Louis, Ali, Tyson...Jones?

Is this Jon Jones’ Legendary ‘Break’?

A strange phenomenon has occurred in the careers of a handful of the greatest champions the world has ever known. Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson all had their careers interrupted by an outside influence. Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali both became bigger than boxing when war struck and forced them to the sidelines. Mike Tyson ended up behind bars when he should have been building his resume inside the ropes of a boxing ring. All three of these great champions continued their winning ways after they were forced to step away from the sport that had already made them stars.

A new sport and a new champion have emerged in recent years but the story appears eerily the same. Although not a cultural icon as the above mentioned, Jon Jones’ pugilistic accomplishments are undeniable. His creativity separates him from all other contenders and according to many spectators Jones has already cemented himself as the greatest martial artist of all time at the age of 28. Currently Jones waits, having been stripped of his title, he watches while a man he thoroughly dominated (Daniel Cormier) holds the crown. Jones’ downfall has been entirely his own fault, drugs, alcohol and poor decision making have been his most difficult opponents. Inside the octagon he makes world class contenders look less than ordinary but outside of the sport his can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble.

Following a plea-bargain, which kept him out of jail but also out of competition, Jones has now been reinstated by the UFC and by all accounts is more focused than ever before. If Jones can keep his private life from interfering with his professional career there is no telling how far he can go and someday we may be discussing Jones in the same breath as Louis, Ali, and Tyson.

-John-Paul Wolfe