BoxingScene.com got word that Roy Jones, Jr., is in talks to headline an independently-produced pay-per-view event on March 21, against journeyman Omar Sheika.
What a...I don't know what the word I want would be. Rest assured this is absolutely no different than Jones' lame PPV fights against Prince Badi Ajamu and Anthony Hanshaw, and is simply a way for Jones to rack up a win against a guy who likely can't beat him no matter how faded he gets, which in turn positions Jones to tack on a W, stay out of the spotlight a little while staying active, and land a fight against another name guy in due time.
In short, I hate it, because it's just a ploy.
Sheika (27-8, 18 KO) is just a regular pug that keeps fighting on because that's what he does for a living. He's always been willing to fight just about anyone, and I like the guy as a fighter because of that. He'd come looking to put Roy on the canvas and finish his career. He's that sort of fighter. So in that regard, at least Roy's fighting a guy with hunger and a pulse if this goes through.
But he's just not good enough. Roy's natural skills, even depleted as he's just hit 40 (happy belated birthday, Roy!), are too much for a guy like Sheika to cope with. Sheika first lost to tomato can Tony Booth (28-44-7 entering that fight) back in 1998, but that was a fluke. His other losses have come to Joe Calzaghe, Thomas Tate, Eric Lucas, Scott Pemberton (twice), Jeff Lacy and Markus Beyer. He did beat Glen Johnson just before his 2000 fight with Calzaghe, but like most of Johnson's losses, it was debatable.
My reaction to this news is probably as predictable as Lake Michigan being cold this time of year, but even though I'm shouting down a well with this one, it deserves to be said. Anyone that pays to see Jones-Sheika (and I might be one of them) will almost certainly get the sham it looks like on paper.