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AMERICAN | PUGILIST

*** Published bi-weekly out of Chicago, Illinois since 1950 ***

Monday 29 May 2006
Volume 57, Edition 11

EMPIRE BUILDING
IN PENSACOLA

Story by Lucious Holt

It's a gorgeously-picturesque late spring afternoon and in the north-western Florida city of Pensacola that usually means a trip to the beach. But in the backyard of a sprawling property on Michigan Avenue boxing trainer Roy Jones is putting his charges through a backbreaking workout. Dripping with sweat but obeying his instructions without question are former WBO Heavyweight Champion Terone Haynes, Athens Olympic medallists Holman Williams, James Ray and Elmer Ray and the newest member of Jones's stable, Belle Glade native Romy Alvarez. As I sit at a picnic table watching Jones barks orders like a drill sergeant, subjecting them to countless repetitions of push-ups, sit-ups, squats and fifty metre sprints. And when it seems like they're out on their feet he pushes them further, ordering them to rip into the quintet of heavy bags that hang from the railings of a carport. All the while members of Jones' extended family are preparing a barbeque dinner, almost as if to break the five men's will further.

Despite being just 32 Jones is regarded by many boxing commentators as one of the sport's premier trainers, not just in the USA but worldwide. He developed a love for the sport at a young age and, fighting as a middleweight, had a brief professional career that was cut short by an eye injury when he was 21. Come February '97 his older brother-in-law Johnny Williams asked Jones if he'd train his 14-year-old son, Holman. The kid was getting beat up at school and needed to learn how to defend himself. Fast forward to September 2000 and Holman had gone beyond simple self defense. He was in Sydney, Australia as a member of the United States Olympic team, representing the nation in the welterweight division with Roy right there at his side.

Now Jones would be the first to admit that even if his own career hadn't ended prematurely he was never going to reach the level of a world champion. But as for his skills as a trainer, that's an entirely different story. In the space of three years he took Williams from a shy introvert who couldn't stand up for himself to the best amateur welterweight in the USA. Clearly the man had a gift. Holman bowed out in the Sydney quarters but the experience and Jones' continual encouragement drove him forward with renewed determination. He made it his goal to return to the Olympics in 2004 and set about bettering himself, winning a quartet of amateur events during 2001.

In early 2002 Williams was joined in Jones' camp by Terone Haynes. As Jones tells the story he was at a Miami nightclub in February of that year and spotted Haynes working security there, looking like "the meanest brother in the establishment" in a black muscle t-shirt and shades and sporting some tight cornrows. Jones approached the 6'4", 230 pound broad-shouldered giant and struck up a conversation with him, noting how much he resembled NBA star Ben Wallace. They got to talking about boxing and Jones invited Haynes to Pensacola to train with him. Terone accepted the offer and it didn't take long before Jones knew that he had an absolute monster on his hands, albeit a raw one.

As has been witnessed in the years since Haynes possesses perhaps the most devastating knockout power in boxing. However, back in '02 he was inexperienced and only twenty years old. It took some time for Jones to mold him into the wrecking machine he is today. But not too much time. After entering a half-dozen amateur tournaments Terone jumped to the professional ranks in February '03, foregoing a chance to win gold in Athens. The decision was his alone and while Jones didn't entirely agree with it he soon came around as Terone was 12-0(10) by the time the calendar ticked over to 2004. He won another four bouts through the first half of the new year and then challenged fellow Florida native and Sydney gold medallist Ray Mercer in September, stopping him in six rounds to claim the WBO belt.

The Ray cousins came under Jones' tutelage in late 2002. He'd seen them working out at a Jacksonville boxing clinic earlier in the year and by October he was training both of them. Like Williams, their goal was to qualify for the Athens Olympics and as it turned out all three of them made it, working together for a common goal. In a remarkable feat each member of the trio brought a medal back home with them, Holman and James winning silver and Elmer overachieving to take bronze. It started what was an incredible period for Jones and his charges as the Olympic success came just a couple of weeks before Haynes won the WBO title. While Holman and James started their pro careers immediately after Athens, Elmer stayed in the amateur game for a little longer, eventually making the jump last September. All three have been impressive so far and look certain to make a splash in the International Boxing League.

