How far the mighty has fallen.

Roy Jones Jr. - Mr. Unstoppable, Superman, RJ - how ever you want to label him - has seen the highest of highs, and now dwells in the lowest of lows. He's been to the mountain, but now basks in ther shadows of irrelevance. From winning world titles in front of thousands on HBO, to struggling to sell tickets in Boisie, Idaho. That's how far the mighty has fallen.

Jones, 49-4 (38), is a fascinating study in sports psychology. The irony of Jones not wanting to end up paralyzed like his friend Gerald MacClellan, but deciding to fight on at the age of 37 after being knocked cold in two of his last three losses, says much about Jones' state of mind. Jones, a man who has always weighed the pros and cons of a situation to the nth degree, has replaced his calculated considerations with reckless decision-making. The glorious career of a prizefighter who holds titles (though not undisputed) in four weight classes by beating fellow future hall-of-famers is being stained, by Jones himself, in his quest for relevance. Or maybe it is supremacy. Or perhaps attention. Only Jones knows what he hopes to accomplish with a win Saturday night. His opponent, Prince Badi Ajamu, 25-2-1 (14), is a slick but light-hitting boxer and cousin of the late Floyd Patterson. In his prime, he wouldn't touch Jones. Now, who knows?

Reality is a bitch. And denial makes for a great defense. Jones has always been a defensive master, relying on his sharp reflexes and impeccable sense of timing to thwart his opponents. Jones has chosen to downplay the role of aging as being complicit in his fall, instead blaming personal problems between his estranged father and trainer Alton Merkerson in the corner of his recent rubber match with Antonio Tarver, a loss of muscle as a result from dropping back down from heavyweight to 175 which left him dehydrated, and a lack of challenging competition over the years. It's too bad that a once great fighter is now displaying poor timing in making a comeback, and poor defensive excuses to downplay his fall from the throne.

I have always been a big Roy Jones fan. But the fight for supremacy will be mere sparring for a fighter still waging wars with his inner demons and subconscious mind. Jones should have quit while he was ahead. Now he risks the same fate that his contemporary, the great Bernard Hopkins avoided: the prolonged career of a washed up legend fighting for some ambiguous reason. You can call it Sugar Ray Robinson Disease.

Or maybe even RJJ Syndrome.

Prediction: Jones KO 7