Wednesday, November 8, 2006

PHILADELPHIA, USA (AFP): A planned light-heavyweight comeback fight for Roy Jones here on December 9 against Puerto Rico's Manny Siaca has been called off, organisers announced Tuesday.

Jones is 50-4 with 38 knockouts but took losses in his past three major fights. He was knocked out by fellow American Antonio Tarver and Jamaican-born Glen Johnson in 2004 and lost a 12-round decision to Tarver in 2005.

The bout against Siaca, 20-6 with 18 knockouts, had been scheduled for the arena at Temple University.

Jones, who turns 38 in January, is trying to recapture the form that saw him become the undisputed world lightweight champion from 1999 through 2002 until he surrendered the throne to challenge John Ruiz for the heavyweight title.

In 2003, Jones won a 12-round decision over the Puerto Rican for the World Boxing Association version of the crown, becoming the first former middleweight champion in a century to own a heavyweight crown.

He won back a share of the light-heavyweight throne against Tarver but lost a rematch in 2004 to begin his downward slide.

Jones, also a world champion at middleweight and super middleweight, said in announcing the bout that he missed something by his long absence from the ring.

"I don't know what was missing, but something definitely was. I didn't realise what it was until I got back home," Jones said.

"God came to me out of the middle of nowhere and gave me what I had been looking for. Since then I feel like a totally different person, like a brand-new person."

  Most popular articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed

  Printable version