inside. Don't just wrestle.

01:06:33Let's punch inside.

01:06:41Reggie Johnson talking to Jones now

01:06:43as we come down the stretch.

01:06:48Reggie's mom and dad can be proud.

01:06:52He's finished.

01:06:55Got up and kept fighting.

01:06:59All right, let's go. Break it clean. Break it clean.

01:07:01They could have been proud even if he were knocked out.

01:07:03There's no embarrassment in losing to as great a fighter

01:07:07as Roy Jones Jr.

01:07:15And a little air of anti-climax for the crowd

01:07:17as they feel they've known who the winner would be

01:07:20since round one.

01:07:23Probably most were hoping to see a knockout

01:07:27as the icing on the cake, but Reggie Johnson able to go the distance,

01:07:31although overwhelmed by the multiple talents of Jones.

01:07:36He's the hard right hand and the slip in the Jones corner.

01:07:43There you go.

01:07:45It's close to being a knockdown, Roy.

01:07:47I mean, uh, Jones.

01:07:49That was power right behind it,

01:07:50but the slip was what it was all about.

01:07:52Freudian slip, me calling you Roy.

01:07:55Your brother Roy seated over here at ringside.

01:07:58Your buddy Roy up here in the ring.

01:08:00Just don't call me too late for dinner.

01:08:02No one ever has, have they?

01:08:05Not yet.

01:08:09And some highlights now of the 12 rounds of dominance

01:08:12by Jones against Reggie Johnson.

01:08:15He'd started in round number one.

01:08:17Straight right hand, knockdown.

01:08:19And then in round three, more the same.

01:08:23This one will be a left hand to set it up,

01:08:25and then the other straight right, knockdown again.

01:08:30And then through the closing rounds,

01:08:31there were some brutal body shots.

01:08:33Here's in round four, more of Jones with the right hand.

01:08:39And that brutal body shot with the left hand in round eight.

01:08:43Baby, number one, I told y'all.

01:08:45Hard to imagine that he lost a round.

01:08:47Let's go to Michael Buffer to hear the scores.

01:08:50Ladies and gentlemen, we go to the scorecards,

01:08:53all three judges, Paul Sita, Cobra Jesus, and Chuck Hassett,

01:08:59score the belt 120 to 106 for the winner,

01:09:03who is now the unified light heavyweight champion of the world,

01:09:08from Penns of Colorado, Florida, Roy Jones Jr.

01:09:15Look at us!

01:09:16Look at us!

01:09:18Look at us!

01:09:19Look at us!

01:09:20Thank God, baby!

01:09:21Thank God, baby!

01:09:23All right, come on, baby!

01:09:25Come on, baby!

01:09:26All right, come on, baby!

01:09:27All right, come on!

01:09:29Final copy box numbers,

01:09:30and these will be as lopsided as any you've ever seen.

01:09:34Jones outlanding Johnson by 224 punches.

01:09:41Jones throwing 140 more punches than Johnson.

01:09:44Johnson landing at a connect percentage of 13%,

01:09:47He's got 13 percent, about one-third the rate at which he was landing punches against other fighters coming in.

01:09:55And 52 percent connect percentage for Roy. Roy, you're getting a look at these total punch numbers?

01:10:02You're familiar with this stuff.

01:10:04When you get 30 years old, you know, sometimes things seem a little different.

01:10:06But first, I'd like to thank God for giving me the opportunity for blessing me to come out and perform the way I do.

01:10:11I love everybody. I'd like to say what's up to all the truth in Kosovo.

01:10:14Happy birthday to all my friends around the world. Happy mother, father, anything I might have missed because I've been off the air for a while.

01:10:19But I really enjoy performing for my people. I really love fighting. I really enjoy doing what I do.

01:10:24And I love when I have good competition. If Larry was here, Larry would say, Roy, did he hurt you at any time in the fight?

01:10:31Larry, nah, he didn't hurt me. He got heavy hands, but he's much too slow for me.

01:10:35Do you feel it? Do you feel as though fighting all the left-handers got you properly prepared for Reggie Johnson?

01:10:40Well, you know, it's kind of like I know how to fight any hander of a guy.

01:10:43You don't make a difference if it's left-handed, right-handed. I know how to do what it takes to win.

01:10:47So when Roy Jones comes out there, Roy Jones comes out there to do what it takes to win.

