Jones made it close in the end, but could never quite make up for a poor start. In the opening rounds, the fighter seemed lackadaisical and sloppy, doing little to defend himself from Trinidad's varied barrage of punches.
"Roy just came out flat," remarked Trinidad of Jones' poor start. "He didn't show a lot of heart. It's like he didn't even care."
If not for a sharp turnaround in the latter rounds, the fight may have been a blowout. Jones abruptly began to show life in the 10th round, nearly punching his way back into contention. A key defensive mistake in the final round, however, allowed Trinidad the opportunity to knock Jones out with a thunderous right hook.
Jones, who had been training with the NBA's New York Knicks, thought he was fully prepared for the fight.
"I don't think it's a question of heart," said Jones. "I learned quite a bit from [Knick coach] Isiah Thomas, and I really thought I was ready. I'll get him next time."
If you're up on the news, you know that what's above is in jest (that or the timestamp from the future tipped you off). In fact, Roy Jones Jr. took a break from training for his January fight with Felix Trinidad to work out with the Knicks. Why?
Cute! Everyone knows that the only thing better than purposeful play and competent coaching is a nice gimmick! Hopefully for Jones, the Knicks learned more from him than he did from them.