Tucker Knocks Out Jones in Forum Fight

Tony Tucker, the world’s second best heavyweight as recently as three summers ago, flattened surprisingly tough journeyman Calvin Jones in the fifth round at the Forum Monday night to raise his comeback record to 2-0.

Afterward, the 6-5, 242 1/2-pound fighter said he was ready for anyone as soon as today, presumably including Mike Tyson, who needed to go the distance in the summer of 1987 to take Tucker’s International Boxing Federation championship and unify the heavyweight title.

Against Jones, a capable and moderately dangerous heavyweight, Tucker was sharp, in good condition, under control, executing with precision and fighting with confidence. He may have been away for 2 1/2 years, but he easily looked like a top 10 heavyweight Monday night before 5,566. The 31-year-old former champion, 36-1 with 31 knockouts, dropped out of sight after his decision loss to Tyson, tumbling into a morass of “personal problems.”

In Jones, Tucker was confronted by a 6-6, 243 1/2-pounder who appeared at times to be trying to steal the fight with a fake foul. He went down three times, in rounds two, three and four, each time claiming low blows that most ringsiders saw as legal blows, or marginal punches on the belt line and certainly not as low as Jones (14-4) was claiming.

Jones, brought in from Bristol, Tenn., was outclassed but dangerous throughout. And his was an odd performance. When he wasn’t seemingly trying to win on a foul claim, he was catching Tucker with looping right hands to the head. Tucker was never rocked by any of Jones’ punches, but they certainly got his attention. Tucker, smooth and gliding about the ring flatfooted, landed murderous hooks to Jones’ ribs and long and short right hands to the head. He put Jones on his back with a straight right two minutes into round one.

But Jones came out throwing bombs in the second and won the first minute with a couple of long rights. Midway through the round, Jones went down for the first time, crying foul.

Referee Dr. James Jen Kin didn’t buy the first low blow claim but did give Jones about two minutes to recover when he went down in the third in the same fashion. He also took a point away from Tucker.

When Jones went down similarly in the fourth, Jen-Kin began a count and when Jones arose he ordered him to fight.

The end came at 2:09 of the fifth, when a short, jolting Tucker right inside caught Jones on the chin. He crumpled onto his back and Jen-Kin waved off Tucker without starting a count.

“I was happy with what I did,” said Tucker, who trains at Big Oaks Lodge in Saugus.

“The guy was awkward, big and strong, and I needed the work. I learned from this one--in boxing, you can never learn enough.”

Tucker’s promoter, Ed Bell, is mapping a route to a fight with Michael Dokes, ranked in the top 10 by all three governing bodies.

In the co-main event, Edward Parker (20-3-2), who earned $100,000 by winning the Forum’s super-featherweight tournament in October, scored a unanimous decision over Abe Gomez (15-4-1). In another heavyweight bout, Alex Garcia (14-1) stopped Andre McCall (14-5-2) in the second round.