Jones needs legs to win against Calzaghe.

I never watched the Goonies at all.


Wait, why am I talking about the Goonies on a boxing forum?

Real! :gsg

 

I stand behind my preview post-fight. This fight almost doesn't say anything about a prime Jones vs Calzaghe match-up since Jones didn't have his legs and the real thing would play out so differently, becomes such a different match that it's hard to draw any conclusions from this one.

Except that Calzaghe would make it competitive.

 

Decebal, Jones' plans, ring generalship and techniques were all built and cultivated around his athleticism. Most of what he knows is useless now because he doesn't enjoy the advantages he used to -- he cannot exploit the holes he sees in his opponents because his legs aren't like lightning, his reflexes are no longer as if he starred in the Matrix, and because of his poor legs his punching power has diminished since he, as Mike Tyson did, used his lower legs as a spring to generate force.

"Sure," one can say. "That means he was never a great boxer. He just had physical gifts that towered over anyone else."

While partly true, this stance, I feel, is too harsh. Ali was the same, Tyson was the same, Foreman was the same, to give a current example, Antonio Margarito would have more losses than wins if he had a subpar chin. Every fighter tailors what they do and how they fight around their strong points.

Jones' strong points have almost completely eroded. All he can do is stand around, conserve energy, guard high and use his only remaining weapon, his handspeed, to try and counter.

There simply wasn't much he could do. He doesn't have the defense of Hopkins because he never needed it -- nor does he know how to work behind a jab since it was unnecesary for the largest part of his career.

The only thing this shows us, imo, is that if Roy Jones was ever hurt bad enough that his legs turned to jelly, he would have been extremely vulnerable. Perhaps...he knew, and it was the reason he was so extremely careful in the ring.

 

I am essentially agreeing with you, but with one addition -- the skills B-Hop and Calzaghe learned were useful during their prime. The skills Roy Jones needs now were useless to him during his prime, hence he doesn't have them.

And no, he never had great footwork, but he used his fast, explosive legs to stay away and then pop in in a variety of ways, all of which is useless now.

What I'm essentially saying is that Jones' was indeed spoiled by his own speed and power -- and never learned the craft properly, instead going for a warped variant built around his athleticism.

Take away the athleticism, and you're left with the flaws. But, perhaps, add the athleticism and unorthodox techniques and you may have a more optimally rigged fighter than if he chose to fight using the fundamentally sound and accepted techniques.

 

Thank you. This topic is getting tired, so I won't bump it anymore after this one.