Hey all, I was thinking about Roy Jones & started wondering if any fighters ever lost their peak skills and reflexes so quickly? It seemed he was on top of the world one second, and the next he's getting KO'd by Tarver. Sorry if this has been discussed much, I have seen a bit of talk about whether it was the move down in weight that did Roy in but who else went downhill super quick?
Nice, I’m the first one that gets to pick the lowest fruit for once. *clears throat* Wilfredo Benitez.
Sergio Martinez after the Chavez Jr fight. Went from top of the world for 11 rounds and signature win but one punch in round 12 turned him to a one legged gimp.
Jeff Chandler fell off the cliff as fast or faster than anyone from my era. One day he was, IMO, a great fighter and the next he was shyte, struggling to win a round against a decent but hardly stiff challenger. I strongly suspect drugs and life in the fast lane. He then had some eye troubles and never fought again. He was an extremely well rounded and talented fighter. Aaron Pryor is obviously a poster child for this. We all know the story.
He did but that was due to weight and not age. Once he couldn’t boil down to 160 he wasn’t as effective anymore.
Chandler developed cataracts in both eyes. In addition to which, when he fought Sandoval, he’d injured his arm and without trying out the painkiller during training, he took it the day of the fight and it made him really woozy. Unfortunately for Jeff, I think that loss and early retirement have affected his legacy somewhat. Until then, he was incredible and dominant. Had the cataract issue been caught by the commission he’d likely have been forced to retire before the Sandoval fight.
Ah yes now that you mention it i do remember the painkiller. One of those excuses i'd take as legit. It did harm his legacy as he'd been going gangbusters, mostly. Earlier on he'd also been caught with coke and weed as well.
Yeah, I think it’s forgotten how dominant he was and how much better he was than the field. Wins over Solis, Lujan, Carter, Canizales, Murata and the fashion of those wins validates his quality.
Semi modern cataract surgery existed back then. I don’t think cataracts would’ve been grounds for retirement.
