Jones, Briggs and Ruddock score wins on ‘nostalgic’ weekend

Mar

Photo by Scott Foster

Whether they were fighting in tune-up bouts or preparing for something bigger, Roy Jones Jr., Shannon Briggs and Donovan “Razor” Ruddock saw action over the weekend.

Roy Jones made quick work of Paul Vasquez on Saturday evening, stopping him in the first round at the Bay Center in Jones’ hometown of Pensacola, Fla.

With the win, Jones goes to 61-8 with 44 knockouts, while Vasquez drops to 10-7-1, 3 KOs.

Jones, who has now won his last seven bouts, repeatedly beat Vasquez to the punch during the brief fight. Vasquez, who has lost five of his last six bouts, would land an occasional hook or right during these exchanges.

Toward the end of the round, Jones stunned Vasquez with a left, dropping him with a barrage of punches moments later. Vasquez stood up and was instructed to walk back to his corner by the referee, who ultimately waved the fight off.

Jones is holding out hope that he will eventually face WBO cruiserweight titlist Marco Huck, who will defend his title against Krzysztof Glowacki on June 12.

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Also on Saturday night, former heavyweight contender Razor Ruddock stopped Raymond Olubowale in the fifth round at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

With the win, Ruddock improves to 39-5-1, 30 KOs, while Olubowale falls to 10-7-1, 7 KOs.

Best known for his two back-to-back defeats at the hands of Mike Tyson in 1991, Ruddock was fighting for the first time in 13 1/2 years.

Ruddock was the busier fighter in the first round but the taller Olubowale utilized his reach to land hard hooks and rights to Ruddock’s body. Olubowale dropped Ruddock with a series of right hands to the head at the end of the fourth round but Ruddock was saved by the bell.

Just when it seemed like Olubowale was going in for the kill, Ruddock landed a vicious left hook that dropped him to the canvas. Olubowale got up on wobbly legs, prompting referee Mark Simmons to wave the fight off at 1:00.

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On Friday evening, heavyweight Shannon Briggs stopped Zoltan Petranyi in the first round at the Hotel Sortis in Panama City, Panama.

Briggs improves to 58-6-1, 51 KOs. Petranyi drops to 51-22, 16 KOs.

Known lately for his catchphrase, “Let’s Go Champ!,” Briggs has won his last seven bouts in a row, six having come in 2014.

Briggs was deducted a point in the first 10 seconds of the fight when he threw Petranyi down to the canvas. From that point on, Briggs stalked the Hungarian fighter around the ring.

Midway through the round, Briggs dropped Petranyi to a knee, courtesy of a right to the body. Petranyi barely got up but continued and, moments later, Briggs landed a left hook to the body that dropped Petranyi to the canvas. Petranyi made no attempt to get up as referee Hector Afu counted him out at 1:52.

After the fight, former cruiserweight titlist Guillermo Jones climbed into the ring and challenged Briggs to a fight. Briggs accepted the challenge on the condition that the fight takes place after Briggs (possibly) gets a shot at RING heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since Oct. of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.