Ruiz sucked, he had no skill whatsoever, more or less a glorified clubfighter who go by on severe rule bending, and gift decisions thanks to his connections with Don King. I'd say that Tarver definitely had/has more power than Ruiz did, and who's to say that a blown up Johnson didn't either? He did KO Roy afterall, and has fought as high as CW. Ruiz was not a hard puncher. If he hit harder than Johnson it wasn't by much, and it would be completely negated by his lack of skill anyways.
He would have to run around the ring all night like Haye did, and as a result he would lose a lot of rounds based on not throwing punches, and his evasive tactics. Haye barely did enough to beat Valuev, some even thought he lost. If Haye had a hard time, what makes you think Jones would have had an easy night? Give me a break. Jones was not the demigod you guys make him out to be. Valuev was skilled enough for his sheer size to seriously trouble Jones.
I'm tired, and I don't know if you're trolling or being serious? Ruiz was by no means great. But he was effective. If he'd have had no skill at all, he wouldn't have had three close fights with Evander. I doubt very much, that Johnson and Tarver at 175, could have hit harder than Ruiz at 230. You're saying that Valuev would have won, because Johnson knocked him out. Well why didn't Ruiz then? Yes, if Valuev had have caught him clean, he'd have gone. But that applies to almost any fighter at any weight. Realistically, what would have been the chances of Valuev finding Roy? IMHO, Roy's speed was would have bamboozled him.
You accused Roy of ducking Holyfield, yet Ruiz was able to hurt Holyfield more than many fighters did.. If Holyfield had won the last fight of the trilogy, we would have seen Jones-Holyfield for the WBA. I have no doubt. Neither Tarver or Johnson had Ruiz' power when you factor in the size and weight difference. And how much more skilled was Johnson than Ruiz? Johnson is a rough, tough journeyman with wide looping punches that a prime Roy would have had a hay day with, and I am a fan of the Road Warrior. I have posted many videos of Roy taking multiple harder, cleaner shots than the shot that Johnson knocked him out with. Roy's chin declined sometime after his drop from HW. I don't see what is so hard to understand about this fact.
Even with all of the blatant cheating and rule bending Ruiz still easily lost 2 out of 3 fights to Holyfield(at least). He should have been DQ'd from all 3 fights for excessive clinching/holding. Even then it was just a paper title that was vacated by Lennox at the time. Do you think that Jones could have beaten hom as well? atsch
Jones beat Lennox? No. Valuev is no Lennox though, and should never be mentioned in the same sentence as I just did. The fact is, Ruiz beat Holyfield, like it or not... Ruiz was the WBA HW champ like it or not. Roy at the time, beat him even worse than everyone Ruiz fought save the Tua slaughter. Underrated win for Roy, mostly based on how many people hated Ruiz' style and connections with King.
Moot point. Ruiz lost at least 2/3 of their trilogy, and they were only competitive in the fight place because of Ruiz's outright cheating and disdain for the rules/and connections with King. Are you really telling me Ruiz and Holyfield present the same kind of test to Jones? Get out of here. Even then Holyfield was leagues above Ruiz in terms of actual skill... Jones would have been able to dance around Holyfield for 12 rounds and win a decision, he would be forced to FIGHT and he would eventually succumb to the stronger, and more durable man in Holyfield. Tarver has fought at LHW, CW, and HW... And has scored knockouts at all 3 weight classes, his power has clearly translated well. Ruiz was never a hard puncher, he didn't have world level power... Who are you to say that a bloated Johnson didn't hit as hard, or harder? Ruiz wasn't exactly a physical specimen either, he could have probably fought at CW himself, or maybe even LHW with a strict diet. Roy never had a great chin. Not getting hit flush, and ducking top fighters like he did for so long will do wonders... Explain to me why Lou Del Valle was able to knock him on his ass if his chin was as good as you say it was.. There's zero evidence that him moving down from HW back to LHW had a negative effect on his chin.
That's because your a fanboy. Ruiz was a fake champion, a cheater and a fraud, what about that is so hard for you Jones fanboys to accept?
Roy would have been in an out throwing rapid fire combinations, with variation. Don't compare him to Haye. Haye should have made that fight easy. But he made it hard for himself because he was too cautious. He didn't commit to combinations, or body shots etc, and he used to imitate Roy with his left arm swinging by his side, but never had the reflexes to not get hit like Roy did. IMHO, Haye is mentally weak. If you gave a fighter his gifts, but with a different mindset, they would have accomplished more. I remember the build up to the Valuev fight, and they showed Haye and Adam Booth training on stilts to mimic Valuev's height. Ha! I couldn't believe it. Valuev was far from great. That was a sign that they were over thinking things and being far too cautious. Could you imagine Evander etc doing something like that?