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Word spread quickly throughout boxing this past Friday that the much talked about, somewhat anticipated bout between Roy Jones and John Ruiz had finally been consummated and that the two combatants would face each other on March 1st at the Thomas and Mack Arena in Las Vegas.

Everyone from Don King to Murad Muhammad and the representatives of Ruiz were quick to talk about their deal and express joy (and relief) that this whole process of dealing with the mercurial Jones wasn't fruitless. They all talked excitedly at the money that was going to be made and what a spectacle they had put together.

Only one problem though, we haven't actually heard anything official from Roy Jones himself. In fact, Jones has been about as elusive as the 'Beltway Sniper' the last few weeks since signing what was in effect, 'a contract, to sign a contract' that outlined his financial demands for a bout with Ruiz. He basically stated that for him to face a man 45 pounds heavier than he is that he would need a guaranteed $10 million purse and 60-percent of the pay-per-revenues. Many thought at the time that it was Jones' way of negotiating out of the fight. To the surprise of many, Ruiz and his people agreed to those stipulations and agreed to go into this promotion with no financial guarantees. After all, whatever they would end up with, it would still be the most lucrative bout of his career. They had nothing to really lose.

Ruiz and his people called his bluff and one source tells me that this fight isn't 100-percent done like many are saying, instead this is a ploy to get Jones to sign the fight. So after calling his bluff, they are now forcing his hand. But even then, even if all his contractual demands are met, do we really know if he signed the deal? And if he didn't, is there anything that keeps him from walking away from this fight anyway? We sure would like to hear from Jones himself on this.

Even his own advisors like Brad Jacobs and HBO have had problems getting in touch with Jones the last week or so. It seems Jones is just as elusive outside the ring as he is inside of it. Roy, are you out there? We'd all like to know what's going on? Come out, come out, wherever you are.

As most of you know, I haven't been one of Jones' biggest backers the last few years — making me public enemy number one in Pensacola — but I'll say this, Jones shouldn't be criticized for declining a bout with a full-fledged heavyweight. And if he decided to take on Antonio Tarver, that would be just fine, as Tarver has become the undisputed number one challenger among the light heavyweights.

But, it was Jones who brought this on himself by bringing up the idea of Ruiz. Something that he likes to do to deflect the attention he gets when taking on the likes of Clinton Woods. Invariably, history may be repeating itself here as he backed out of a fight against Buster Douglas in 1998, for what was then a career high payday. And don't forget that what he would get for facing 'the Quiet Man' is by far his biggest purse to date.

He really has nothing to lose here. If he beats Ruiz, he makes a bit of history by capturing a heavyweight title as a light heavyweight champion (who started his career as a middleweight) and he makes a good chunk of change. If he doesn't? Well, this would be the equivalent of a knockout loss. He was the one who brought up the idea of this fight, every one of his financial demands were met, the pressure was on him to do something substantial and he would never be able to live this down if he didn't go through with the fight. We all wouldn't forget and we'd keep reminding him of that.

But there was always something about this proposed Jones-Ruiz bout that was dubious to me. First of all, if Jones wasn't willing to face Vassiliy Jirov at 190 pounds (saying at that time that he was really a blown up super middleweight), why would he want to fight someone who was 40 pounds bigger than Jirov? And again, I'll say this on Jones' behalf, he or any other prizefighter shouldn't be expected to face anyone that much bigger than themselves.

Then there was the whole issue of HBO which thought they had some sort of pay-per-view bonanza on their hands. Seriously, some of their execs I talked to thought they had themselves a box-office gem. This for a fighter who's last three pay-per-view shows bombed worse than every movie Madonna has done since 'Desperately Seeking Susan'. I bet one of the suits at Time Warner a steak dinner that Jones-Ruiz wouldn't do 300,000 buys. Doesn't seem like much, but remember Jones' bouts against Julio Gonzalez and Eric Harding failed to crack the 200,000 barrier.

But it was argued that Ruiz, unlike those other light heavyweights and Jirov, had name recognition and was a heavyweight titlist. Uhhh, you mean the same Ruiz that HBO had basically done a smear campaign on the past five years while trumpeting the likes of Michael Grant, David Tua, and even Derrick Jefferson? Now, all of a sudden this relatively non-descript fighter is going to be the supporting cast that Jones needs to have commercial success?

Also, one of the keys in this whole equation is Ruiz's WBA belt. Wait, I thought HBO didn't recognize these 'spurious' organizations and their titles? Now, all of sudden, Ruiz's hardware means something but back in July when he defended that very same title against Kirk Johnson, they sure didn't have the same respect for his title.

What gives? I guess they'll do anything at HBO to justify that albatross that is their multi-fight deal with Jones. And that included putting on 'deadlines', then 'final deadlines' and then 'really, this is our final, final, most serious deadline' several times. They seemed to have settled on March 1st as their latest date after realizing that December 7th was never going to happen. It's a good thing that King, Muhammad and HBO weren't in charge of handling baseball's labor negotiations. I mean, those guys would have put on a work stoppage date of August 30th and would have been negotiating all the way to Thanksgiving, while still telling everybody that the World Series would still be played in October.

At least now they have left themselves a little wiggle room with their new date. Now, will Roy let us know by then if he's actually signed on for the fight?

MY CONTRACT

In the vain of Jones, I have decided to throw out a challenge to Universum, which promotes Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko.

If they meet my demands of $12 billion and 98-percent of the pay-per-view gross revenues, I am more than willing and able to face both Klitschkos — at the same time with my hands tied behind my back in Germany, against the advice of Max Kellerman, who fears that they will insert horseshoes into their gloves. But that's the type of warrior I am and I feel I just have to do this to shut up my critics.

If not, then both brothers and their promoters should just hang their heads in shame because I've done everything in my power to make this thing a reality.

The ball's in their court as Roy would say.

SUSPECT, BABY JOE

I like Joe Mesi. He's one of the most intelligent and articulate boxers I have ever had to interview. But please don't try and tell me that a victory over the shot David Izon proves anything.

The only thing it really proves is that 'Baby Joe' is a great ticket seller in his hometown of Buffalo, New York and that alone, will probably keep him from
fighting any live bodies for at least another 18 months.

What happens the first time a guy can consistently land the jab on him or when he gets backed up? Izon is a legitimate tough guy, but a far cry from the guy who KO'd Lou Savarese and Derrick Jefferson in the late '90s.

Mesi, needs to face a Mo Harris-type level guy (at the very least) before he can be taken as a serious threat. Right now, he's being babied. Pun is fully
intended.

PROSPECTS

Despite the less than rave review of Steve Albert and Bobby Czyz, I thought Rocky Juarez did as well as can be expected against a savvy vet like Hector
Acero-Sanchez who was looking to survive from the opening bell.

Juarez got some valuable work in and will only get better.

Juan Diaz, in my opinion, has always been a limited prospect but I give him credit, he has made some improvements and he has gotten himself in much better physical condition the last 12 months. He almost looks like a whole new person. He may never be a great fighter but he will always give you a good fight and an all-out effort, and there's nothing wrong with that.

As for Francisco Bojado, couldn't tell much from the highlights, but it's clear, he better either shape up or he won't be long for this sport. He is scheduled to go at it again on Telefutura the night before the much
anticipated rematch between Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti.

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E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com

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