Jones lost because he simply got caught with a huge punch. Have to say though that Tarver is extremely underrated. I mean a 6'3 southpaw with a big punch and very sound boxing skills would give most guys problems.
Im not really sure..But, yes i think it would have been a good fight with both of them in their primes. Tarver is pretty good a neutralizing speed being that he is so rangey. But overall I think Roy is the better fighter. Its just really hard to tell.
Jones moved up to heavy where Ruiz was slow as **** and when he moved back down he had trouble re-adapting with the speed at the lower weights If Jones takes on Tarver before moving up to heavy, he knocks his ass out.
The question is, would RJJ have gotten caught with a big punch like that (completely cleanly) in 1997? or 1999? I doubt it.
Roy Jones has a enough skill left to still trick people. I am a HUGE RJJ fan, but he is a shell of what he once was. I think it's possible that he pulls out one big impressive showing before he retires, but it's kinda a toss up. In the end, H2H from 168-175, in his PRIME, I really wouldn't pick a single fighter over him. That's the RJJ that I'd like to remember. The one that didn't get hit, didn't lose a round, and made fairly high quality opponents look like amateurs.
I think RJJ having to lose 30 lbs of pure muscle permanently messed with his body. There's a difference between being a 200 lb fighter that is in shape versus a 200 lb guy who is not in boxing shape. RJJ was 200 lbs of pure muscle. The guy should've stayed at HW. I don't know my boxing history that well but has there been a lot of situations where a former LHW moved up to HW and came back down? I don't think guys come back down in weight. Once they move up, they usually stay at the higher weight. Isn't that the case?
That rubber match was the damnest thing though. Roy seemed to be taking over in rounds 4&5, and after that he just stopped working. Does anyone here remember that Roy said something in 2006 about having made a decision after round 5 not to win because he didn't want his father to get the credit? I know it sounds like the worst possible BS excuse, but with Roy, it's so crazy it just might be true.
Tarver psyched him up. Tarver was somehow not convinced of Jones' invincibility. Unlike Jones' previous opponents, Tarver was so confident of his power and was not too convinced of Roy's chin. He was right in front of Jones the whole fight - Jones didn't like it. He was so used to dictating the pace of the fight, take a breather when he wants to, jump in and throw punches when he wants to. Tarver made him on on the lookout the entire fight. Tarver is definitely not the best fighter Jones has ever faced but that didn't hinder Tarver from trying to beat Jones and it paid off well.
yeah he said that again in the HBO show before the Tito fight. I think its bull**** but i'm with you - i just dont undertand why he shut down after round 5 of the third fight
The Jones that beat Tarver was a shadow of the boxer who cleaned up the 175 division. The jones that beat Woods, outclasses both Tarver and Johnson.