It's only been a couple of months since Romy Alvarez became the fifth member of Jones' stable but he has settled in nicely and made a great start to his time with the group by scoring a 4th round knockout of Tennessee's Dre Kingston back in March. Of course, a couple weeks after that win came the heavily publicised event when Haynes relinquished his WBO belt and the entire quintet signed on with the IBL. They were all on hand in Las Vegas back on the 14th when the league announced the schedule and brackets for their upcoming tournaments, a night that Jones tells me was "fantastic" and made him "prouder than ever bein' involv' in the sport".

He's just told Haynes and the others to take a break and he sits down across from me, sipping from a bottle of water. There's something about the man that is both intriguing and intimidating. It's in his stern, hard eyes, eyes that let you know there's no fear in him. He's in superb shape and insists that if not for his injury he'd probably still be fighting but in the next moment thanks the Lord for it, "'cause otherwise maybe these brothers be someplace else. Someplace worse than here." He thanks the Lord for it every night, says he thanks him for "giftin' me with this ability." He's not one to be modest but at the same time the man isn't saying anything that everyone else in the boxing community hasn't already acknowledged. His ambitions are grand and he insists they have to be to get the best out of his fighters.

"Ain't no use havin' ambitions if they ain't grand, y'all," Jones continues, smiling. "That's what they all wantin', you know? They all shootin' for the stars just in these tourneys and it be givin' us a great chance to 'stablish somethin' special, right from the start of this IBL."

He talks me through each of his "boys" and what he thinks of their chances in the IBL tournaments, starting with the big guy, Terone. Haynes walked away from the alphabet soup gang because they couldn't, wouldn't, give him a shot at the big time, the big paydays. With the IBL he has it all laid out in front of him, his path to the World Championship likely to include huge matchups against fellow relinquishers Sergey Anyukov and Ken Norton. According to Jones Haynes has been on something like a natural high ever since he gave up the WBO strap and has been training with more intensity than ever before. He sees it already in his mind, holding that IBL belt aloft as the league's inaugural world champion. Jones is right there beside him in that belief.

Being that he's his nephew Jones has a soft spot for Williams, but that doesn't mean he lets him off any lighter than the others. If anything he pushes the middleweight harder just to show there's no favouritism. Holman is the #2 seed in the chalIenger's tournament but he faces the prospect of a very difficult quarter-final matchup against New Jersey's Mickey Walker, the man he overcame to qualify for the Olympic team back in '04. The undefeated 23 year-old is regarded as one of the most promising young fighters in America but Jones is confident in Holman's ability to get past him. A shot at the World Championship at this early stage of his career would be a great achievement.

Jones was quite disappointed with the seeding the IBL gave James Ray in the welterweight challenger's tournament, putting him in at #13 despite the fact that many consider him the finest welterweight in the country. But he's since flipped it, claiming that the snub will make it all the more sweeter when James wins the tournament. He holds a similar opinion on Elmer, believing there's no reason why he can't claim the Americas Junior-Heavyweight Championship, "although that Nebraska dude Elwood look mighty tough." Elmer is driven by his desire to extract revenge on Sam Langford for the defeat the Canadian handed him in Athens and while he feels no actual hatred for the man his obsession with defeating him has pushed him beyond exhaustion during these training sessions. As for Alvarez, Jones sees the Americas Heavyweight tourney as having the most talent of any in the entire schedule, "but Romdawg catch a break bein' in the top half of the draw, see? Some real hungry, young fighters be in it and whoever take it out, they gonna earn it, y'all."

Roy invites me to stay for the family barbeque, an offer I can hardly refuse. We sit, eat, drink and talk as some old school hip hop bangs from a stereo system at the back of the house: PE, Eric B. & Rakim, Run-DMC and BDP amongst others, joints I haven't heard in ages but wish I had. There's a wonderful, party-like atmosphere and as I observe this master trainer interact with his family and fighters I feel like I'm watching a future giant of our sport. Everything I've seen him do today has been faultless, calculated and geared towards getting the most out of his stable of talented young boxers. I feel like I'm watching a future emperor, because what Roy Jones is building here in the suburbs of Pensacola is an empire, one that some day could be amongst the greatest stories boxing and sport in general has ever known...