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Saturday, February 24
Updated: February 25, 2:10 PM ET
 
Harmon unable to continue past 10 rounds

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. -- All week Roy Jones Jr. said it didn't matter that a lot of people no longer consider him the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.

Roy Jones Jr.,
Roy Jones Jr., left, had the best of his run-in with Derrick Harmon.

He sure didn't act like it Saturday night.

The undisputed light heavyweight champion successfully defended his title when little-known Derrick Harmon, who had taken a steady pounding, failed to answer the bell for the 11th round of their scheduled 12-round bout at the Ice Palace.

There was little doubt that Jones was on his way to victory, but the abrupt finish caught the crowd of more than 14,000 off guard because the challenger weathered barrage after barrage to remain on his feet.

But Harmon's corner said the 31-year-old left-hander's right ear drum was broken in the 10th round and he was in no condition to go on.

"I'm back in the saddle," Jones said after the dominating performance improved his record to 44-1 with 36 knockouts. "I want to take on all comers, the whole world."

Jones defended the selection of the obscure Harmon as an opponent, saying he deserved a title shot although he had never beaten a top contender and was only ranked No. 4 by the WBA, No. 8 by the IBF and No. 9 by the WBC.

Critics accuse the champion of ducking more heralded fighters such as Bernard Hopkins, Felix Trinidad and Dariusz Michalczewski of Germany even though none of them are light heavyweights.

"Bring them on -- Trinidad, Dariusz," the 32-year-old champion said. "I've got at least three more years. I'm not going to do this if I'm not the best."

Harmon said before the fight that Jones, who has held titles in three weight divisions, might be ripe for an upset and that he had the skills it would take to get the job done.

But the champion took command at the start and never let up. He hurt Harmon in the seventh round with an uppercut and straight right, rocked the challenger with three more big blows to the head in the eighth and continued to punish him in the ninth.

Jones landed punches at will in the 10th, many of them to the head.

"It's my right ear drum," Harmon said motioning toward his ear. "I can't hear. It happened in that (10th) round."

Harmon's only other loss in 22 fights was a 10-round split decision to Greg Wright in a fight originally announced as a draw. The Nevada boxing commission later discovered the scorecards were not tallied correctly and declared Wright the winner.

The fight was the first for Jones under a new contract with HBO that pays him about $4 million per bout. It was his eighth successful defense of the WBC light heavyweight title since winning the crown with a 12-round unanimous decision over Mike McCallum at the Ice Palace.

Harmon, whose previous biggest payday was $10,000, earned $350,000.

Jones' best friend, featherweight champion Derrick Gainer, retained his WBA title with a 12-round split decision over Victor Polo of Colombia. The result was not a popular one with the crowd, which booed when Gainer spent much of the fight dancing to stay away from the more aggressive challenger.





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