Former boxing world champion Roy Jones Jr announced Monday that his son DeAndre -32 years old- had died by suicide and quickly the networks were filled with messages of condolence for the family of a fighter considered the best of his time pound for pound and who since 2018, when he retired, works to unite the boxing world … lately so punished.
“I’m so thankful that God allowed me to come home Friday night to spend the last night of his life with me and the family. I know a lot of people are going through hard times right now, but nothing is worth taking your life. God gives it and God must be the one to take it from you,” the 55-year-old former boxer wrote on his X account, while asking for “privacy” for his family at this time and thanking them for the “love and support” he was receiving.
Among those public condolences, the IBA, of which Jones is an ambassador and that just two years ago -June 2022-, decorated him by entering his name in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, has been missed. In these times in which boxing needs cohesion, solidarity and an impulse towards the future, it is necessary to strengthen all the values that boxing promotes, among others that of empathizing with the pain of a fellow fighter and showing that respect in public.
Jones, precisely in October of that 2022, raised his voice in search of unity and solutions for his beloved sport to take the right steps so that it would not be left without Olympic participation in Los Angeles 2028. “I cannot remain silent when boxing is not represented in the initial LA 2028 program. To exclude boxing from the Olympic Games would be nonsense, it would be no less than committing a crime. In fact, the new IBA does not like empty talk, it likes action. The work done in just under 2 years is tremendous, and we have all been able to witness it. Join me, join my #STANDFORBOXING campaign,” he commented in a lengthy letter with which he intended to unite boxing who retired with a 66-9 record, including 47 knockouts, and an Olympic silver in Seoul 88.
Today, far from that unity, the International Olympic Committee has warned that either a new boxing federation is formed or it will cease to be Olympic. The IBA has not responded to the criteria of transparency, economic viability and cleanliness demanded by the IOC, and for these Olympic Games it has been the Olympic body itself that has once again organized its Paris 2024 tournament, something it does not want to repeat.
Hence, for the good of boxing, the unity demanded by Jones is necessary, although already outside the IBA since the IOC does not believe in this body. Indeed, the public sensation given off by the IBA is that of not being up to certain circumstances, such as publicly expressing condolences to one of its own, the one who was the first middleweight champion in 106 years to win the heavyweight title.
From the SportsIn team we join the condolences of DeAndre’s family and friends.
