Did Roy Jones Jr. Ruin His Legacy By Not Retiring Before Tarver Rematch?

Ali was favored to easily beat Spinks in their first fight and Tyson was easily favored to beat Williams and McBride.

 

As far Ali goes, you first referenced Berbick, not Spinks. Not to mention that Ali won his rematch with Spinks. And you also didn’t address that neither Mike nor Ali were ktfo with one punch in the 2nd round by men they had just beaten and were the heavy favorites to win the rematch.
By the time Tyson and Ali suffered their final beat downs it was known that they had engaged in multiple wars, had shown serious signs of decline and were fighting on the hopes of their fans of what they once were. In Roy’s case he’d never even lost a fight (I’m not counting Griffin) and certainly had not engaged in any grueling wars when Tarver and Johnson ethered him.

 

The question is had he defeated Tarver in their rematch more conclusively than the first bout would he have retired?

It's not just a case of hurting his legacy, those last few years have seriously done damage to his brain IMO.

 

Normally we don't say this about losses that occurred at 35 years of age, but for many this have been crucial for the perception of Jones.