JONES LOOKING TO RECAPTURE HEYDAY WITH TRINIDAD FIGHT

Roy Jones Jr. did a lot of boasting this week, his motivation due in part to his financial upside for fighting Felix "Tito" Trinidad on Jan. 19 (9 p.m. ET, HBO Pay-Per-View). At one time, Jones let his fists do his talking, and it was a blindingly fast work of art.
Now he needs help.

"This fight," crowed Don King to reporters this week, "is as big as when (George Foreman) fought (Muhammad) Ali in the 'Rumble in the Jungle.' "
King's hyperbole is no surprise because the veteran promoter has a formidable marketing task with Jones-Trinidad.

In Ali-like fashion, Jones (51-4, 38 knockouts) predicted he would summarily dispatch the Puerto Rican inside four rounds.

Jones understands he needs an exceptional performance — both at the box office and in the ring.

Jones worked out last month with the NBA's New York Knicks to beat the publicity drums.

A giant billboard on Broadway trumpets next Saturday's "Bring on the Titans" non-title bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The price tag to see such former greatness is $49.95 on pay-per-view. Trinidad has a guaranteed purse; Jones' purse largely operates on "the come," i.e. he's gambling on the number of TV buys.

Now 38, Jones, a prideful fighter with an admittedly huge ego, tries to recapture some of the magic, the glory — and yes, the windfall — that seemed to come so easily during his heyday in the 1990s.

He might be headed for a potential showdown in England against Joe Calzaghe, the unbeaten Welshman and super middleweight champion who will first fight former longtime middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins.

"My name is Roy Jones Jr. I am Superman, and I don't care about anybody else," he said.

Jones is the favorite, even if his chin deserted him against Antonio Tarver and Glenn Johnson in 2004 — both devastating knockout defeats — and his once-incredible reflexes are in retreat.

That is because Trinidad, who turned 35 on Thursday, has had a much longer period of inactivity (two fights in the last 5½ years) and has never fought at more than 160 pounds.

His last fight, in 2005, produced a desultory 12-round loss to Winky Wright.

But he said Thursday from his native Puerto Rico, where he's been training for the fight, that he's ready for Jones and isn't concerned about his opponent's promise of an early KO.

"He'll find me prepared on the 19th," said Trinidad (42-2, 35 KOs). "He will remember who Tito Trinidad is. Jones is going to look bad because his promise will not materialize."

Jones-Trinidad will be waged at a maximum of 170, but Jones — who once briefly held a portion of the heavyweight title and is a former champ at light heavyweight — should be heavier than Trinidad by the time they enter the ring.

Jones should be more highly motivated, too, from his recent ring embarrassments. He said this week that had he defeated Tarver and Johnson, "I probably would have walked away."

Instead, he'll walk into the lion's den again.