The Neutral Corner caught up with former world bantamweight and junior featherweight champion Junior Jones. He came up out of the Bushwick section of Brooklyn and was a mainstay in boxing's lighter weight classes throughout the 1990s. He beat Marco Antonio Barrera, Orlando Canizales, Tom Johnson and Tracy Harris Patterson and had tough losses against Erik Morales and Kennedy McKinney. We tossed out some random boxing questions, here's how Jones responded:
Neutral Corner: What is your greatest moment in the ring?
Junior Jones: Beating Orlando Canizales. He broke the record for 17 successful title defenses at bantamweight and I beat him. That was my best moment. You thought I was going to say beating Marco Antonio Barrera didn't you?
NC: With both men at their best, Ali vs. Tyson. Who wins?
JJ: Wow. I have to pick Tyson. I think the way Tyson fought in his prime, he'd catch Ali. Ali would try the rope-a-dope but it wouldn't work. I say Tyson in four rounds.
NC: Who wins in a fight, an MMA guy or a boxer?
JJ: MMA, big time. Once he gets you to the ground, it's over. Boxers aren't trained for that.
NC: Which athlete, from another sport, would make a good fighter?
JJ: Charles Barkley. He had a tough attitude. He wouldn't back down to anyone. He had no fear. John Starks too. No fear. He was a lightweight with a heavyweight's heart.
NC: Is there one fight, one thing that you wished you could have done in your career?
JJ: Yeah, fight at heavyweight. One big fight, and you are set financially for life. Look at all the fights I had. One big fight at heavyweight would equal everything I made in those fights.
-- CASSIDY