By Roy Jones
Special to ESPN.com
There's one big difference in my training camp as I get ready to fight Joe Calzaghe than in my usual training camp. HBO's cameras are always around.
They are always in the gym and following me around for "24/7," the three-part series following Joe and me as we get ready for our fight. The second episode is on Sunday night (8:30 ET/PT), and I know they have a lot of material that they can use.
HBO first did the show to follow Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather before their fight last year, and then they did another one to follow Mayweather and Ricky Hatton before their fight. I didn't really watch the show; just saw bits and pieces of it. But I liked what I saw. And now that I know more about it, I am a very big fan of the show.
The shows really show people a lot about what we go through and what we do to get ready for a big fight. I think the shows give people a lot of insight. It's no acting either. Me and the guys in camp are just doing what we would be doing, even if there were no cameras around.
I've tried to be very cooperative with the HBO guys to let them get what they need to get to make a terrific show, and they've been good with me to allow me to do what I need to do without getting in the way.
But those guys are with me all the time, so I've gotten used to it. There are four of them: Ben Tishler (producer), John Tipton (lead cameraman), Jeff Fisher (second camera and editor) and Morgan Worth (audio). It's been a wonderful experience, and I enjoy the four guys. They talk to me, but they don't get in the way. We check back and forth with each other to make sure everything is cool. Ben respects my wishes, and I respect him and the crew.
I text them every day to let them know when I will be in the gym. And when I am in the gym they are always there, but it doesn't bother me at all.
When I went to Atlantic City for the Bernard Hopkins-Kelly Pavlik fight, they met me there. When I went home to Pensacola last weekend, they were there. Like I said, they're everywhere.
It seems like they film everything, but after awhile you sort of forget they are around. I think the show is a beautiful concept. It really brings people into the fighters' lives. I've been around for a long time and I have never let people in like this before. I figured I'm getting older now, so why not let people see what goes on?
Back in my earlier days, having people around all the time filming every little thing I do would have bothered me. I didn't want to let people know me all that well. I was just a country boy from Pensacola, and I liked my privacy. Now, it's alright. Now the world knows me, so there ain't no secrets.
I just do my thing every day, and I speak my mind on camera and off. Some people might be surprised by the things I say, but I am Roy just being Roy.
Source: ESPN - Getting used to life in front of the cameras
Roy Jones Jr. vs Joe Calzaghe - HBO PPV - 11/8/08
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