If RJ hung'em up after breezing past Ruiz...

that's fair and it is reflex based. perhaps hopkins is a better example. his defense is a bit more multi layered, utilizing timing, hand positioning and holding (a lot of holding)

 

Hopkins has tremendous lateral movement, but what other "technical skills does he have over Jones who had great movement himself? Holding excessively is illegal. Headbutts, faking low blows, rabbit punches? Those are "technical skills"?

 

simple things like tucking his chin better than roy, keeping his hands up, well placed clinches (he does this excessively but still skilled), ending or neutralize a fighters offense, turning a fighter, etc.

this may be cheap, etc. but loads of fighters have done and continue to do this. hopkins just does these really really well. roy is STILL faster than hopkins but he keeps getting drilled. this lack of skills is why

 

****ing Highlanders.

 

I think he would on many peoples

 

Roy keeps his hands up when in range. He keeps the lead hand low to draw the lead from his opponent. Excessive holding is plainly illegal and is not a sklill.

He's getting tagged because he's a shot fighter and can't defend himself anymore.

 

but that's what i'm saying as well. i don't feel physically, he is light years aware from where hopkins is at this stage but his defense is nowhere near. roy does keep his lead hand low...and he gets tagged. that's not effective defense. if was only effective when he had reflexes. now that he doesn't, he's getting nailed

he sits on the ropes all the time without the skills/style/whatever of a james toney. roy's head movement sucks, he never rolled with punches in his prime cause he never got hit. he never learned how to deal with fighters who could get into range and tag him cause no one ever got close enough to tag him.

now that his legs are gone, now that he doesn't have the upper body movement to slip punches, he has nothing else to defend himself with