Roy Jones Jr. Devastated After His Son Commits Suicide
Roy Jones Jr. has announced the death of his son DeAndre, who took his own life aged 30.
DeAndre was part of Jones’ three children, who he had with his wife Natlyn. The news is devastating to the boxer, who has had to deal with several obstacles in his life. Jones has spoken about his upbringing by his father, who is a war veteran. While that instilled him with discipline, Jones described his treatment as ‘abusive.’ Jones then suffered at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.
Despite dominating his opponent, Park Si-hun, Jones received a silver medal. He would ultimately become a four-division champion with titles at four weight classes, including titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light-heavyweight, and heavyweight. Since his retirement, he has helped train fighters, most notably Chris Eubank Jr. While that may have been the case, he did have a boxing bout last year when he faced Anthony Pettis. However, Jones lost out to the MMA fighter in a shock decision.
Roy Jones Jr.
“For me, I like to come in and entertain the fans. My job is to come in and make sure that the fans get what they paid for, and I’m all good with that. I think it was a good fight. He did a great job and fought a very smart fight.
“I think I educated him and taught him a lot in this fight. So, I think if I fought him again it would be even better because he knows a lot more now. I think it would be a really good rematch. I don’t do exhibitions, I fight real fights. I’m not an exhibition guy, I’m a real guy. I want to win, or I want to lose. But I’m going to go out on my shield, and I want to be able to do it again as many times as I want to,” Jones stated
While Jones has created a huge legacy in the sport, he is now dealing with the toughest moment of his life.
Jones Reacts
“Unfortunately, my son DeAndre took his life on Saturday. 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 tough times right now, but nothing is worth taking your own life. God gives it and God should be the one to take it away,” Jones said
Jones’ desire to have further boxing fights or continue as a trainer will understandably take a back seat. There have always been worries over the boxer’s desire to return to the ring. Anthony Joshua recently confirmed his plans to build a care home for boxers due to the rise of CTE.
The increasing number of boxers coming out of retirement to fight again, such as Jones and Mike Tyson, makes it all the more important that fighters put their welfare first. At this moment, Jones must take time out to ensure that he has time to heal. Boxing fans poured in with words of support.
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
