Jones beats Ruiz to make boxing history

Roy Jones rewrote the history books when claiming the WBA heavyweight title with a masterclass of technical boxing in Las Vegas.

The 34-year-old outpointed John Ruiz to become the first former middleweight champion to reign supreme among the sport's big guys since Cornishman Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897.

In addition, of the 13 light-heavyweight champions who had previously attempted to make the step up, only Michael Spinks had been successful in 1985.

But Jones was simply sublime as he picked off the ponderous Ruiz at will before getting the nod from the judges by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110.