You need to watch that Del Valle knockdown again. Roy had same look on his face that he did against Tarver. It wasn’t a slip it was a legit knockdown and Roy was hurt. Del Valle was too cautious after the knockdown or Roy would have been put to sleep. Del Valle wasn’t a puncher either.
What about Audley Harrison? And David Price... Not elite boxers, but definitely "promising prospects".
Oleg Maskaev deserves a mention. All his losses were by the way of KO, some were just brutal KOs. Lance Whitaker KO'd him with a right jab from southpaw stance, brutally. Kirk Johnson knocked him out senceless behind the ropes. T-Rex Sanders was losing every minute of the fight until he caught Oleg and destroyed him. McCall KO'd Maskaev with the 1st punch he landed, and it wasn't a big punch.
Of the last recent years : Oleg Maskaev, Amir Khan, Georgiy Yunovidov, Kwanthai Sithmorseng, Tomonobu Shimizu, Tommy Morrison, Eric Molina, Sivenathi Nontshinga, Edwin Cano Hernandez, Yukinori Oguni, Michael Dasmarinas, Felix Machado, Salim Medjkoune, Alexander Dimitrenko, Dmitry Mikhaylenko (he was a top 20 and undefeated 21-0 before to be a journeyman and the fact that he no longer had any mental strength, that struck me because his fall was so sudden).
Let’s just put this into perspective,Jones never truly lost a fight until his 51st fight at over 35 years of age and also after winning a version of the Heavyweight Belts ! Just look at who he beat in those 50 fights ! There’s only so many training camps and punches an elite fighter can take before his body gives up on him,there may well be exceptions but not many at the level Jones fought at !
tbf I never said it was a slip or a non knockdown, but that it was brief. The fact he had 'the same look on his face ' as against Tarver (what, 7 years later??) is kind of irrelevant. He was up quickly and in control again. I just don't get the argument that a guy who fights for 16 years as a pro with one knockdown in 50 fights and then - gasp - gets old, has a bad chin. It's called ageing, and all the evidence is there. Pre 35 years old (as a speed and reflexes based fighter = 1 DQ loss, no KO losses. And no concerns around the chin at all. Post 35 (and much older) = multiple KO losses. The difference is obvious, accentuated by the fact he went on for SO many years after his prime. You try running the same distance at 45 as when you were 25, or lifting the same weights, and tell me it's the same
James Toney fought in the same era as Roy, went up in weight similarly from middleweight to heavyweight, fought arguably stronger and tougher competition, and hard sparred almost everytime in fight camp. Yet he never was once stopped in his whole career.
A man who went from 1989-2003 in 50 fights never touching the canvas or even being physically hurt is labeled "Glass Jaw".....that statement is almost as silly as this actual thread is........