01:10:51And that's all Roy's about. What's up, Big George?

01:10:54Any other Larry questions you know of at this point?

01:10:56Well, Larry probably got a lot of them from me, but I'll answer them when I see them.

01:10:58I knew those would be two. So I did that for my boy Larry.

01:11:01Larry has learned to love me, you know, and I really appreciate that.

01:11:05Well, there are a lot of people who are learning to love you and your talent.

01:11:07This was a big occasion.

01:11:08I know there was special satisfaction in the first-round knockout of Montel Griffin when you were avenging that disqualification.

01:11:16This was as great a performance as you could possibly have put together for 12 rounds in our eyes.

01:11:22Do you agree?

01:11:22Yeah, because you got to think about it.

01:11:24Anytime you bring somebody and think they can beat me, I love it.

01:11:27And I like Reggie. I enjoy Reggie coming.

01:11:29My father worked with Reggie and got Reggie real good.

01:11:30But the one time I sparred with Reggie, I knew I was much too fast for Reggie.

01:11:33That's why I sparred one round and got on because I knew I could beat him.

01:11:36My father didn't think we'd fight, but I knew we'd fight.

01:11:38And, you know, sometimes, like I said, God tells people things through other sources.

01:11:42So God was telling me that this day would come, so I was prepared for it.

01:11:45I knew I just had to be in good shape.

01:11:46Thanks for the basketball.

01:11:47The basketball got me in excellent shape.

01:11:48Thank Rex Morgan and the Gulf Coast Sun Dogs because they helped me.

01:11:52They worked hard.

01:11:53We ran a lot.

01:11:53And that took my mind off of boxing, which didn't make it so boring for me to get prepared for this fight.

01:11:58Yeah, it's good to do nine different things now.

01:12:00Was there a temptation in the later rounds?

01:12:02Because the crowd got a little bored.

01:12:04Was there a temptation in the later rounds to risk a little more and go for the knockout?

01:12:08A big temptation, but that's where that self-discipline comes in.

01:12:11You have to be self-disciplined.

01:12:12That's what I got.

01:12:13That's why, like Ice Cube say, I'm a vet.

01:12:15You know, I've been doing this thing for 20 years.

01:12:17I know how to keep my composure maintained.

01:12:19And, you know, I came in the fight.

01:12:21I came in the fight.

01:12:21I had a bruised rear from training.

01:12:22But I didn't complain.

01:12:23I didn't say nothing to nobody because I don't have excuses.

01:12:25You know what I'm saying?

01:12:25I came to win.

01:12:26Somebody managed to bruise your rib in training?

01:12:28Well, actually, what happened was I got caught.

01:12:30I threw a hook and I got through a body shot.

01:12:31And it caught me a turn wrong, but I didn't stop.

01:12:32He didn't know he was bruising my rib because I don't care.

01:12:35Because nothing's going to stop Roy Jones when Roy Jones comes to win.

01:12:38Body Head Entertainment coming out.

01:12:39I got a new CD coming out about August.

01:12:41So look on my website.

01:12:42You can get that, too.

01:12:43You heard a little bit of it tonight.

01:12:44And speaking of websites, we asked a question on our HBO Boxing website tonight,

01:12:49which was, of course, if Roy beats Reggie Johnson, would you like to see him go up

01:12:53and campaign as a heavyweight?

01:12:54Here are the results.

01:12:55We had more than 6,000 people vote.

01:12:5859% said yes.

01:12:5941% said no.

01:13:01What about your vote?

01:13:02My vote is whatever the most people want.

01:13:04If people want to see me fight a heavyweight fight and there's a chance to fight for six

01:13:08titles in one night, of course you know Roy Jones Jr. is going to accept the challenge.

01:13:11I'm not afraid to fight anybody.

01:13:13I'm not afraid to fight anywhere, anytime.

01:13:14I don't care.

01:13:15I don't have excuses.

01:13:16I'm very disappointed in the fact that Roberto Garcia thought that we were setting him up

01:13:19to give him, to take a decision.

01:13:21We told the story at the beginning of the evening about Garcia leaving.

01:13:23That really hurt me, but I had to come in and perform extra hard for Smoke to let Smoke

01:13:27know that just because things happen to you like that in life, you know, God gives us

01:13:31downfalls to find out how badly we want to achieve our goals.

