Roy Jones Jr contends that a world champion effectively quit during a recent title defense that culminated in the loss of his championship.
With 25 world title bouts across his storied career, Jones recognizes the intensity required to persevere in challenging situations.
The fight took place on Saturday when Xander Zayas defended his WBO and WBA super‑welterweight titles against Jaron Ennis, fighting back from several knockdowns before ultimately being stopped in the seventh round.
Although many fans lauded Zayas for his courage, Jones told All The Smoke Fight that the Puerto Rican boxer effectively gave up by waving the flag at the bout’s end.
“I thought he fought a great fight for up to, I say [round] five. Had they stopped it in round five, you saved him from having to do what he had to do in round seven.
“Come round seven, his body was so banged up, his will got broken. When your will get broken, you give [up]… Like I said, had they stopped in the fifth round as they should have, we wouldn’t have to see him go through that. But they didn’t.
“He didn’t quit because he looked at the corner, he quit because them body shots were on him and he couldn’t get away from them. That’s why he quit. He waved the flag. He did the right thing to wave the flag because his corner didn’t care enough to get him out of there, so he had to wave the flag. He waved the flag. I’m sorry. He waved the flag.”
Jones added that he does not fault Zayas for the decision, but he believes the corner should have taken greater action to protect their fighter.
“I don’t blame him because it ain’t worth dying about once you see you can’t beat this dude. He saw he couldn’t beat the dude so it’s not worth me giving my life for it.
“He ain’t even on that dude level so it’s not worth him getting messed up over so he waved the flag which was a smart thing. Now he get to come back and fight another day.
“You got to save your fighter yourself from him having to wave the flag. He shouldn’t have had to throw the flag in. But because y’all didn’t save him, y’all forced him to have to throw the flag in. And he threw the flag in, I don’t care what nobody tells me.”
Following the defeat, Zayas may rise to middleweight, while Ennis aims to capture the remaining world titles at 154 lb to become undisputed—an achievement Jones himself accomplished as a light‑heavyweight champion from 1999 to 2002.