Comparing Roy jones Jr at LHW to Artur beterbiev is crazy talk

Bivol has a better punch output than Roy ever did. Bivol threw over 700 punches against Joe Smith Jr and Canelo, I don't recall Roy throwing that many punches in a fight even as a Middleweight. Beterbiev managed to reduced Bivol's workrate down to under 500 punches and had Bivol wilting in the championship rounds. I don't think Roy would be fresher in the championship rounds, he may receive a bigger beatdown than Bivol took.

 

What's funny about those stats is that Bivol was much more accurate yet still landed a similar number of punches, and made Beterbiev miss about 80% of his shots. Bivol also backed Beterbiev up to the ropes with fast counters

 

Ahhh the urban myth about Roy not being able to box and depending only on reflexes perpetuated by casuals or the agenda driven.
Noob.

 

"The cringe is real in this one"

 

Roy was heavily reliant upon his speed, reflexes and athleticism. Hence why when he got older and his athleticism declined he became completely shot getting sparked out left right and centre. Other boxers like Hopkins, Beterbiev, Usyk, Foreman, Mayweather, Duran made changes to their styles to overcome their aging. Roy couldn't adapt like these fighters as he was heavily reliant upon his athleticism.

 

Why do you think Bivol was able to throw 700+ punches against Joe Smith Jr, 700+ punches against Canelo but when it came to Artur Beterbiev his output was significantly less, less than 500?

 

Caution ? What other answer could there possibly be ? Many people and the majority of ringside still scored it for Bivol and he has no power. Beterbiev threw less punches per round against Yarde than he did against the much far superior Bivol and yet he got tagged more, why could this be ?

 

Especially because the Bivol "win" is highly disputed and many people have legitimate arguments for Bivol actually beating Beterbiev. Without this controversial win, his resume is simply not in the same league as Roy's.

 

Ahhh the "fundamentals" myth.
His chin deteriorated after coming back down from Heavyweight. He was essentially shot.
Let's not forget he took several flush shots from Ruiz etc.
Before that his arsenal of 'fundamental' punches was better than anyone I've seen, hook off the jab, jab, right/left hook, body punches, uppercut, head movement, feet, counters.
The perfect fighter who, when he chose, boxed in a fundamental style.
It's just that the untrained eye only sees highlights and assumes every punch was a bizarre speed counter.
I could send you specific time stamp clips should you wish.

 

Bivol boxed Beterbiev's head off in the early rounds, built up an early lead, so Beterbiev showed more urgency by throwing more punches as boxing against a superior boxer wasn't working for Artur. Beterbiev's post fight interview he admitted to Bivol being the superior boxer, also when Beterbiev says one day he will become a good boxer, looks like he still trying to master the art of the sweet science at his advanced age even though it worked against him. Also the stakes were alot higher in this fight than it was against Yarde which may also explain Beterbiev's higher punch output.

Against Yarde, it seems Beterbiev had faith in his own boxing ability to be able to time and counter Yarde, which he eventually did, but against Bivol he realised he is up against a far superior boxer so adjusted his gameplan to throwing more and outworking his opponent rather than outboxing him.

Caution was probably the main reason Bivol's output was reduced against Beterbiev. But also factoring in Beterbiev did land some body shots and forced Bivol alot more than Canelo and Joe Smith did. Leading to less punch output from Bivol and a more deflated performance in the championship rounds from him.

 

I think that we have a bottom line here.

Despite super middleweight having been Roy Jones jrs most natural weight class where he didn't suffer from any size disadvantage against his opponents he would absolutely have destroyed Bivol and Beterbiev at light heavyweight. This shouldn't be looked at as a blemish on Beterbiev and Bivol but rather as a testament to Roy having been one of the greatest fighters of all time if not the greatest.

 

Interesting

I had Bivol winning the 12th. He blocked most of Beterbievs shots and they landed the same amount

 

All fighters decline in athleticism as they age. Bernard Hopkins is a contemporary of Roy, while Hopkins declined in his reflexes, speed and athleticism he adjusted his style, he adapted, and became more of a grappler using trickery and headbutts to win. Roy wasnt able to do this adjustment in his mid to late 30s as he always relied upon fast reflexes and athleticism. Naseem Hamed is another example of this, as his physical gifts declined he called it a day. Mike Tyson may be another example of this.

If you wish to educate me with specific time stamps of Roy's pure boxing without using his speed, reflexes and athletic advantages then I would welcome it.

 

12th round: When Beterbiev threw punches, whether they landed, missed or were blocked Bivol was visibly being backed up. When Bivol threw his shots, Beterbiev was still coming forward.

Also Bivol initiated some clinches to buy time this round, and when the ref stepped in to separate them Bivol grabbed longer to get a few extra seconds of the clock.

Bivol was wilting.

Bivol had a few flurry combos sparsely here and there this round while Beterbiev stayed active throwing shots hit or miss throughout it.

At this stage of the fight the momentum had fully swung into Beterbiev's favor, Bivol was seeing the fight out while Beterbiev was pushing the action.

 

I don't think he was, he wants an immediate rematch. Bivol himself said he doesn't like to clinch, but when he did here he controlled it entirely, he certainly wasn't getting pushed off like Gvozdyk. Bivol didn't look tired and beat up to me, he was still firing back and avoiding shots in the final seconds