Roy Jones Jr.'s Big 5: When He Runs Over Hill

Roy Jones Jr.'s Big 5: When He Runs Over Hill

The emphatic success over veteran Virgil Hill puts "Superman" among the greats

Roy Jones Jr. is one of the best boxers of the 1990s and early 2000s. "Superman", as the American fighter is nicknamed, has 75 matches in the professional ring, of which he won 66. As many as 47 of them came by knockout. The Olympic gold medalist from the Florida Youth Games in 1984 will be remembered for his explosiveness and the show that is always guaranteed for the spectators. There are not a few of his meetings that we can place among the most valuable, but in a series of five posts, we will remind you of the most inspiring of them.

In fifth position, we can easily place his fight with Virgil Hill, played on April 25, 1998. Five years older, Hill, born in Clinton, Missouri, is the more experienced boxer and has shown far more serious skills. Before the meeting with "Superman", he had only two defeats in the professional ring in 45 fights. One of them is from the legend Thomas Hearns. Hill has also left a lasting mark, having held at least one light heavyweight world title for more than a decade. Title holder Roy Jones, however, has 35 wins and just 1 loss in his career and is ready to challenge a former world champion at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum who is trying to get back on top. It's safe to say that this light heavyweight clash is one of the division's most anticipated fights of the year, and the most unpredictable, of course.

The champion starts far better in the first part, and the years tell, as Hill's straight shots are quite slow. A couple of hooks and a good left uppercut definitely tipped the scales in Roy Jones' favor. The round brings even more confidence to the defending champion's performance and shows us that Hill's end is very near.

However, the challenger starts the second part quite aggressively, knowing that there is not much time to waste. Hill manages to land a few good shots, mostly to the body of his opponent, but Roy's response isn't long in coming. After a few more successful hits through Hill's straights, Jones demonstrated that he was the more efficient and faster of the two, and the difference was more than obvious.

Nothing changes in the third round, except the fact that Hill's success rate drops even more. Although less often looking for the right hits, the world champion manages to find them, and his shots are much stronger. One of them even managed to shake his opponent, and Jones indicated with a gesture to the opponent's corner that the match would soon be over.

Hill is forced to go on the attack at all costs, and this opens up Roy to look for even more bombs. While it looks like the world champion is avoiding Virgil's punches, he's just biding his time for something big. With two minutes remaining, Jones finally finds it. Virgil is pinned against the ropes and Roy lands a left straight that distracts Hill trying to counter. This only opens up the possibility of a powerful right hand that drops the former world champion in the division to the ground. Roy Jones wins the match, although his opponent stands up as the referee counts to six. However, Hill's condition prevented him from continuing his participation.

Roy Jones Jr.'s emphatic victory shows it's time for a new light heavyweight king. Defending the world title against a greatness of the caliber of Virgil Hill is indicative of the increasingly serious capabilities of "Superman".

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