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| Date | June 15, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Jacksonville Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | IBF Super Middleweight title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jones wins via 11th-round corner retirement | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roy Jones Jr. vs. Éric Lucas, billed as Basketball Jones?, was a professional boxing match contested on June 15, 1996, for the IBF super middleweight title.
Background
On May 14, 1996, reigning IBF super middleweight champion Roy Jones Jr.'s next title defense was announced to occur one month later against fringe contender Éric Lucas. However, this defense was no ordinary one for Jones, as it was also announced that Jones would first compete in a professional basketball game for the United States Basketball League's Jacksonville Barracudas, whom Jones played point guard for in addition to his boxing career, with Jones intent on becoming the first athlete to compete in two different sports professionally within a 24-hour day. Jones insisted that the act was not a publicity stunt nor did he intend to disrespect his opponent Lucas, stating "don't take what I'm doing as a stunt. I don't create stunts. I'm doing it because I want to try to do something different in life. I want boxing to have a better name. I'm trying to do my sport a favor and do myself a favor at the same time." Jones, then The Ring magazine's number-two ranked pound-for-pound fighter was an overwhelming favorite over Lucas, who was only the 12th-ranked super middleweight contender by the IBF, with odds reportedly 100 to 1 in Jones' favor.
Jones completed the first part of his two-sport doubleheader playing approximately 15 minutes and scoring five points on 2-4 shooting during a Barracudas victory over the Treasure City Tropics. Jones had been averaging just over four points and 21 minutes per game up to that point. The game ended at 4:08 PM, giving Jones just over 6 hours between sports, as his fight started at 10:39 PM. Jones told reporters after the game that he "felt good."
The Fight
Having knocked out all four of his opponents he had faced in title defenses no later than the sixth round, Jones dominated Lucas through 11 rounds, but struggled to put Lucas away, as the Canadian proved to be durable and able to take Jones' punches. Lucas was unable to land many punches on the elusive Jones, as he only landed 90 of the 306 punches he threw, while Jones landed over triple the amount of punches Lucas did, having scored with 316 of the 746 punches he threw. The ending came between rounds 11 and 12, with Lucas' face having sustained a vast amount of punishment to the point that he had suffered a gash above his right eye and had his nose broken. After conferring with the ringside physician who decided Lucas should not continue, referee Brian Garry stopped the fight.
Fight card
Confirmed bouts:
| Weight Class | Weight | vs. | Method | Round | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Middleweight | 168 lbs. | Roy Jones Jr. (c) | def. | Éric Lucas | RTD | 11/12 | |
| Featherweight | 126 lbs. | Kevin Kelley (c) | def. | Derrick Gainer | KO | 8/12 | |
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. | Keith Mullings | def. | Anthony Bradley | TKO | 3/8 | |
| Heavyweight | 190+ lbs. | Ezra Sellers | def. | Earl Talley | TKO | 1/8 | |
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. | Jason Papillion | def. | Earl Allen | TKO | 3/8 | |
| Heavyweight | 190+ lbs. | Paul Madison | def. | Mitch Sammons | KO | 2/8 | |
| Lightweight | 135 lbs. | Lemuel Nelson | def. | Jonathan Sciandra | TKO | 1/6 | |
| Welterweight | 147 lbs. | Victor McKinnis | def. | Daryn Thomas | TKO | 4/6 |
^Note 1 For IBF Super Middleweight title
^Note 2 For WBU Featherweight title
Broadcasting
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United States |
HBO |
References
- "Roy Jones Jr. vs. Eric Lucas". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- Roy Jones Jr. Set for Title Fight, Baseketball on Same Day, News & Record article, 1996-05-14, Retrieved on 2025-01-02
- Champ to Play Basketball, Box on Same Day, Associated Press article, 1996-06-14, Retrieved on 2025-01-02
- Double's no trouble for Jones, Tampa Bay Times article, 1996-06-16, Retrieved on 2025-01-02
- Jones Jr.: 1 down, 1 to go, Tampa Bay Times article, 1996-06-16, Retrieved on 2025-01-02
- All in a Day's Work: Roy Jones Jr. Took Moonlighting to a New Level, Sports Illustrated article, 1996-06-24 Retrieved on 2025-01-03
- "BoxRec - event".
| Preceded byvs. Merqui Sosa | Roy Jones Jr.'s bouts 15 June 1996 |
Succeeded byvs. Bryant Brannon |
| Preceded byvs. Karl Willis | Éric Lucas's bouts 15 June 1996 |
Succeeded byvs. Richard Frazier |