A conference call designed to feature Roy Jones Jr. instead dissolved into a warning from his trainer that the great fighter and World Boxing Council light heavyweight champion is near the end of his fistic career.
Nonetheless, Alton Merkerson believes Jones is in top shape and will successfully defend his title when he faces Antonio Tarver in a May 15 rematch at Mandalay Bay.
"You just lose it after a time when you get older," Merkerson said Wednesday, referring to fighters in general and the inevitable decline Jones, 35, will soon face. "It's going to happen, as sure as you live and die.
"Roy's ring generalship isn't what it used to be ... (he's) not going to have that many more fights."
Merkerson feels Jones is good for at least one more, however.
"Roy hasn't been punished (and) his hand speed is still there," he said. "He had a lack of interest in the last fight (vs. Tarver) but this time I think he has a little something to prove, similar to the Montell Griffin rematch."
After losing to Griffin by disqualification, Jones destroyed Griffin in less than one complete round in their 1997 rematch. Might Jones do the same with Tarver, who lost their Nov. 8 fight at Mandalay Bay by the slim margin of a majority decision?
"He has much more self-motivation," Merkerson said of Jones, although Jones -- who has never been known for being overly cooperative with the media -- failed to show for his scheduled conference call with the press. "He will be stronger."
Jones prevailed in the first fight against Tarver when two judges had him ahead, by 6 and 4 points respectively, while the third judge scored the fight even.
The victory raised his record to 49-1 yet left many wondering if he was slipping past his prime.
Merkerson, a Las Vegas resident who has been with Jones since 1988, had a behind-the-scenes explanation or two for Jones' mediocre showing.
"Part of the problem with that last fight is that Roy was kind of straddling the fence (in the months immediately preceding the fight) because he was looking forward to fighting (Mike) Tyson," he said of the indecision in the Jones camp as bouts at heavyweight and light heavyweight were being discussed.
After the fight against Tarver was signed, Jones was forced to lose around 25 pounds to get down to the 175-pound weight limit.
"I tell people, 'You can't run a marathon before you run a marathon,' " Merkerson said of the struggle Jones faced to lose weight and then fight Tarver. "Roy had a lot to overcome just to get that weight off."
There was one other item hampering Jones as well.
"He wouldn't want me to say this, but he also had an abscessed tooth and was debating a root canal. He bit on a towel for three days, he was in so much pain."
The net result was a close fight in which Tarver pushed the late action.
"Roy was hit more in that fight than he was in his whole boxing career," Merkerson said. "He had no legs in that fight. He was totally exhausted.
"I told him after the fight, 'This is the worst performance in your career.' But I patted him on the back and gained some respect for him, too, because he still managed to pull it off."
Merkerson contends that Jones' performance that night was only "a 4 1/2 or a 5" while Tarver "was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10."
He looks for the rematch to be a different story.
"Michael Jordan didn't have a perfect game every time he played," he said, utilizing a basketball analogy. "This time Roy doesn't have a weight problem and up to this point his training camp is right on track."
Rather than train near his Pensacola, Fla., home as he has in the past, Jones has been training for the past three weeks in New Orleans. In preparation for the southpaw Tarver, who is 21-2, Jones has worked with a number of left-handers, including cruiserweight Ezra Sellers.
"There's not very much more (Jones) can learn or get better at," Merkerson said, touching once again on the notion that Jones is an old dog beyond learning new tricks.
"Another year or so, maybe two years, and (his boxing prowess) is going to change."
The twofold message: Enjoy him while you can because his fabulous career is winding down.
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