AT THE time, as the ’70s rolled into the ’80s, it was considered an experiment that failed. A career that lasted a mere three months; one that ran its course after one of the most anticipated debuts in boxing history. Simply put, the novelty wore off.
A decade before, there had been talk of 7ft 1ins basketball star Wilt Chamberlain challenging Muhammad Ali. The public was intrigued to the point the proposed match gained serious traction, but Chamberlain, at the last moment, had a change of heart. Ali’s barbs of “Timber”, when he saw Chamberlain, were said to have played a role in waking the big man to the reality of what would transpire. Today it is ludicrous to think that Chamberlain, who had no boxing experience, could have even been semi-competitive but, back then, some people even wondered whether he could actually win. Unknowingly, that set the table for Ed “Too Tall” Jones to make his boxing debut on November 3, 1979, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
That Jones was entering the ring at all captivated the sports world. As the number one pick in the 1974 NFL draft, Jones had gone on to have a stellar five years as a defensive end of the Dallas Cowboys, labelled as America’s team. Jones had helped lead them to three Super Bowls, winning one. He was paid well and a handsome new contract awaited him. Some thought he was using the threat of retiring from the NFL as a ploy to squeeze more money out of the Cowboys. After all, it made no sense, at least not on the surface, that one of the biggest stars of his sport would leave, it in the prime of his career, to become a novice in another. But, for Jones, the decision was not just easy
