Roy Jones Jr. Promises Antonio Tarver a Wakeup Call

He sounded bored, or maybe he was just tired.

Maybe he'd just woke up from a deep sleep minutes earlier when someone tapped him gently on the shoulder and whispered into his ear that it was time for another conference call, time to get up from the nap and answer more boxing questions.

And that's what Roy Jones Jr. did earlier this week. He answered questions like he's been doing for 25 years. And you've got to figure he's grown tired of it, that he's heard just about all the questions you can ask. Twenty-five years? To a 35-year-old, that must seem like forever.

Still, Jones did his part, starting slow with short answers before growing a little more vocal as the questions came in.

The first question had to do with how he plans to fight Antonio Tarver on May 15 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas , what he might do different this time. It was the kind of question you usually ask the guy who lost the fight instead of the guy who won it.

“I'll fight the same fight I did last time except I'll have more energy.” Jones said. “I won't lean on the ropes as much.”

Next question.

This one had to do with how he would evaluate his performance last November when he escaped with a majority decision win over Tarver.

“It was a lackluster performance,” Jones said, being honest with himself and those listening. “It was because I didn't really care. I was thinking about (fighting) Mike Tyson. But I was cool with it. It's what happens when you have no focus. But this time, people think (Tarver) has a chance, so I can entertain the people now.”

And that's how it went, Jones never really bad-mouthing Tarver or making excuses for how he fought in their first fight, the one in which Jones was “lackluster” because his head and heart never showed up at ringside.

“You can't get mad at (Tarver) for him running his mouth,” Jones said of the former light-heavyweight champ, who still claims he won their first fight. “I just want to see if he can back it up.”

Jones didn't even get riled or spooked when someone with too much time on their hands, asked him who would win in a fight between two of the guys on the sitcom, “Friends.”

Apparently, there are still a few foolish questions out there he's never heard before.

Roy quietly told the man that he doesn't watch a lot of  TV. If he did, my guess is he wouldn't turn on Friends.

Near the end, Jones said the reason he still fights is for the “challenges,” and he might just have one or two fights left in him. He still wants Tyson and maybe Vitali Klitschko if he still holds a heavyweight title.

I'm 35 and I've been fighting since I was 10,” Jones said. “That's 25 years. I've gotten all I wanted out of the game.”

Maybe now he can get a little sleep.