Sometimes that’s what happens in boxing when you get out and forget all the great things that happened before you fell. You know what I mean: the great Muhammad Ali, almost untouchable in his prime (or in his prime), but busted after two desperate defeats, including one to a guy he barely broke a sweat against when he was the real Ali.

Sugar Ray Leonard, almost flawless in his perfect (or perfect) form, left after two painful defeats, one of which was a stoppage loss to a guy who was never considered a hitter.

And the original Sugar Ray, the greatest to ever do it, yet fighting for far too long and leaving in defeat after a dozen games.

And then we look at some great fighters who managed to rise to the top without having to test their luck for too long and can forever boast an undefeated record – Rocky Marciano, Joe Calzaghe, Ricardo Lopez, Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward… and one or two other guys.

Which brings us to Roy Jones Jr., also known as “Superman.”

Jones was able to emerge from this almost flawlessly, almost intact. However, younger fans today don’t fully realize how truly great and special Jones was in his prime (or prime years). Some of us know how Jones did it all – as a middleweight, super middleweight, lightweight heavyweight, and even made his mark in the heavyweight division. But Jones fought on and on until he lost a total of ten times, nine of which occurred at a time when RJ no longer resembled Superman. When fans today look at Jones’ record, they see him being beaten ten times and being knocked out five times, and as a result, they tend to disregard him as a true champion. Never allow yourself to be told that the power of an unbroken record cannot influence the mind.

Jones could have done things differently, however, and in a modern interview with the Mail Online, the living legend says he regrets continuing to fight after his first fight with Antonio Tarver. Jones, meanwhile, moved up to heavyweight to confuse and dethrone WBA heavyweight belt holder John Ruiz; for some experts, it was Jones’ best and most unique performance. But then Jones put so much through his body that he went back down to 175 pounds and took the Tarver fight. Jones, already a shell of his former glory, was defeated in a 12-round majority decision and his lightweight heavyweight titles and supremacy were retained. Almost.

Looking back, it was the perfect time for Jones to step away and retire. To accept his flowers. Instead, Jones boxed for almost a decade. He was defeated by the likes of Tarver (in a rematch), Glen Johnson and Joe Calzaghe. Jones could perhaps live with it, but the losses, the KO defeats of Danny Green, Denis Lebedev and Enzo Maccarinelli certainly haunt Jones today, just as they haunt Jones’ fans.

Jones told the Mail it could have been a different end to his career.

“I probably should have won the first fight with Tarver and stopped,” Jones said. “I would still be without a doubt the greatest fighter of all time, which I still am, but people wouldn’t even think about it because they already know it. No one has ever done what I did – until today.”

Again, these adolescent fans do think and question Jones’ true greatness, and it’s because of his best losses in the past. If Jones had left after that close call with Tarver at a time when the Pensacola resident had absolutely nothing left to prove to anyone (except perhaps himself) – where would he rank among “experts” and senior fans and youth today?

As the greatest warrior of all time? Very possible. Jones from 1993 to 2003 was truly great. Jones could fly and it looked like no one would be able to bring him down.

Imagine today, Jones at 49-1, beautifully and brutally repairing his DQ loss to Montell Griffin. Where would you place it in the pantheon of immortal rings?

The British weather did its best to disrupt a charity cricket match between Essex EBA and James Cook’s All-Stars – and to some extent it succeeded, as attendance was much lower than expected and the match was confined to 10 overs per side.

But John Conteh did his usual brilliant job as auctioneer, and the auction, raffle and “other stuff” (to quote EEBA secretary Raymond Lee) raised just over £4,000 for the Ringside Charitable Trust. This is a great result.

One of the ‘other items’ was a donation of £1,000 from Barry Hearn. Those running the Trust have long been trying to persuade major promoters to support it – let’s hope Barry’s generosity will inspire others.

The match itself was certainly exhilarating. Essex started well, taking two wickets in the first over in just one run. The All-Stars rallied to score 69 and Essex responded with 70, scoring four with just three balls remaining. But the real winner was RCT.

Other boxers present included Terry Marsh, Mark Delaney, Tony Humm, Colin McMillan, Jason Beard, Bobby Guynan, Bobby Arthey, EEBA chairman Tom Burling and Brian Hudspeth.

There were also several EBA members in London and Essex, including LEBA chairman Bob Cheeseman, George Sawyer, Gary Hudspeth, Paul Fairweather, Terry Bay and Mickey Cannon.

Applause to everyone who contributed to organizing the event – they do not organize it themselves – and to those who braved the weather and supported it. That’s a really great reason.

Update to last week’s story Reaching for golda game about the life of former Croydon amateur and professional, the slow Frankie Lucas. It takes place at The Park Theater in Finsbury Park from November 6 to November 30 inclusive (NO only one evening, as suggested last week) – evenings from Monday to Saturday, with matinees on Monday and Thursday.