01:13:33And that was just another downfall that God put in his way so that he can make sure that

01:13:37when Smoke gets an opportunity, he will be ready.

01:13:38You'll keep working to help your buddy Derek Gaynor get a title shot.

01:13:41That was my main reason for taking this fight because I wanted Smoke to get a title shot.

01:13:44So when the fight fell through, I guess, you know, it crushed my...

01:13:46So it was more about Smoke than about you unifying the Light Heavyweight Championship.

01:13:50All that was for Smoke.

01:13:51You know, that really, it didn't mean much to me.

01:13:53I know I'm the best fighter in the world.

01:13:54I know can't nobody beat me when I'm on my game.

01:13:56I had nothing to prove.

01:13:57I was doing that for Smoke Gamer.

01:13:58If you had something to prove...

01:13:59And all my other guys.

01:14:00I got Janet Gustafs right on my rap, guys.

01:14:02I'm doing that for all these people.

01:14:03If you had something to prove, you would have proved it tonight.

01:14:05Roy, thank you very much.

01:14:06Congratulations.

01:14:07Congratulations.

01:14:09Former Light Heavyweight Champion Reggie Johnson here.

01:14:13Thank you, man.

01:14:14Thank you, man.

01:14:14Hand speed, second to none.

01:14:16Thank you, man.

01:14:16Appreciate it.

01:14:16Reggie, you're a pro, but you were in against a buzzsaw.

01:14:19You got knocked down in the first.

01:14:20You got knocked down in the third.

01:14:21From that point forward, you had to be looking for a big shot.

01:14:24Well, you know, at the first fight, he didn't even hurt me.

01:14:26I kind of seemed like I slipped a little bit.

01:14:28The second fight was a good, legitimate shot.

01:14:29It stunned me.

01:14:30But, you know, I recuperated real, you know, real quick.

01:14:33I got to get a man his props.

01:14:35Superior hand speed.

01:14:36And my whole thing was trying to time him.

01:14:38And, you know, I would be foolish to just try to run in there

01:14:40because this guy's hand speed is unbelievable.

01:14:42As the rounds went by, you were landing fewer and fewer punches.

01:14:47And it seemed as though you must have just been waiting for the one opportunity

01:14:50for him to make a mistake.

01:14:52Well, not only that.

01:14:53I'm going in there with caution because, like I tell you,

01:14:55the punch that gets you is the one you don't see.

01:14:56So, you know, my thing was to strategize and get inside

01:14:59and try to, like, pit pat and catch one with something big.

01:15:02Maybe with my big right hook.

01:15:03But, you know, his hand speed.

01:15:05You know, this guy, he do a lot of things wrong,

01:15:07but his hand speed makes up for everything.

01:15:08Hey, listen, you're a student of the game.

01:15:10Don Turner, you're a student of the game.

01:15:13Our website viewers, people who voted there,

01:15:15they want to see Roy go up and campaign as a heavyweight.

01:15:18You think he can do damage as a heavyweight?

01:15:20Well, you know, conceive it, believe it.

01:15:21The human mind is a powerful thing.

01:15:23We can do anything that we conceive in our mind

01:15:25and have the faith to do.

01:15:27So, I mean, you know, if Roy decide to do that,

01:15:29you know, I'm pretty sure he had the hand speed

01:15:31and he's smarter to do it.

01:15:33I think the only thing I liked tonight

01:15:34was matching his hand speed.

01:15:35I just couldn't, you know, I thought I could come in

01:15:37and make up with that with my timing,

01:15:38but I just couldn't do it.

01:15:39You train Evander Holyfield.

01:15:41Could Roy Jones hold his own against Evander Holyfield?

01:15:44You know, I don't think so.

01:15:46You know, Roy Jones is a very, very good fighter.

01:15:50Awful lot of speed.

01:15:51I don't think he's strong enough for a guy like Evander.

01:15:54But, you know, in spite of his hand speed,

01:15:56Holyfield got good hand speed, too.

01:15:59And Holyfield would just press him.

01:16:01I think he's just too big for him.

01:16:04Well, we'll see what happens.

01:16:05Don, Reggie, thank you very much for your time

01:16:07and the professional effort.

01:16:09Hey, listen, it's our privilege to have you.

01:16:11All right?

01:16:12We'll have a final word on what happened here

01:16:14in the ring in Biloxi in just a minute.

