Columnist Dean Juipe: Jones solid as ‘heavy’ favorite

Dean Juipe

Friday, Feb. 28, 2003 | 10:16 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

When the John Ruiz vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight was initially announced, the first guy I called was Montell Griffin.

Griffin, after all, is a former light heavyweight champion who lives in Las Vegas and fought Jones twice in 1997. In their first bout, Griffin became -- and still is -- the only man to defeat Jones, winning the fight by ninth-round disqualification.

Griffin has also sparred with International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Chris Byrd at the Nevada Partners gym, so he knows what it's like to get hit by a bigger man.

"Ruiz will kill him," Griffin said. "Roy doesn't know what he's gotten himself into."

Likewise, experts such as promoter Bob Arum quickly weighed in with an opinion that Jones had bitten off more than he could chew. A light heavyweight champion does not defeat a heavyweight champion as a rule, as history indicates.

And yet, with the fight on our doorstep and scheduled for Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center, I find myself drawn to the betting favorite. I see Jones winning.

But it's certainly no sure thing and it just as certainly runs counter to my preference on a personal level, as Ruiz is a very likable fellow who conducts himself in a professional manner. He's also a Las Vegan.

It just happens that he's fighting a durable, clever tactician who's sufficiently strong and -- perhaps most important -- has a trait that could lead directly to Ruiz's undoing.

Jones, you see, rarely stands square to his opponent. He's all about angles and diagonals and he tends to keep a shoulder out front, protecting his face and preparing to unleash his guarded hand.

He plays a thinking man's game and looks to counter the jab.

Well, guess what. Ruiz's best punch -- short of being able to wind up and throw something big -- is a left jab.

He's good at it, but it plays right into what Jones does best and it's easy to picture Jones countering Ruiz's left jab with shots both to the head and body. Jones will go up and down and be in and out, holding a quickness advantage that Ruiz is unlikely to answer.

Ruiz is fast for a heavyweight and has taken off a few pounds in an attempt to up his speed quotient, but he remains decidedly slow in comparison to Jones.

Ruiz will attempt to push Jones around whenever possible and lure him into toe-to-toe exchanges, and there are bound to be moments that fall into that pattern. It's a given that Jones can't possibly fight a bigger man for 12 rounds and not get hurt.

But, overall, Jones is apt to be accumulating points with the judges by picking his shots and relying on his athleticism. He has played professional basketball (on something of a lark) and he's cut and sinewy.

He'll be able to get away with trading punches on occasion, and he'll be able to simply get away when he feels the need and before Ruiz can trap him in a corner or on the ropes.

It should be a good, interesting fight, albeit one the fans have to realize is unlikely to come to a sudden conclusion. A pure knockout either way is unlikely.

Jones, by decision, is a logical result.