Earlier today, Denis Lebedev beat Shawn Cox with a second round knockout in Russia, and part of the card was built around an appearance from past Lebedev pushover Roy Jones Jr, who wasn't fighting today but instead was..."performing," we'll say. (Seriously, the fight's promotion was mostly about Jones and Lebedev's trainer Kostya Tszyu.)
Here you see 43-year-old Jones, once the pound-for-pound king of boxing, the best fighter of the 1990s, a Hall of Famer to be whenever he mercifully hangs up his gloves (which as we see now double as concert costume), lip syncing his way through a few crusty rap tunes about fights he had 15-20 years ago. What once was the most jaw-dropping, must-see fighter in the sport is now an intermission performer for mediocre Russian cards.
We've already talked about how awful it was, and how it's sad or whatever, so let's now focus on how funny it is. What else can you do? It's been almost a decade of people begging him to retire for his "legacy." His legacy is shot to hell if you're the sort who thinks that late-career falls from grace really mars what someone did in their prime. He drew about seven people to Atlanta for his fight with Max Alexander in December. He has fans, but they're just fans of what he used to do. They don't actually pay money to see him fight or anything when he does fight in the States. He doesn't have a following.
Is he really hurting for money? He has a job with HBO. He lives simple as far as anyone knows. Is he just starved for attention? I have no idea. But whatever it is, pointing and laughing is every bit as productive as crying about the tragedy of a fallen hero. And anyway, it's just rapping. He's better than Jared Shaw, at any rate. GIRL U KNOW U SEXY