01:16:15Right now, let's look ahead to some more

01:16:17upcoming programs here on HBO.

01:16:21Sex and sports.

01:16:23It's everything you ever wanted.

01:16:25And you can get it all in one night.

01:16:27Sunday night.

01:16:28Oh, God!

01:16:29First at 9, hook up with Sarah Jessica Parker

01:16:32and her pals and find out about

01:16:34love, relationships, and the single life

01:16:36in the smash hit comedy series

01:16:38Sex and the City.

01:16:40Honey, his cup ran up over.

01:16:42Then at 9.30, we'll sweeten the deal

01:16:44with America's favorite sports agent.

01:16:46He's backed by popular demand.

01:16:47And he's better than ever.

01:16:49Arliss.

01:16:49I got you, that one.

01:16:50That one's just, I got you.

01:16:51Finally, one night that fulfills

01:16:53all of your desires.

01:16:55Who knew Sunday could be so good?

01:16:57Sex and the City at 9 and Arliss at 9.30.

01:17:00Both shows start Sunday night at 9,

01:17:02only on HBO.

01:17:03In the heat of the night,

01:17:07can the power of youth defeat the bravest of heart?

01:17:10Undefeated heavyweight prodigy Michael Grant

01:17:12has overcome all who've stood in his way.

01:17:15Now, he looks to continue his punishing rise to the top

01:17:17against the courageous Lou Savarese,

01:17:19whose never-say-die attitude has put him back

01:17:22in the heavyweight spotlight.

01:17:23Then, heavy-hitting Hasim Rahman

01:17:25slugs it out with rugged veteran Jeremy Williams.

01:17:27Grant Savarese, Rahman Williams.

01:17:30Live Saturday, June 19th.

01:17:32HBO, Boxing After Dark.

01:17:34And join us Monday, June 14th,

01:17:36for the premiere of Real Sports with Brian Gumbel.

01:17:38Some of the stories will feature

01:17:39John McEnroe, still thoughtful,

01:17:41still defiant, still outspoken.

01:17:43Baseball's umpires and their bitter relationship

01:17:45with players and management.

01:17:47The Williams family.

01:17:48Venus, Serena, and their father Richard.

01:17:49A closer look at their impact on women's tennis.

01:17:52And then, Monday, June 21,

01:17:53we'll celebrate our 25th year of Wimbledon tennis

01:17:55as HBO Sports presents 59 hours of weekday action

01:17:58from the opening round through the semifinals,

01:18:00followed each night by a one-hour highlight show.

01:18:03Earlier here this evening in Biloxi,

01:18:05you saw Vasily Jirov of Kazakhstan

01:18:08win his first world championship

01:18:10and become the fourth former Soviet Union product

01:18:14to do so as he got a body shot,

01:18:17built TKO over Arthur Williams

01:18:19to take the cruiserweight crown.

01:18:21And then, Roy Jones Jr.

01:18:24thoroughly swamped Reggie Johnson

01:18:26with his hand speed, his hard punches,

01:18:29and demolished Johnson over the course of 12 rounds

01:18:32en route to a unanimous decision

01:18:34punctuated by two early knockdowns

01:18:36that made Jones the undisputed

01:18:39three-belt light heavyweight champ.

01:18:41Coming up immediately after tonight's coverage

01:18:43of World Championship Boxing,

01:18:44stay tuned on the East Coast for Double Team

01:18:46and the premiere of Dr. Doolittle on the West Coast.

01:18:49And now for George Foreman and Harold Duttleman,

01:18:50I'm Jim Lampley saying so long

01:18:52from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum

01:18:54and Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi.

01:18:58The executive producer of HBO Sports

01:18:59is Ross Greenberg.

01:19:00Tonight's telecast of World Championship Boxing

01:19:02was produced by Rick Bernstein

01:19:03and directed by Mark Payton.

01:19:05Feature producers Greg Backer,

01:19:06John Crystal, and Max Siegel.

01:19:08Assistant to the producer Matt Bolin.

01:19:10Production manager John McCalley.

01:19:12Technical supervisor Bob Hunter.

01:19:13And the technical director was Doug Getz.

01:19:15The

01:19:27The

01:19:28The

01:19:33The

01:19:34The

01:19:38The

Roy Jones Jr vs Reggie Johnson - HBO 6-5-99

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