 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | June 24, 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | IBF super middleweight title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jones Jr. wins via 6th–round TKO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roy Jones Jr. vs. Vinny Pazienza , billed as The Devil and Mr. Jones was a professional boxing match contested on June 24, 1995 for the IBF super middleweight championship. [1]
After defeating James Toney to capture the IBF super middleweight title, Roy Jones would successfully defend the title against Antoine Byrd before being matched up against former WBA light middleweight champion Vinny Pazienza. Pazienza had won that title on October 1, 1991 but just over a month later on November 12, he was involved in a near-fatal car crash that fractured his neck and nearly cost him his boxing career. [2] Though doctors had informed him that his boxing career was over, [3] Pazienza returned to boxing after a 13-month layoff to defeat future WBC light middleweight champion Luis Santana by unanimous decision. [4] Pazienza would then move up two divisions to super middleweight and won nine consecutive fights (including two against future hall-of-famer Roberto Durán) before landing the fight with Jones. Jones was regarded as one of the best fighters in the sport and was ranked at number two on The Ring pound-for-pound list (Pernell Whitaker was number one). As a result, Pazienza was installed as a massive underdog with Jones being listed as a 12–1 favorite, though one Las Vegas oddsmaker listed the odds at 100–1 in Jones' favor. Pazienza shrugged off his underdog status, however, stating "It makes me all the more determined to prove him wrong. And, besides, I'm most dangerous when I'm an underdog" [5]
Pazienza proved to be no match for Jones, who would dominate the duration of the fight. Pazienza tried to be aggressive in the early parts of the fight, but Jones would use his superior skills to thwart Pazienza's offense and by the third round, Jones had opened a cut above Pazienza's right eye. In the fourth round, Jones would become the first fighter in the history of compubox to go an entire round without being hit by an opponent as Pazienza was unable to connect with any of the five punches he threw in that round. Jones would also bust Pazienza's nose open in that round as well. With less than a minute to go in round six, Jones would score a knockdown over Pazienza after a left hook followed by a combination sent Pazienza to the canvas. Though Pazienza was clearly shaken from the exchange, he was allowed to continue, but Jones quickly put him down again with a right hand with 25 seconds left in the round. The referee again let Pazienza continue, prompting Jones to almost immediately land a six-punch combination that sent Pazienza crashing to the canvas for the third time in the round. The referee then called the fight with two seconds left in the round, giving Jones the victory by technical knockout. [6]
After the bout Jones would say "He was a tougher competitor than I thought he was".
Confirmed bouts: [7]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United States | HBO |
Vinny Paz, formerly Vinny Pazienza, is an American former professional boxer who held world titles at lightweight and light middleweight. The 2016 film Bleed for This is based on his comeback from a spinal injury. In 2022, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
Roy Levesta Jones Jr. is an American-Russian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. As an amateur boxer he represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a light middleweight silver medal.
James Nathaniel Toney is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and lineal middleweight titles from 1991 to 1993, the IBF super middleweight title from 1993 to 1994, and the IBF cruiserweight title in 2003. Toney also challenged twice for a world heavyweight title in 2005 and 2006, and was victorious the first time but was later stripped due to a failed drug test. Overall, he competed in fifteen world title fights across four weight classes.
Carl Martin Froch, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the World Boxing Council (WBC) title twice between 2008 and 2011, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from 2012 to 2015, and the World Boxing Association (WBA) title between 2013 and 2015. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles between 2004 and 2008, and won the Lonsdale Belt in 2006. As an amateur, in the middleweight division, Froch won a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships, and the ABA title twice.
Félix Trinidad vs. Bernard Hopkins, billed as And Then There Was One, was a boxing match that took place on September 29, 2001, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, between WBC and IBF middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins and WBA middleweight champion Félix Trinidad to unify all three titles and decide the first undisputed middleweight champion since Marvin Hagler. The winner would also become The Ring middleweight champion. The undercard featured championship fights in three other weight classes.
Riddick Bowe vs. Jesse Ferguson, billed as "The Heavyweight Debate", was a professional boxing match contested on May 22, 1993, for the WBA and Lineal Heavyweight championships. The fight took place in RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, was Bowe's second defense of the title he had won from Evander Holyfield in November 1992, and was the main event of a card that included a fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins for the vacant IBF middleweight championship, which Jones won.
Glen Johnson vs. Roy Jones Jr. was a professional boxing match contested on September 25, 2004 for the IBF light heavyweight championship.
Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr. II, billed as The Rivals, was a professional boxing match contested on April 3, 2010. The fight was a rematch of the May 22, 1993 bout between the two where Jones defeated Hopkins for the IBF middleweight title.
James Toney vs. Roy Jones Jr., billed as The Uncivil War, was a professional boxing match held on November 18, 1994, for the IBF super middleweight championship.
Roy Jones Jr. vs. Mike McCallum, billed as Fire on Ice, was a professional boxing match contested on November 22, 1996 for the interim WBC light heavyweight championship. It was Jones' first fight in the light heavyweight division.
Roy Jones Jr. vs. Montell Griffin, billed as The Battle of the Undefeated, was a professional boxing match contested on March 21, 1997 for the WBC light heavyweight championship.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Sturm, billed as Collision Course, was a professional boxing match contested on June 5, 2004 for the WBO middleweight championship.
Roy Jones Jr. vs. Danny Green, billed as It's On, was a professional boxing match contested on December 6, 2009 for the IBO cruiserweight championship.
Caleb Hunter Plant is an American professional boxer who held the IBF super middleweight title from 2019 to 2021 and the WBA Interim Super Middleweight title since September 2024.
Pernell Whitaker vs. Gary Jacobs, billed as "Summer's Blockbuster" was a professional boxing match contested on August 26, 1995 for the WBC and lineal welterweight titles.
Thomas Hearns vs. James Kinchen was a professional boxing match contested on November 4, 1988, for the NABF and the inaugural WBO super middleweight titles.
Roberto Durán vs. Vinny Pazienza, billed as Mano a Mano was a professional boxing match contested on June 25, 1994, for the vacant IBC super middleweight title.
Vinny Pazienza vs. Roberto Durán II, billed as A Matter of Pride was a professional boxing match contested on January 14, 1995, for the IBC super middleweight title.
William Joppy vs. Roberto Durán, billed as Legendary History was a professional boxing match contested on August 28, 1998, for the WBA middleweight title.
Darrin Van Horn vs. Iran Barkley, billed as Champions and Olympians was a professional boxing match contested on January 10, 1992, for the IBF super middleweight title.