Roy Jones Jr has just ten losses from 76 professional fights, however one man came close to making it eleven.
Jones was one of the most dominant fighters of the 1990s and early 2000s, winning world titles from middleweight to heavyweight. Known primarily for his exceptional speed and reflexes, he also possessed genuine punching power, particularly at the lighter weights.
While he often relied on volume and accuracy, Jones had the ability to end fights suddenly when he chose to commit fully to his shots – his knockout of Virgil Hill with a single body shot remains one of his most impressive finishes.
When opponents did manage to land on ‘Captain Hook,’ he wasn’t indestructible. Of his ten losses, five came inside the distance. None of those men, however, are who he says hit him hardest.
In a feature with the Ring Magazine, Jones picked Dominican Merqui Sosa.
“Merqui Sosa was a very powerful guy. You couldn’t push him back; he didn’t give up anything in the ring. I had to get him out of there early. He was very strong and wasn’t planning on going nowhere.
Merqui missed me with a shot that almost buckled my knees. If that had landed it would have been different. I was like, ‘Wow, this guy’s trying to kill you!’ I went to work on him after that and got the fight over. Tarver had good punching power, but he didn’t punch harder than Merqui Sosa.”
Jones’ reflection on the fight gives more credit to Sosa than some might expect, given that it looked like a two-round demolition job. Jones, defending his IBF super middleweight title, was in complete control from the opening bell, with Sosa absorbing a lot of punishment before being dropped in the second. He made the count, but, with his back up against the ropes and Jones throwing combinations, the referee called a halt to the fight. Sosa was flabbergasted, pushing third man Kenneth Zimmer and complaining.
Sosa would fall short at world level again, but remained a dangerous, respected presence in a deep era of talent. He hung up the gloves with a record of 34 wins, 27 by KO, and nine losses.