Co-producer Frank Skully contacted me and said, “We would love to have your cooperation [Croydon EBA] we got involved in our project by organizing one performance dedicated to boxers from Croydon, during which we could gather all of you together, watching the show – amateurs and professionals, family and friends. The theater has a capacity of 90 people, so of course numbers are confined – but we would love to fill the theater in tribute to Frankie Lucas and the Croydon boxers.”

Tickets usually cost £30 per person, but if Croydon residents arrive in a group it will only cost £10. If you are interested, please contact me (please let me know what dates you can and cannot set) and I will contact Frank. Anyone wanting more information can contact Frank on 07725-859-856 or by email (gfgoldfilm@gmail.com).

Merseyside Former Boxer Association president Mick Molyneux has stepped down after many years of service and his position has been taken over by George Metcalf – one of my regular correspondents. Good job, George.

The current issue of Mug’s Alley – the MFBA’s monthly newsletter – features another fascinating photo op by Robbie Robinson, this time featuring Kenny Salisbury, who was born in Liverpool, boxed with some success for the Halewood Club, and then emigrated to Australia.

Kenny turned professional in 1979 and was undefeated in his first 27 appearances (one draw). Then, as the Australian super welterweight champion, he met Zimbabwe’s Nelson Bosso in a fight for the vacant Commonwealth belt and duly defended his title without losing a single round on any of the official scorecards.

After three further victories, Kenny came to London for his first fight outside Australia and his first defense – against Bristol striker Nick Wilshire at the Albert Hall in June 1985. It ended unsatisfactorily after two rounds as Kenny suffered a badly cut eyelid – no he was cheerful with the break and was told he would get an early rematch. But he never boxed again.

The Home Counties EBA meeting is this Sunday (September 22) at 1pm at the Bricketwood Social Club in St Albans, with leading amateur referee Sandy Matthewson as the guest. “We have a great place, great food and great people,” says president Bob Williams. A sure recipe for success.

Whenever we argue, fans think of two things: the great heavyweight boxer and the heavyweight who should have achieved more than he actually did; many of us think of David Tua. Almost 11 years have passed since the fight of the powerful (it’s deadly to see), stocky Samoan, and exactly 15 years ago “Tuaman” scored his last knockout. What a blood-curdling display of brutal punching took place on this day in 2009.

Dubbed the “Fight of the Century,” the Kiwi-style clash between Tua and Shane Cameron was a fight that was years in the making, but ended in the blink of an eye when it finally happened. Cameron, who was 23-1 and never stopped, won strongly. Before the fight happened, Tua was inactive – almost two years of inactivity. This and the fact that Cameron was five years younger than the man led some fans and some experts to believe that this case could go either way.

Instead, he was in rock-solid shape, as quick and correct as when he flattened good guys like Michael Moorer, Obed Sullivan and, apparently way back in the days of the Cameron fight, John Ruiz (that KO is still considered one one of the most spine-chilling scenes ever seen), Tua was about to turn back the years.

At the age of 37, Tua missed out on becoming a world champion, or at least that’s what they thought. After wasted months and after Lennox Lewis had a solid lead in what turned out to be Tua’s only chance to win the world crown, it seemed that Tua was destined to be remembered as one of the best large men who had ever they didn’t rule the world. But the ruthless display in which Tua demolished Cameron made many of us rethink.

Tua came out like crazy, which meant business, and caught Cameron with a few bombs early. Swinging painful sledgehammer hooks with both hands, Tua took down “The Mountain Warrior” twice in the opening session. Cameron never recovered or got into a fight, but somehow he managed to get out of the round. But Tua, always a clinical finisher, ended his compact night’s work in round two, and his violent attack forced the third fighter to stop the fight.

Tua came back for a while. Unfortunately, for some reason, Tua was unable to capitalize on his modern active. He earned a dull decision victory over Friday’s Ahunanya before drawing with Monte Barrett. Tua was then defeated by Barrett in a rematch and then defeated by Alexander Ustinov, ending his once oh-so-promising and assured chance at a career of world domination. Through it all, Tua, blessed with both a huge chin and the power to break both arms, was never stopped.

It truly is a mystery to many of us why and how Tua can look so deadly and powerful in a fight, and then prove to be listless and relatively harmless in another. On this day 15 years ago, Tua seemed to be back on track. Instead, “Fight of the Century” gave us the final, sizzling KO of Tuy. Tua’s final record is 52-5-2(43).

Cameron continued to fight until 2014, a year after Tua’s last fight, and interestingly, Cameron scored an ugly KO victory over a man Tua couldn’t harm in Barrett. Cameron then lost three on the spin and retired with a record of 29-5(22).

To this day, the Tui shortcut attracts many viewers, especially on YouTube. Tua truly was an exceptional boxer!