Roy had too much trouble opening up lower level fighters like Griffin and Malinga, he blew Griffin away in the 2nd bout by throwing all caution to the wind but I didn`t like how Roy looked v an old flabby McCallum or a green Hopkins, he was often gunshy scared of counters, he had potential to be an all time great but didn`t have the right team around him.
Of course. If he was prime today, the casuals would cream their pants every time he fought. How many fighters have you seen who could knock a guy out with a lead uppercut? Who put both of his hands behind his back before knocking someone out? Who threw a 6 punch combo whilst walking forward, which included uppercuts from either hand? It's never been seen before. This content is protected
Once in a lifetime specimen. As far as physical attributes I'd say he was well nigh the perfect prototype of a boxer.
I never cared for him when he was fighting due to his smug attitude, although he was able to back it up in the ring. He is an ATG without question. In his prime he had every attribute needed to be great in any era. We will not see another Roy Jones in our lifetimes.
But the thing is that those aren't boxing skills. I can throw 6 punch combos with ease. I can do anything he did. Anyone can. But none of us would be 1/10 as good at it. Josh Kelly is quite the athletic kid and he too has mimicked Roy at times. He had some amazing highlights in his earlier fights. But now that he has stepped up in competition, a lot of that flash has fizzled. His physical talent isn´t good enough to let him do those kinds of things. Jones was an outstanding athlete who built his style around it. And he pretty much perfected it. But his boxing ability was rather limited. Same way Orlando Salido has perfected his hooks. The man throws nothing but powerful hooks and boy is it effective! But he does it at the cost of his jab. Too much of one good thing is bad. Even Pazienza, whom Jones annihilated, was able to exploit many of Jones' flaws. The most success Vinny had was on the inside, where Jones barely ever did anything. His go to was just to put up a high guard and maybe throw some counters. Whats the saying? Good fighters take advantage of openings, great fighters create openings? Some **** like that. Well Jones was just good. A decent boxer with unimaginable athletic ability.
Josey Wales would give him a run for his money. Prime for prime at 168 it would have been a great fight.
Badbot, Of course they're boxing skills. You can maybe throw a 6 punch combo, but not walking forwards like that against a top level fighter. Roy had incredible skill. Yes, he had incredible athleticism, which is what his style was based upon. But timing, leverage, shot selection and accuracy etc, is all skill. The guage of distance and execution wasn't just based on his athleticism. Everything he did was highly skilled. There's been lots of outstanding athletes in boxing. Wilder is an outstanding athlete. But he's not knocking anyone out with lead uppercuts, as he'd be off balance. Saying that Roy was an outstanding athlete who had limited skills is doing him a huge disservice. The skill involved in his finishing off of Paz is off the charts. Roy created openings out of nothing. He knocked Griffin out with a lead uppercut.
I think at his very peak there has never been a better fighter p4p. No man in history beats 160lb prime Roy. Not even Robinson. Hagler gets beat by unanimous decision and he's my all time favorite fighter.
Sugar Boy Malinga was a special fighter, he met Benn & Eubanks & on both occasions beat them but didn't get the decision. When he fought Benn the 2nd time it was one of the few times I actually won money on a fight as I don't usually bet ,but on that one I knew i couldn't lose. Roy made him look ordinary , Roy was a genius at times.
