How come RJJ never recovered...

He was caught embracing Soviet ideology in public.No coming back from that.

 

Hey, I personally enjoy your posts and find them insightful and multi-faceted. Keep it up. good

 

Jones was not prime anymore by the first fight. The KO happened because Jones lost his reflexes/speed. I believe he has had a weak chin forever. Just nobody could land clean on that ****err.

 

Yes, that is correct. Some hoaxes take longer to expose than others.

 

I agree that Jones' chin has been, IMO, always suspect,...but that was a very well kept secret since he was so fast and good a puncher...and his opponents with few exceptions, just weren't good enough to find the target.
That's what taints him H2H as far as I'm concerned, as the greats of the past WOULD have, sure as ****, found that chin....in each division that he competed in, Monzon, Hagler, Foster, Spinks, Tyson, Lewis, etc.,..

 

I think the Tarver loss was a result of Jones slowing down just a little bit and his vulnerabilities being exploited by a great fighter. After that, the Glenn Johnson fight he took too soon against another very good fighter, IMO Glenn Johnson at that time could've held it down against just about any light heavyweight there has been. Jones was certainly still one of the best in the world after that but no longer the great fighter he was in his prime. He really should've hung them up after Calzaghe and especially Danny Green but a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do. It was sad to see him go down the way he did to Maccarinelli last night....

 

Age is one factor. Getting off roids may be another. Jones around that same time period just stopped looking physically like RJJ. Not as muscular, not as cut. Concurrently with this his speed, timing and strength seemed to lag.

 

It wasnt that he didnt recover it was that he never learned fundamentals, he relied on physical gifts, chemical help, and carefully selected opposition for the majority of his prime. Hes now reaping what he sowed.

 

While this sounds cut and dry and harsh it's closer to absolute truth about Roy than most would care to admit.
Phenomenal athlete aided by Steroids that didn't learn craft, was exposed when talent eroded and has sadly soldiered on far far too long

 

In his prime he was too quick for most to land meaningful shots but we know that when he is caught he's in a world of trouble.

In terms of h2h matches you have to consider which fighters you believe would catch up to him.

 

Ali didn't look so great at 35+

 

I believe it was mostly psychological. The second fight with Tarver could've been a Griffin II moment for him. He came out looking very good and might've been totally adapted to 175. Tarver got an extremely awkward bomb in during the second round, similar to the shot Del Valle got in. It could've happened at any point during his career. It's a once in a career type moment, having a rangy southpaw with power get knocked into range for a counter by your own left hook. Tarver was just about the only guy capable of pulling that off. There's not much evidence that Roy had lost much bc it was only two rounds in and he looked fine until the knockout.

 

I'm not sure. Del Valle, Ruiz and Toney all landed at least a couple decent shots. I think Pazienza did too. And Tarver definitely did during the first fight. The punch that actually took Jones out would've taken anyone out.

 

I dont think Jones ever had an iron chin, he just never really got hit cleanly like he does now. Probably the cleanest shot he ever took in his prime was against Lou Delvalle, and hes lucky he was able to get through the round as I think it was at the end when he got nailed.

Some guys also lose their ability to take a punch completely and but Jones has been getting hit clean and hes not just getting hurt, hes getting knocked out. I think his legs chin and ability to see punches is completely gone. He really needs to stop. It kills me to see him get laid out like this.

 

Jones is an incredibly gifted fighter. He's in my top 3 atg, but if you catch him you can ko him