On this day, Roy Jones Jr. and Montell Griffin rematched a year after their first fight in 1997.
In their initial encounter, Jones was considered the best fighter in the world with Griffin being viewed as a top challenger and a worthy foe.
The first fight saw an evenly contested bout marred by the ending. Griffin controlled the early portion of the bout, but Jones eventually took control in the later rounds. The fight will forever be remembered by the pivotal moment in the ninth round, in which Jones hit Griffin with illegal blows while he was down on one knee, leading to his disqualification. Griffin won the fight by disqualification, but the result was unsettling, and seeing Jones loses his WBC light heavyweight title via a DQ upset many. This was also Jones' first pro loss. Given that Jones Jr was a cultural icon, and the fight was ended on the discretion of the referee as opposed to the fighters - the rematch was heavily anticipated.
The rematch was nothing like the first as Jones came out quick and dropped Griffin in the first twenty seconds of the fight. Jones was able to stop Griffin in one round which was a statement in and of itself. The ending came out at 2:31 of the first round.
Jones made a world-class fighter, and someone who had success against him in their first fight look like a nobody. If someone watched this bout, and didn't know any better they would have assumed this was a developmental fight as opposed to an anticipated rematch of world-class boxers.
The bout was billed as "Unfinished Business." Despite Griffin winning the first fight, Griffin entered as a four-to-one underdog. Both fighters walked away from this bout much richer as they both were paid $1.5 million, and the fight took place at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, in front of a sell-out crowd of 4,500.
The victory further cemented the greatness of Roy Jones Jr., who left no doubts in the rematch.
