The first week of May was supposed to be an era-defining staple for the Riyadh Season. The promotion delivered a thrilling lineup of boxing action featuring Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, and Canelo Alvarez across two days. However, both events face massive scrutiny, with fans terming the action subpar, as every boxer adopted a cautious approach.

It led to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh announcing that he won’t entertain passive boxing on his cards. “From this point on, I don’t want to see any more Tom and Jerry-type boxing matches. Where one fighter is running around the ring and the other is chasing him,” he announced. As anticipated, the decision split boxing fans straight down the center. Now, almost two months after the announcement, boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. shared his two cents on the controversy, targeting Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia specifically.

In a recent conversation with Radio Rahim of Seconds Out, former four-division champion was distraught over all the squandered potential on the May 2nd event. “Hurt my heart. Because I know and I promise you, man, at 56 years old, if he put me in Time Square, what I got to give y’all a Times Square performance,” he said, claiming that Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney’s performance did not justify the platform. The 56-year-old believes that even at this stage of his life, he can give a better performance, be it for fewer rounds. “It may not be, but four rounds or six rounds, but y’all don’t get a Times Square performance for. However long I can hand I can hang in there, you feel me, sir,” he added, announcing that Times Square used to be a glorious location, where boxers used to put out their best version.

Rahim probed further, asking Jones Jr. to reflect on the Tom-and-Jerry rule. “Should there be something in the rules like the referee stopping fighters from not engaging, or that’s like what we’re calling the no-running rule?” he asked, asking his opinion on His Excellency’s plans to make the ring smaller. “Not necessarily. I say it because if a guy wants to run, he going to run in a 16 ft ring. So, if he want to run, he going to run with God. Don’t matter how small the ring get, he’s going to run harder,” he said, claiming that changing the ring size won’t matter.

So, the question arises: what could change this passive brand of boxing prevalent in modern times? Well, according to Jones Jr., the answer lies with the fighters already.

Devin Haney needs to change

According to Sugar, the only thing that can change the passive fights is the boxers’ drive to be the best. “Because if you’re the best, you can’t run from a guy for 12 rounds, say, ‘Oh, I’m the best. I beat him,” he concluded.

The 56-year-old claimed that you can never run for 12 complete rounds against the best, citing examples of Muhammad Ali. “I mean, even a great Muhammad Ali, he didn’t run from George Foreman. He didn’t run from Joe Frasier. He moved around a little bit to make him use their legs. Get him a little tired, but once he got him where he wanted him, he attacked. These guys don’t understand that principle,” he stated.

Jones Jr. said that running is a big part of boxing. But you can’t do it for all 12 rounds because it’s not fair to the fans. Boxers should run to get their opponent in a corner, not to get away from them. So, as things are, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia need to work on their reputation again. Also, since the huge Riyadh Season contracts are on the line, they can’t change their strategy. What do you think?