When Roy Jones Jr. wants to make a point, he does it with an exclamation mark at the end. That is, he kicks ass.

In 1997, when Jones was disqualified in the 9th round for hitting Montell Griffin as he was on his way down, he lost the WBC light heavyweight title. But more importantly, it was the first loss of Jones's illustrious career, a blemish on an otherwise flawless record (he was 34-0 with 29 KO's at the time of the loss) that tampered with the perfectionism, egotism and legacy of Roy Jones Jr. He was already robbed of a gold medal in the '88 Olympics; now THIS.

Jones sought revenge and got it five months later when he destroyed Griffin inside of one round.

Last November, when Antonio Tarver lost a controversial decision to Jones, Tarver mouthed off about how he was robbed, how he brought the fight to Jones, and how HE was the people's champion, the TRUE light heavyweight champion of the world.

Jones, for his part, gave Tarver his due, but said he had dehydrated from his heavyweight bout with John Ruiz too quickly in order to make weight, and watching him that night against Tarver, you'd tend to believe him. Tarver pulled out all the stops to get Jones in the ring with him, and after crashing Jones's post-fight press conference in March after his victory over Ruiz, Jones vowed that before he retired, he would "whoop Antonio Tarver's ass".

So it was somewhat dissapointing to see a complacent, emotionless Jones throw one punch at a time in ekeing out a close decision over Tarver. What of the "ass-whooping" he'd promised?

Those close to Jones say that he had expressed a need for a more definitive win over Tarver, that the beating he promised on the man who called him out was not derailed, just delayed. And when Roy Jones says he's going to do something, Roy Jones delivers.

Whether it's ego, revenge or vindication that's sending Jones back into the ring Saturday night against the opponent who gave him his toughest fight, Tarver has to know that he won't be facing the same Roy Jones he fought six months ago. Jones's body has had plenty of time to resettle into his normal fighting weight, and he will be more focused than he usually is. The latter part of Jones's career has seen him abandon combination punching for single-punch and two-punch combos and the odd flurry, but you have to believe that he'll make an exception against Tarver and put his boxing skills on display. He might even try to (gasp!) knock him out.

At 35, Roy Jones Jr. only has one or two fights left. It remains to be seen if a megafight against boxing sideshow Mike Tyson can be made, but for now, Jones has one priority- giving Antonio Tarver the same treatment he gave Montell Griffin seven years ago.

That is, turning him into a trivia question.

Prediction: Jones TKO 11