Jones is back! (7/16/07) Photos Coming Soon!
Former light-heavy king decisions Hanshaw for minor belt!
Ringside by Damien St. Pierre [7/15/07]

There was a reason Roy Jones, Jr., scheduled his IBC light heavyweight title bout with Anthony Hanshaw at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi: To proclaim that Jones and the Gulf Coast are both back.

The fans showed it by numbering 9,000 strong, and Jones (51-4) showed it by scoring a 12-round decisive decision over the ready-to-upset Hanshaw (27-1-1).

Hanshaw came out on fire, pushing Jones back to the ropes and winning the opening round. Jones came back in round two, showing some of speed and accuracy that made him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters, at one time.

It was apparent after round two that Jones was controlling the bout in the center of the ring. Hanshaw was content on winning the fight by pushing Jones to the ropes and unloading on him.

Jones used a steady body attack throughout the bout, but in round eight, Jones landed a hook to the body that hurt Hanshaw. It was much of the same in round nine as Jones was able to back Hanshaw down for most of the round.

The exclamation mark of the bout was in round 11 when Jones put Hanshaw on the canvas. Hanshaw was able to beat the count, but was visibly shaken.

Though the crowd chanted, “Junior! Junior!,” urging Jones to make the kill, the former champ took his foot of the gas and coasted to a decision victory.

Jones later said, "I knew he was hurt, but I needed the rounds".

All three judges were in agreement as they all ruled in favor of Jones, Jr. with the scores of  118-109, 117-110, 114-113. (more)

Diaz and Buendia Cut Short!
The NABA welterweight championship fight between Oscar Diaz (25-2, 12 KOs) and Juan Buendia (14-1-1, 8 KOs) lasted about ten seconds, before Diaz suffered a bad cut over his left eye from an accidental head butt. The bout ended as a no contest.

Gainer Squeaks By!
Former world champion Derrick 'Smoke' Gainer (41-7-1, 24 KOs), who hails from nearby Pensacola, Florida, won an uneventful but controversial ten-round split decision over Carlos Navarro (27-6-1, 22 KOs) in a lightweight bout.
Navarro was noticeably the aggressor in the bout, but Gainer had some success landing very clean shots off the ropes, which lead to some very close rounds.
Navarro won over the fans, but Gainer won over the judges with scores of 96-94, 96-92 and 98-94 for Navarro. The majority of press row also had Gainer as the victor.

OFF TV BOUTS

Sellers Batters Beets!
38-year-old, two-time cruiserweight world title challenger Ezra Sellers (28-7, 24 KOs) came out of nearly a three-year retirement to stop Mississippi tough guy Troy Beets (12-11-1) in round six of a scheduled 8 round affair.

Sellers was in control throughout the bout, and the skill difference was evident from the start. Beets was able to move enough to keep the counter-punching Sellers off of him until round six where Sellers caught Beets with a stiff left hook that put him down. Beets was able to rise, but his corner has seen enough.

Johnson Crushed Norwood!
Floyd Mayweather Sr.-trained, light heavyweight "American Dream" Ronald Johnson (8-1) pounded "Assassin" Aaron Norwood (22-8-2) for three rounds.
Johnson put Norwood down in both rounds two and three. The bout, which could have been halted at any time, came to an end at 1:01 of the third.

" Lightning" Lonnie Outshines Rousseau!
In a four-round lightweight contest, "Lightning" Lonnie Smith (4-2-1) of Las Vegas, Nevada outworked Berthon Rousseau (0-4) of Orlando, Florida.

Smith used a steady diet of body work to cruise to a 40-37, 39-36, 37-37 decision. Smith had a point taken in round four by referee Keith Hughes for repeatedly losing his mouth piece.

Muhammad Takes Decision!
Middleweight Mujtabaa Muhammad (1-1) of Pensacola, Florida, defeated Mississippi native Fred "Hercules" Tillman (1-4) via uninspired decision. Scores were 40-36 across the board.

WALK-OUT BOUTS

Pensacola heavyweight Kevin Price (1-0) made a successful pro debut by demolishing Johnny White (1-1) of Laurel, Mississippi. White did not answer the bell the start round two. Price is trained by Roy Jones, Sr.

In the final bout of the evening, local heavyweight Aaron  Lyons (6-1) scored a very impressive 6th round TKO victory over Pensacola’s Gabe "Big G" Brown (18-7-3). Brown's corner has seen enough, throwing the towel in during the final scheduled round of the bout.