As much as I admire and respect Richard as a poster ( and I do immensely) this riposte is insanely accurate in both the styles and standing of both these ATG champs, for the record I grew up following Monzon waited avidly for my BN every Friday, to see how he fared against, Briscoe, Bouttier, Valdez, etc, he was lionised in mags and articles of the early to mid 70s quite rightly IMO, but there was a little niggle, he was one paced, slow, predictable, despite his aura of invincibility, and somewhere in the back of my mind I felt that a truly gifted, swift, fast punching, agile opponent would be the downfall of this great champ, there wasn't such a fighter from 69 t0 70 but there sure was when RJJ became champ . So sorry Rich we part company on this fight, I can see Jones winning a lopsided decision over 15 , of course as with any imagined match up of champs decades apart, the result is nether certain, and one of my all time favs might pull off the win . Excellent post from both you guys. stay safe guys.
I do not like to see a woman battered either, I have been happily married for 23 years. But while I am not impressed with flashy fighters, I respect your opinion, I do hope you respect mine as well. Muhammad Ali was the only flashy fighter that I really admired, he was original, Jones is not. Roy Jones Jr did not retire as champion, he was beaten by Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson at 175 lb, then of course the debacle with Montell Griffith, I still stick to my guns with King Carlos Monzon, anyhow Take Care.
Of course not, but it is Carlos Monzon, he retired as World Middleweight Champion, Hagler and Jones did not.
Sometimes a fighter is comfortable at his weight, Monzon pretty much cleaned out his division. I do not see the relevance of daring to be great moving up, that is not a thing a fighter has to do to be considered great, a great fighter knows his own limitations. Anyhow Take Care.
Again, what difference does it make if Roy lost to Tarver and Johnson at LHW? We’re looking here at a version of Roy from 92-94 at MW. That’s 10 years plus earlier, and 2 weight classes lower.
Excellent point re a fighter content at his natural weight (where optimal P4P worth should actually be measured) and cleaning out his division. Fighter A could be the king of their division and, among their comprehensive conquests, they prevail over fighter B in said division. However, depending on physical equipment, style, skill set, accents, etc., fighter B might simply be better equipped for some notable upper division successes - though their coverage in the upper division will be still be limited and that’s where we often enter into the realm of cherry picking. The comparison between Hagler and Hearns might fit the bill. Marv starches Tommy in 3 at 160 lbs. No correspondence entered into. BUT, Tommy’s overall and particular make up allowed for successful forays in upper divisions whereas Hags was already somewhat small for a MW in respect of height and reach. It doesn’t change the fact that Marv was the better fighter at MW and in fact still the better fighter P4P at middle than Tommy was at LH. Would Roy have dared to be great by facing Bob Foster, possibly the worst fighter awaiting anyone looking to move up a division? Well, Roy might’ve dared but I think such a match would’ve only affirmed Foster’s greatness in his own division with Roy left inert on the canvas. Finally, I don’t believe Monzon was as slow as popularly believed - but I won’t debate that at this time. I’ll just say even when facing a clearly faster opponent, a fighter can still def. remain in the hunt at their own given speed, utilising attributes such as timing, sense of distance, feints, truly straight punching (the old shortest distance between two points…) etc.
I really appreciate your post, great job. Bob Foster would have starched Roy Jones Jr, speed would have not helped Roy at all. The Foster we are referring to is the prime 1972 edition. Jones to me is overrated. Foster would be fighting another 175 lb champion that would not be able to take his left hook. Take Care Of Yourself My Friend.
