On this day in 2003: Roy Jones Jr. captures heavyweight gold by defeating John Ruiz

On this day in 2003, Roy Jones Jr. made history. He became a four-division champion by defeating WBA Heavyweight Champion John Ruiz.

'Captain Hook' had established himself as one of the greatest on the planet by 2003. He thoroughly cleaned out the Light-Heavyweight Champion and decided that he was going to look upwards. After knocking out Clinton Woods in September 2002, he decided he was going to dare to be great.

John Ruiz had just retained his belt by defeating Kirk Johnson via DQ a few months prior to Jones Jr.'s win over Woods. The Light-Heavyweight Champion must have seen something in 'The Quietman's' film because he decided to target a fight against him. Ruiz agreed to the bout and it was set for March 1st, 2003.

Despite being outweighed by over 30 lbs, Jones Jr. headed in as a 2-1 favorite. While a significant favorite, that was still significantly less than many of his previous bouts. When the two men squared off, the speed difference showed that the odds should've been wider.

Ruiz couldn't so much as land a glove on Jones Jr. In round one, the light-heavyweight began to find a home for his jab and was popping his foe's head back. By round four, the champion's face was a mess due to his nose being broken.

The action didn't got much better for the champion thereafter. While Jones Jr. didn't take too many chances, he dominated the fight purely off his jab and his speed. At the end of the 12-round contest, there was no doubt who pulled off the win. 'Captain Hook' had leaped his way into the history books and won via a wide unanimous decision.

Watch Roy Jones Jr. vs. John Ruiz below:

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Roy Jones Jr's victory over John Ruiz was a turning point in his career

There are many choices for the best performance of Roy Jones Jr.'s career. That being said, his victory over John Ruiz to become Heavyweight Champion is near the top of that list.

However, in a weird twist of fate, that wound up being one of the last great wins of his career. Following the win over Ruiz, he decided to move back down to light-heavyweight and shed all the muscle he put on for the heavyweight move.

As it turned out, this wound up being a massive miscalculation. He barely edged out Antonio Tarver in his first fight down in weight in November 2003. The two rematched a few months later and 'RJJ' was knocked out in the second round.

The loss was just one of many to come. Following his first victory over Tarver, he went 6-6 in his next 12 contests. He was able to end his career on a nice note, however, as he won 12 of his final 13 bouts before retiring in 2018.