FOR BETTER OR WORSE, JONES DOES IT HIS WAY.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Assistant Sports Editor 

LAS VEGAS - Roy Jones Jr. might be the greatest athlete you know nothing about. And many believe he has no one to blame but himself for that fact.

The light-heavyweight champion will face the biggest challenge of his career when he attempts to take John Ruiz's WBA heavyweight belt Saturday - a perfect opportunity, during hype week, to introduce himself to the world - but he has been the invisible man.

Jones was scheduled to do an open workout Tuesday. Didn't show up. He was supposed to meet privately with journalists before the final news conference Wednesday. Didn't show up. And even at the conference, a significant vehicle to sell the fight to the public, he made only brief comments and spoke to reporters for maybe two minutes.

Jones defended himself, saying he's done other interviews, but also made it clear he's not going to play the game by anyone's rules but his own, even if it means he'll remain relatively anonymous and lose millions of dollars.

That's how he's operated his entire 14-year career.

``I've made a lot of money anyway,'' Jones said as a handful of writers gathered around him trying to collect any comments they could. ``I don't need everything. I just need enough for me. And I have enough.''

Jones' boxing skills are beyond reproach. He's one of - if not the - most talented fighters of his generation. He's lost only once, a disqualification for hitting a beaten Montell Griffin while he was down in 1997.

He also can be charming. Years ago, for example, he surprised a group of writers by joining them at a restaurant table a few days before a fight he worked as a television commentator and couldn't have been more engaging or down to earth. No sign of ego that day. And he has made plenty of money. His long-term contract with HBO alone has netted him many millions of dollars.

However, one wonders how much more he could've made. How much bigger he could be as a personality.

A logical comparison would be to Oscar De La Hoya. The junior-middleweight champ from Los Angeles also is a gifted boxer and a former Olympian. He won a gold medal in 1992 while Jones was cheated out of a gold medal by corrupt judges in 1988.

The similarities end there, though.

De La Hoya hired successful promoter Bob Arum, who did a masterful job of guiding a career that has earned the fighter a significant fortune. Jones has gone at it alone.

De La Hoya always played the game by remaining accessible and saying what he believes people want to hear. Jones does interviews when he feels like it - particularly when he's guaranteed $10 million, as he is in this fight - and will say what he thinks regardless of the fallout.

And De La Hoya has a clean-cut image. Jones is a rap singer, raises roosters for cock fights on his Pensacola, Fla., ranch and once had the cockiness to play in a basketball game the day of a fight, all of which some find difficult to embrace.

Jones' thoughts on the comparison with De La Hoya?

``I'm not Oscar De La Hoya, I'm Roy Jones,'' he said, almost offended that someone would suggest he should behave like the ``Golden Boy.''

Jones said he never hired a promoter long-term because he wants to have full control of his career even though he doesn't have the expertise of an Arum or Don King, either of whom presumably could've built Jones into a bigger figure if they'd had the chance.

Greg Fritz, Jones' longtime publicist and close friend, tried repeatedly to convince him that he was making a mistake, but Jones wouldn't budge and he has no regrets.

His reasoning isn't complicated.

``God created me as a man with a brain,'' he said. ``I'm able to make my own decisions. Why can't I do it myself?''

Jones relationship with the media has never been good for a simple reason: He doesn't trust reporters to write his version of the truth.

``If you asked him who his closest friend in the media is, he wouldn't have one,'' Fritz said.

The rift stems at least in part from incessant criticism over Jones' choice of opponents throughout his career.

Many observers have suggested he has avoided potentially dangerous challenges, such as Germany's Dariusz Michelczewski or top super middleweight Bernard Hopkins, because he knows he'll make good money even taking minimal risk. One group of hard-core fans even initiated ``Roycot,'' a movement to boycott his fights.

Jones' defenders say he's played by the rules, fighting mandatory contenders, and shouldn't be penalized because he's so much better than everyone else.

``I think it's extremely unfair,'' said Fritz, referring to the criticism. ``I think if he was in any division, he'd make the top challengers look inferior. That's how good he is. Does it bother him? On the surface, he'll dismiss it, even laugh about it.

``If you go below the layers that make up Roy to his heart, though, it hurts him.''

Jones took the Ruiz fight - where he's trying to become the second light heavyweight ever to win a heavyweight title - to shut up some of his critics, which supports Fritz's contention that he cares at least to some extent what people think.

``He needed to do this because of all the criticism,'' his trainer, Alton Merkerson said.

However, at a mature 34, he's beyond being preoccupied with acceptance. The decision to fight Ruiz was his way of reaching out to the fans and even the media. However, no one should expect him to change at this stage of the game. In general, his loyalty is limited to people he trusts, his family and his friends.

A reporter said to Jones, ``You say you don't care about your critics, but by the same token, don't you feel a responsibility to the public?''

Jones' response? ``Nope.''

AT A GLANCE

Who: John Ruiz will face Roy Johns Jr. for Ruiz's WBA heavy-weight title

When: Saturday

Where: Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas

TV: Pay-per-view, telecast scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) JONES

Box:

AT A GLANCE (see text)