Roy Jones Jr claimed his 30th scalp when he retired a postman-turned-boxer with one of his biggest wins in 1995.
The legendary champion was in his prime in 1995, racking up 29 straight wins to hold the IBF Super Middleweight title.
Roy Jones Jr had already beaten big names like James Toney and Bernard Hopkins as he cemented himself as one of the most dangerous fighters in the ring.
While he was the top-ranked contender, Tony Thornton was Jones’s 30th victim when he stepped into the ring with “Superman” back in 1995.
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Roy Jones Jr ended Tony Thornton’s career with a devastating KO victory
One of his most devastating and clinical performances was when Jones Jr stepped into the ring with a postman-turned-boxer in 1995.
In his third defense of the IBF Super Middleweight belt, Jones Jr took on Thornton on September 30, 1995.
Thornton left his job with the postal service to turn professional and had an impressive 37-6-1 record leading into this clash.
Despite a strong division at the time, Thornton had found himself the #1 contender for Jones Jr’s belt, although the champion quickly proved that his challenger did not belong there.
He dominated the bout, knocking Thornton down with an outrageous left hook in the second round, before finishing him in the third.
The champion unleashed a lethal combination that the Postman had little defense for, cowering in the corner as he faced countless shots from Jones Jr without reply.
The referee was forced to step in and end the fight as a TKO win for Jones Jr, as the champion defended his title with a third-round finish against Thornton.
Tony Thornton retired after losing to Roy Jones Jr and returned to work for the Postal Service
The loss to Jones Jr was Thornton’s final outing in the boxing ring, as he retired shortly after losing to the champion in his title fight.
An elbow injury forced him to hang up the gloves after the beating he got from Jones Jr, ending his career with 37 wins and 7 losses.
Thornton became a supervisor for the US Postal Service in Bellmawr, New Jersey, after retirement, living up to his nickname as the Punching Postman for the rest of his working life.
Sadly, he passed away in a motorcycle accident in 2009, 14 years after being knocked out by the legendary Jones Jr.