Roy Jones Jr., Heavyweight

For a change, a high-profile boxing match wasn't mostly sideshow. On March 1, former middleweight champion Roy Jones Jr. made history by capturing the heavyweight title from John Ruiz, to whom Jones gave away 33 pounds and seven inches of reach. Fighting at 193 pounds, 18 more than his usual in the light-heavyweight class, Jones showed superior skill in pummeling Ruiz en route to a unanimous decision. Critics said that Ruiz was a shadow of a real heavyweight champion, but Jones showed the elements that make boxing great: courage, speed and power.

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