Roy can definitely still beat anyone at lightheavy weight. The only fighters in the division that would give him problems are Chad Dawson and Bernard Hopkins. Then again, he would have a decent chance against either. He should just stay up at Cruiserweight and run throuth that weak ass division.
yeah, Roy Jones is back because he just beat a shot Lacy who was demolished by Calzaghe 3 years ago, but that means nothing because Lacy was overrated back then :roll:
i like roy and would like to see what he could do but how is he gonna be challenging the winner of the Super 6 (or getting kessler to scrap the tourny) off of one good showing against damaged goods lacy??
I said this after the Calzaghe fight...the version of Roy that showed up for the Calzaghe fight could beat Tarver or Dawson...I think Roy has shown a lot of heart in not giving up after his recent loss to Calzaghe. I think he realizes that he can still beat 95% of the fighters in the lightheavy or cruiserweight divisions...Calzaghe needs to be given the appropriate credit for beating a dangerous Roy Jones Jr...not a faded version of the former Champ.
People saying that Jones would have a good chance of beating Dawson right now are delusional. Dawson's style is all wrong for Roy. There's always a chance in boxing (hell, quite a few people picked Jones to beat Calzaghe), but Jones would be a big underdog if he faced Dawson. Wins over handpicked opponents don't mean Jones "is back" or "still has it", don't be fooled.
I'm not saying that he would hand Dawson a loss via KO, but if he relies on speed and volume, he would outwork Dawson and score an impressive UD...he would still have trouble against guys like Calzaghe or Johnson, but I'm convinced this version of Roy outworks a fighter with the style of B-hop or Dawson...I think Roy learned a lot from his loss to Calzaghe...always the sign of a great fighter: learning from your losses and coming back stronger.
I love Roy. I've never rooted harder for a fighter, or any athlete/sports team for that matter. I can't be blind, though: Roy is no longer an elite fighter. He indeed looked much better in this fight with Lacy, but Lacy was not only past it, but he used possibly the dumbest strategy he could. It may sound good in theory to pressure Roy and tire him, but when Lacy started doing it, I said, "Um, does Lacy not realize he's slow, keeps his arms wide, and is only smothering his own punches because of his long, bulky arms?" In other words, Lacy was about as poorly fit to smother Roy as any fighter could be. Roy should get credit for capitalizing on that, but age has taken its toll on Roy. He can't keep away from a prime, energetic fighter anymore. He's still quick but noticeably slower than before. Most importantly, he has no legs. He. Has. No. Legs. He can't box a full round anymore and can't use his footwork to get out of reach of punches anymore, which would spell disaster against someone like Dawson. This is why he lays back on the ropes so often, and he can't rely on a prime fighter being as inept of an inside man as Lacy was in order for him to perform at the elite level. I just really wish Roy would hang it up on a high note, but it just gives him another excuse to keep going.
I can't believe people got so "fooled" by the Lacy fight. Not attempting to offend you or anything, but how in the world are you suddenly convinced that Jones mysteriously became a workrate freak in a couple of fights vs handpicked opposition? Did you actually watch the Lacy fight? Jones spend a lot of time just laying on the ropes doing absolutely nothing and Lacy wasn't even capable of landing a good shot on a still target. I don't see how that man would be able to beat a guy like Dawson, let alone by impressive UD. And note that all this is coming from a huge Jones fan.
I have never been a huge Roy fan, dude...i simply gained respect for Roy by not giving up after his embarrassing losses to Tarver, Johnson, and Calzaghe...my point is that he has learned a lot from his most recent loss to Calzaghe...he is now focusing on combining speed and volume instead of looking for one big shot. It will give most fighters a lot of problems; including Chad Dawson.
So what's it to be? 1. Give Calzaghe credit for beating a prime, lossless, pre-injury Lacy or 2. Give Roy Jones credit for beating a past-prime, 2-loss, post-injury Lacy ?