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When Prince Badi Ajamu, a.k.a. "The Boxing Prince", hit the Roy Jones lottery a few months ago, he graduated from being a SHOBOX and ESPN fighter to pay-per-view. As a result, Prince is enjoying a celebrity status that most fighters dream about, but rarely achieve. "All the respect and attention I am getting feels really, really good," he said. "I am getting the opportunity to educate the general public on the sport of boxing, telling them things they might not know."

He is taking it all in stride, and is fully aware of who he will be facing this Saturday night on the "Hold Nothing Back" pay-per-view card at the Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho.

Although he is a relative long shot to defeat Roy Jones, Jr., many people are pointing at Roy's three straight defeats - two by knockout - and give Prince Badi a good chance at pulling off the upset, even though they haven't heard of him or seen him fight.

One look at his record, however, will tell you that he worked hard for this chance, and fully deserves it. The next few paragraphs will show that Ajamu does possess the experience and skills needed to hang with, and perhaps defeat, this version of Roy Jones.

Fighting in places like the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, Dover, Delaware, Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut, and several Atlantic City casinos, Ajamu reeled off 14 straight wins to begin his career. He then stepped up in class, fighting to a draw with a still-formidable Anthony Bonsante, who was three fights away from retiring Tony Ayala, and two years away from his appearance on The Contender.

After losing a decision to world-rated Rico Hoye on SHOBOX, and dropping him in the process, Ajamu won the first of several minor titles, the Pennsylvania State light heavyweight title against Mike Alvarez. He picked up the vacant IBC Intercontinental light heavyweight belt, along with more world class experience in his very next bout when he dismantled veteran Sam Hill, who had knocked out Olympic gold medal winner David Reid and went the distance with Jermain Taylor.

Two victories over former Roy Jones sparring partner Ray Berry came next, before Ajamu dropped a razor thin majority decision (96-94 twice and 95-95) to former world champion Otis Grant, in a bout that took place in Grant's native Canada.

After an impressive ten-round demolition of Fred Moore, Ajamu added the WBC Intercontinental light heavyweight title to his growing collection after he knocked out Greg Wright.

Next up was a defense of that belt, a stunning ninth-round TKO over highly touted Olando Rivera. Ajamu, who by this time achieved a world rating, then annexed the WBC CABOFE title with a decision over Thomas Reid.

In his most recent bout, Ajamu took the WBO's vacant NABO Light Heavyweight Title with a knockout of Galen Brown.

Ajamu will be defending that belt against Jones in the scheduled 12 round bout on Saturday. He is currently ranked #6 in the WBC, #7 in the WBO, and #11 in the IBF.

In addition to this experience, Ajamu will have the added benefit of having trainer Buddy McGirt working his corner, along with his long-time trainer Denny Brown. McGirt twice guided Antonio Tarver to victories over Roy.

Leaving nothing to chance, Ajamu has been acclimating himself to the altitude of Boise for nearly three weeks now, and he loves it. "It is beautiful here. Everyone should see Idaho whenever they tour the United States. The people are beautiful too, inside and out," he said.

He also surrounded himself with all of the comforts of home. In addition to trainer Denny Brown, Ajamu flew in with some solid sparring partners. "Yusef Mack is here, and Mike Sharp, and Jamal Davis too. I've been working out at a private facility that has everything I need. A fighter named Cleveland Corder owns it, and it is five minutes from the hotel."

Although the temperature has regularly exceeded 100 degrees in recent weeks, it apparently presents no problems, "The heat is not a problem. I get up at 4:25am to train, before the sun is up," said “The Boxing Prince”, who normally trains in Vero Beach, Florida, and along with Pensacola's Jones, is used to hot weather.

When asked if he has bumped into Jones at any point during the week, Ajamu responded, "Not at all. They are keeping us apart, but I expect to see him at the press conference on Thursday and the weigh-in on Friday."

Has he watched any tapes of Roy's fights during his preparation? "No, I watched so much of him coming up. I leave that to my trainer Denny."

Some mistook Ajamu’s comments regarding his fighting a great opponent as giving out too much respect, and fear that he will fight that way. “It is more of a case of mutual respect between two classy fighters,” he explains, "People keep asking me about what my chances are and how do I feel about fighting a guy who is a future hall of famer. To that I respond that it is a pleasure and an honor to fight someone of his stature. I always watched Roy Jones coming up and I never thought I will be fighting him. I will be all business in there because I respect Roy. He paid me the ultimate compliment when he said I reminded him of himself when he was younger."

Can a passing of the torch be in order for Ajamu, who, at 34, is in his boxing prime? "I want to believe so," he said. "People are taking notice of my fights and recognizing me. I am fighting and still winning. Everything is coming together at the right time."