Roy Jones vs Evander? Awe naw

By Terence Dooley

News that Roy Jones is angling for a fight with Evander Holyfield has followed hot on the heels of rumours that Reading's Michael Sprott is in the running for a contest against either of the two American legends. Indeed, BoxingScene.com has confirmed that talks are ongoing between Sprott's management and the representatives of Jones, who was in the UK recently for a speaking tour, with a March date possible should Roy fail to land a fight with Holyfield.

Sprott recently won the Prizefighter: The Heavyweights tournament, defeating former foe Matt Skelton by split-decision to land the crown. Michael, 35-15 (17), had lost his two previous fights with Skelton – by twelth-round TKO in 2004 and majority-decision in 2007 – but has now had the last word in their trilogy.

A Jones fight, though unlikely on paper, would present Sprott with a big opportunity, the American has seen better days yet he is still a massive name; the 35-year-old British heavyweight feels that a fight against the former WBA heavyweight title-holder would be a memorable occasion.

“Things are OK,” said Sprott when speaking to BoxingScene.com over the phone. “I'm just waiting on news of what is next to come. I want to try for the fight with Roy Jones Junior, definitely, and they are saying it could be on for March. It is early days yet so we are just going to wait and see.

“It is great, a honour, because I'm mixing my name with the legends. It would be great if Roy came back to the division and it is wonderful having my name linked with him and Holyfield, who in my mind won the Valuev fight and should be a five-time heavyweight champion right now. Either of them would be a great name to have on my record.”

Critics will question the validity of any kind of a win over Jones in light of the Floridian's erratic recent form. Sprott, though, believes that Jones's name is still sprinkled with stardust; he also applauds Roy's desire, and right, to continue plying his trade.

“I can understand where they are coming from,” said Sprott when reminded that many people are calling for Roy to retire. “But if your heart and determination is there then you can bounce back from anything. People were saying Holyfield should have retired then, to me, he came back to beat [Nikolai] Valuev [Writer’s note: Although the judges gave it to the giant Russian] so anything is possible, especially when you've got heart. You can't listen to other people, you've got to be positive in yourself.

“Beating Roy would feel great. I think I would stop him in the middle or later rounds. People say Roy's not a full-blown heavyweight but he's a big name. Once I catch him with my left hook it will end the fight. It would be there on record that I was the man who ended his great career. So I would love to be the last man to be beat him.”

Still, a Sprott-Jones fight seems a somewhat surreal prospect. However, Michael reminded me that he has been written off himself in the past, no one envisaged him defeating Danny Williams for the British heavyweight title in 2004; his message, 'write me off at your peril'. As for the fight itself, stranger things have happened, most notably Williams versus Mike Tyson back in 2004. Jones, 41, is notoriously cautious and may yet talk himself out of a potential fight with Holyfield; he may see a contest against Sprott as a chance to fill a big venue here in the UK. Time will tell.