In spurts you could see flashes of the old Roy Jones in there against Tito, but we've had against both Prince Badi Ajamu and Anthony Hanshaw as well. He displayed his vaunted speed, power, as well as a sharp mind which helped him whether the Trinidad onslaught that seemed surprisingly dangerous despite a couple years of inactivity and weight gain. At the end of the night it was clearly evident that Roy Jones is always capable of rising to the occasion, dazzling the fans with his amazing athleticism and hand-speed, but did this victory entitle Jones to a short-term future among the best, and how much credit should Roy deserve as a result of beating down what his critics would remark as a shell of Trinidad?

The way Trinidad answered the opening bell, showing us his classic poise and confidence, let us know immediately that he was by no means a pushover even at this point in his career. Trinidad was confident enough to let his fists fly and to put himself in harms way by pushing Jones back against the ropes. So Trinidad clearly had a game-plan and was utilizing it. And according to the Harold Lederman scorecard, it took Jones three rounds until he could do enough to win one on his own.

I believe the rally by Jones which came by the sixth round was a compliment of his own skill, as Trinidad didn't fatigue nor just shut down as a result of Jones' assaults. Jones also boxed an exceptionally smart fight, as he neutralized Trinidad's punching power by putting his ear muffs on, as well as backing Trinidad up. By this point, Trinidad probably figured his best bet was to out-box and out-work Roy, and you could see how uncomfortable Trinidad was in utilizing this new plan of attack as Jones began to tag him with regularity with zinging right leads and left hooks. By the seventh, in which Jones registered a knockdown, you knew this was increasingly becoming a Roy Jones night. However, when many a Jones opponent concedes to Roy's finesse by this point in the bout, Trinidad remained poise and was still investing a great deal in banging to Roy's body, even while Jones' inevitable counter-attack would be Trinidad's only reward.

By the late rounds it was fun to watch Roy Jones displaying his superior boxing skills and having fun on an important stage. Despite Trinidad's claims that the fight was closer than the scorecards revealed, he was as always game in defeat. It turned out to be a well-fought, exciting, and somewhat masterful performance given by Jones, against what I now call a worthy, dangerous opponent that leaves me wondering whether Jones is well justified in calling out the best in the world right now.