In 2002, boxing superstar Roy Jones Jr. held a record-setting seven light heavyweight titles.
Sure, all those belts sound silly. But it overwhelmingly confirmed that "Superman" was the best boxer on the planet.
So good, in fact, that Jones had cleaned out the entire division. There was no one left who could put up a good fight. So Jones did what any normal-thinking fighter would do and moved up in weight -- more than 30 pounds -- to challenge WBA Heavyweight Champion John Ruiz.
Against all odds, Jones coasted to a 12-round unanimous decision win. It was a remarkable accomplishment, but it perhaps signaled the beginning of the end of his reign of terror.
In his next fight, Jones would struggle to get back down to his natural fighting weight and listlessly defend his light heavyweight titles against Antonio Tarver. He somehow won a controversial majority decision, but it stunk so bad an immediate rematch was booked.
Tarver stopped Jones cold in less than two rounds in the rematch. His first real loss in 50 career fights.
And it was no fluke -- Glen Johnson would knockout Jones again in his next "tune up" fight and Tarver would then win a unanimous decision in their rubbermatch, putting Jones on an incredulous three-fight losing skid.
History has a funny way of repeating itself ... especially in the fight business.
And UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre -- who may find himself in a similar situation if he successfully defends his 170-pound belt against Jake Shields at UFC 129 next weekend -- has taken notice of Jones' fall from grace.
And he has no intentions of repeating it, according to a recent interview with ESPN.co.uk:
St. Pierre has said numerous times that if he were to pack on 15 pounds to move up to middleweight that it would be a permanent move.
It's also no secret that UFC President Dana White is interested in booking him in a "superfight" against 185-pound champion Anderson Silva someday in the near future. But with Yushin Okami still lurking in the "Spider's" shadow, and Shields, as well as his training partner Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, possibly waiting in the welterweight wings for "Rush," the fight has been put on the backburner ... for now.
But if St. Pierre can defeat them both, it might be come an issue of "when" and not "if" before the 2011 fight season concludes, which would be a case of sooner rather than later.
Sure, all those belts sound silly. But it overwhelmingly confirmed that "Superman" was the best boxer on the planet.
So good, in fact, that Jones had cleaned out the entire division. There was no one left who could put up a good fight. So Jones did what any normal-thinking fighter would do and moved up in weight -- more than 30 pounds -- to challenge WBA Heavyweight Champion John Ruiz.
Against all odds, Jones coasted to a 12-round unanimous decision win. It was a remarkable accomplishment, but it perhaps signaled the beginning of the end of his reign of terror.
In his next fight, Jones would struggle to get back down to his natural fighting weight and listlessly defend his light heavyweight titles against Antonio Tarver. He somehow won a controversial majority decision, but it stunk so bad an immediate rematch was booked.
Tarver stopped Jones cold in less than two rounds in the rematch. His first real loss in 50 career fights.
And it was no fluke -- Glen Johnson would knockout Jones again in his next "tune up" fight and Tarver would then win a unanimous decision in their rubbermatch, putting Jones on an incredulous three-fight losing skid.
History has a funny way of repeating itself ... especially in the fight business.
And UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre -- who may find himself in a similar situation if he successfully defends his 170-pound belt against Jake Shields at UFC 129 next weekend -- has taken notice of Jones' fall from grace.
And he has no intentions of repeating it, according to a recent interview with ESPN.co.uk:
"Right now, I am a 170-pounder. If I were to fight at 185 pounds, it would be a complete reorientation of my career. We've seen in the past with boxers like Roy Jones Jnr. In my opinion, what ended Roy Jones' career-winning streak was when he went up in weight and tried to go back down. It's not the fact that he went up; it's when he tried to go back down that messed him up. For me, it's a good example because Roy Jones was known as one of the best of all time before he started losing. It makes me think twice sometimes [about changing] weight; it's not really going up that hurts you, sometimes it's to go [back] down."
St. Pierre has said numerous times that if he were to pack on 15 pounds to move up to middleweight that it would be a permanent move.
It's also no secret that UFC President Dana White is interested in booking him in a "superfight" against 185-pound champion Anderson Silva someday in the near future. But with Yushin Okami still lurking in the "Spider's" shadow, and Shields, as well as his training partner Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, possibly waiting in the welterweight wings for "Rush," the fight has been put on the backburner ... for now.
But if St. Pierre can defeat them both, it might be come an issue of "when" and not "if" before the 2011 fight season concludes, which would be a case of sooner rather than later.
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