Roy Jones wins unanimous decision

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ATLANTA -- Roy Jones Jr. won a 10-round unanimous decision against Max Alexander on Saturday night, snapping a three-match losing streak.

Neither fighter made a big impression, and there were no knockdowns in the fight at the Atlanta Civic Center. But Jones fought the more stylish fight while winning all three judges' cards: 100-90, 99-91 and 100-90.

The 42-year-old Jones (55-8) rarely pressed over the first seven rounds, but put together several combinations in the eighth and 10th rounds to beat Alexander (14-6-2).

"I'm feeling wonderful. I want a cruiserweight title, the world title," said Jones, who weighed in at 189 pounds. "This is just a start. I'm not through yet."

Alexander fell to 0-6-1 in his last seven fights, last winning in 2007.

Jones was knocked out in May by Denis Lebedev in Moscow with moments left. Fatigue seemed an issue in that fight for the boxer once considered the world's best pound-for-pound fighter.

It was not an issue Saturday.

Jones was simply pacing himself. He was so concerned about his stamina that even before pacing himself Saturday night he visited the Mayo Clinic.

"I went up there to get checked out, make sure I was OK, make sure my heart was OK and all. And I was training hard like I should have been doing," Jones said. "Also, the thing I worked on was not spending so much energy, so much useless energy. Don't be bouncing around for nothing."

Jones pulled that off.

Prior to the eighth round, his best work came in the form of lunging -- often wild -- lefts and rights as he kept his distance from Alexander. Occasionally, Jones ripped off combinations in clench situations as Alexander kept switching from right- to left-handed styles, but until the late rounds he was not impressive.

"He was taking his time, but I was there for the whole night," Alexander said. "He thought I was going to lay down. I could have done a little bit more. If it was a 12-round fight, I think I would have stopped him."

In the eighth round, as the fighters were clenched near Alexander's corner, Jones was woofing toward Alexander's corner men. Moments later, in the middle of the ring, Jones unleashed several combinations where his left hand was quick enough to remind fans of his past.

"He was fast, still fast, still strong, but he never hurt me," said Alexander, who has never been knocked out.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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