If Roy Jones Jr steps in as a blast minute replacement for Billy Conn, is it curtains for Louis?

I miss you Morlocks!

 

Jones also fought 2 Hall of Famers in Bernard Hopkins & James Toney, and each of those guys had trouble even getting a glove on Roy. Jones was capable of any punch with either hand, and often threw completely unorthodox punches. Very difficult guy to prepare for. He certainly appeared faster than Conn, and had more pop on his punches. Not sure what physical advantages you think Conn had over Roy. Also, Jones maintained his hand speed when he came in @193 against Ruiz. Jones was probably the most gifted fighter I've seen since following the sport closely (mid 1980s). Will stop short of calling a W for Jones here, but Jones would have been a complicated task for Louis.

 

But with rehydration did not RJJ at his SMW peak come into the ring in the 190's?
And Conn was some pounds under the LHW limit with same day weigh ins.
RJJ was bigger because he added more muscle.
So would not Jones be higher lb. for lb. in your system?

 

It's certainly not inconceivable Jones Jr. over 12rds could
avoid Louis enough to win a decision.
Jones Jr was a mercurial talent unlike anyone before
him or since.
But in a 5 fight fight series Jones Jr, would get "Schmelinged"
4 of the 5.
What would make this fight so dangerous for Jones Jr,
especially after a 1st fight win, would be how Louis
would adjust.
Physically and technically , Louis other than foot speed
matched up very well against Jones Jr.
Louis had the speed of hand Jones Jr never had to
deal with at anytime in his career.
Louis also used feints to perfection, and combo
punched. So Jones may have made Louis miss
punch#1 and #2 but #3,4,5 and 6 would be coming
right behind them, with just as deadly power if they
land. Something would land.
It would be goodnight Jones Jr WHEN it did.

 

Antonio Tarver says Hi.

 

He might do a great job of looking as though he really wanted the fight, before deciding it wasn't for him.

 

Yeah, even though everyone acknowledges that Louis had fast hands it’s still possible to underrate just how fast Louis could throw his shots - and full blooded punches at that.

At his absolute peak, Joe was shockingly quick. Joe was consistently applying a perfect jab against Baer. Funny thing with Louis was that it seemed he didn’t always use his jab as much as he could have in some fights.

 

Roy had a china chin and it took 15 years for someone to finally land on him. He could avoid Louis for 15 rounds

 

Joe shatters Jones glass jaw

 

Is Roy coming in as a SMW, LH or HW (193 lbs)?

At the higher weight, more power for Jones but less stamina, mobility, agility and overall output.

No matter.

Roy might’ve had faster hands but aside from being counter punched, Louis’ own hands only need be fast enough to exceed Roy’s (attempted) reflexive evasions - and Joe’s hands were more than fast enough.

IMO, this is one where, varietous, absolute textbook executions (at speed, in combination and with numbing power) will emphatically triumph over the naturally/highly gifted but unorthodox fighter.

I appreciate that Jones speed and counterpunching abilities made some opposition reluctant to lead/engage - but many took that reluctance to an unrealistic degree - seconding guessing themselves out of actually fighting - thereby making themselves even easier pickings.

Notably, Tarver did not fall into the same self doubting, self defeating trap. And even more so, nor would Louis. He would duly seek and destroy Jones without abate, certainly Joe won’t play like a stunned deer frozen in the headlights.

 

Don't you Louis guys realize that boxing advanced in the 60 or so years between these two?

Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Hockey, Runners, Lifters, etc. They all get better, just like boxers.

Just kidding, Louis by KO in 6 or 7.

 

Don't know about this. Roy was a shredded 193 for Ruiz, and basically had to kill himself to get back to 175. That had everything to do with Roy's "china chin" IMO. Roy was weight-drained against Tarver and Johnson, and was a shell of his former self after that. He almost certainly would have extended his stay at the top by staying around 190 or so and fighting at Cruiser. Think Chris Byrd fighting at 175. He had no punch resistance at that weight. That's about where Roy was at after returning to 175.

BTW, Tarver himself bulked up to 200+ for the Rocky movie. When he cut back down to 175 for Hopkins, he had a dreadful performance. Tarver caught Roy at the right time and the right weight. If their first fight was at Cruiser, Jones almost certainly wins that.

 

Beautifully played.

For a moment it sounded like MoneyTheMan was back. I thought - there goes the neighbourhood…AGAIN! Haha.

 

No probs. Just to expand on that, if you’re interested, here’s an excellent article by Red Smith re the fight including address of their weights:-

[url]https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/22/sports/the-myth-of-louis-conn.html[/url]

 

These^ are such good points.