PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Roy Jones Jr. knocked out lightly regarded Omar Sheika in front of a roaring hometown crowd Saturday night to capture the North American Boxing Association’s vacant light heavyweight championship.
The referee stopped the fight at 1:45 of the fifth round after Jones had blooded Sheika’s face with a flurry of punches. Sheika, who kept Jones backed up in the ropes for much of the fight, never went down and wanted to continue.
“I’m glad the referee did stop the fight before I messed him up even more,” Jones said.
It was the first title victory of any kind in nearly two years for the 40-year-old Jones, once acclaimed as the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer.
The win was Jones’ 53rd, including 39 knockouts, against five losses. The 32-year-old Sheika of Patterson, N.J., fell to 27-9 with 18 knockouts….Full Story
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