Jones Hoops It Up With Tko Over Lucas

Roy Jones Jr. may have thrown bricks in the wrong half of Saturday’s two-sport doubleheader in Jacksonville, Fla., but he hit the open man hard enough in boxing to score an 11th-round TKO over Eric Lucas, whose bravery was rewarded with the taste of his own blood.

Jones, whose minor-league Jacksonville Barracuda team won earlier in the long day, got his sweep, but it wasn’t pretty. He scored five points in basketball, but reached double figures in rounds for the first time in five fights since winning a 12-round decision to gain the IBF super-middleweight title in November 1994.

“The basketball game didn’t take anything out of me,” said Jones, now 32-0 with 28 KOs. “It’s like a boxer who goes jogging to make weight.”

Lucas is 19-3-2.

Although he would like to continue fighting, 46-year-old ex-heavyweight champ Larry Holmes insists he will follow his family’s wishes and hang up the gloves after he completes his 70th professional fight, today at 1 p.m. on CBS.