Was Roy Jones Jr great or just very good and marketed well?

I don't know where the "he can't box BS" is coming from but the truth of the matter is, at age 40 he is no longer elite most guys at that age with the yrs and # of fights RJJ has had wouldn't be doing much better.

Ali lost to Leon Spinks for FFS when he was in his mid 30s, Floyd in his mid 30s to early 40s would look like trash and has even admitted it himself which is the reason why he doesn't plan on fighting much longer. Hopkins lost to Taylor purely because he was old, he looks good against guys who move up 2 or 3 weight classes but I bet Dawson would make him show his age at this pt.

 

He was GREAT.

Absolutely not a shadow of doubt about it at all ever!

1994-97 Jones was one of the finest fighting machines of the modern era.

 

for certain jones was great but i think he was still near or at peak 2002-2003.

as for mayweather, i think his speed, combination punching and endurance have faded since 140. the last few years, or at least at 147 and above, he has made noticable adjustments to compensate for this. The pot shotting style is VASTLY different from how he destroyed corrales and n'dou for instance

 

now a lot of people do...but a lot of people don't appreciate just how special he was. he was the most gifted fighter ive ever seen during that time you specified

 

don't get me wrong, i LOVE roy jones to death. but i don't think he's got classical boxing skills on par with his raw talent. he wasn't taught how to box orthodox: he was taught how to fight as superman

 

i've put him as high as 10 all time in some of my lists. yes i'm a nuthugger but anyone who is THAT dominant and anyone who I honestly could not pick against in his prime against any fighter in history deserves respect

 

He didn't have the all-round skills of Whitaker, but in his prime he was probably just as difficult to beat.

 

i'd say he would be more difficult to beat. his defense wasn't quite on whitaker's level but he had the ability to knock people cold and hurt them almost at will

 

yeah i agree that whitaker was a more all around fighter...but just natural athleticism roy was a freak

we used to go watch him play basketball in that semi-pro league he used to play in b/c a lot of the games were played at the civic center right across town (small town) from me. his first step was incredible. just a phenomenal athlete.

 

Watch a fight from the mid 90's and then from the early 00's. You will see Roy has sliped

Mayweather has not slipped very much, he is just fighting bigger fighters, and he has weak hands.

Watch how he fiights against JMM. :good

 

Is this post serious?

One word bro...

GREAT!

 

Sues, how are you doing man?

 

good call, i'll have to go through his fights again to see. to me, he was always near flawless but there are probably sublte differences.

mayweather hasn't slipped a LOT but his style has changed to be sure. Even when he has his opponent beat or figured out, he doesn't open up like he used to. He is outthinking opponents as much as outboxing them now. But you're totally right, JMM will tell us a LOT

 

Good bro...very good! Hope you are as well man...:good

 

I'd disagree with this.

As I said earlier, Roy's peak was 94-97 as I see it.

Had he slipped by the early 2000s? Yes. But he was still fighting at a high level - consider the absolute whitewash of Clinton Woods at a time when Woods was giving a peak Glen Johnson hell. Jones was superb for a 10 year period, 93-03. Very consistent.

IMO, Floyd's absolute zenith was 2001, his peak years 98-01 at 130. Has he slipped between then and now? You bet he has. Floyd may have been moving up in weight, but he has never been truly dwarved. He is a good height, has a big frame and has carried the weight very well. Had he fought Williams, Margarito and Mosley at 147, I'd say size had been an issue in his career. But Hatton, Mitchell and Judah were not true welterweights and were no bigger than Floyd at all, and Baldomir was just mediocre. The one time that size could have been an issue was against Oscar, and IMO that was one of the most unconvincing and unimpressive displays of Floyd's career. I thought he was pretty poor, and sneaked the decision in a dire fight with a past-prime opponent. It should also be noted that I don't believe Jones was a natural lhw, nor do I believe he had to fight there, he could've comfortably stayed at smw if he wanted, but I think his eyes were always on the big prize (heavyweight title). Plus smw was a penniless wasteland for a long time (the never-ending hometown bum-of-the-month campaigns by Ottke and Calzaghe). When you look at guys like Michael Spinks, Michael Moorer, Bob Foster - Jones was not a natural lhw, he just forced himself into that scene out of choice and succeeded there because he was so good. IMO Jones was a natural 168, and was at his very best there.

Floyd hasn't slipped much from his peak, but he has definitely slipped IMO. In 2001, Floyd embarrassed and/or murdered guys the same size as him. In 2006-7, he beat guys the same size as him but without dominating every round and finishing them off as clinically or early as he did at his peak.

Floyd now and Jones in the early 2000s are at the same stage - not just as good as they once were but still brilliant fighters.